Do (some) refugees’ lives matter only in so far as they die prematurely and in the glare of some kind of publicity, such as happened in September 2015 when the body of three-year old Alan Kurdi washed up on a Turkish beach?

Judith Butler’s meditations on ‘grievable life’ are relevant here. They prompt questions in my mind about the premature death of refugees, including the question: What about life before death?