Burial and the politics of dead bodies in times of COVID-19

This article introduces our special issue of the journal, Human Remains & Violence, which brings articles about the experiences in the forensic and burial sector in various countries during the first year of the pandemic.

What kind of problems did these sectors experience, how did different authorities react, how did staff in these sectors cope with emergency regulations and the sudden surge in numbers of dead bodies, and how did relatives and communities deal with the lack of ritual and opportunities to say goodbye to their dead?

The introduction argues:

1) That the exceptional situation was not that exceptional in many poor and crime-ridden areas, where racism and inequality marked how dead bodies were treated.

2) That research has to take the global scope and the local specificities of the pandemic into account at the same time.