Stories of Return
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Stories of Return Contents Introduction About the Reintegration Fund The Reintegration Fund was created in June 2002 to provide financial support to returnees under the Introduction 2 It has been just over two years since the publication of the first Voluntary Assisted Return and Reintegration Programme (VARRP) The aim of the Reintegration Fund is to About the Reintegration Fund 3 version of Stories of Return. Since then, the Reintegration Fund facilitate a sustainable return to the country of origin. has continued to grow, and now in the form of ‘reintegration Reintegration Statistics 4 assistance’ has helped over 6,300 returnees in more than 60 A Brief Statistical Overview 5 countries. The overwhelming majority of returnees have used their reintegration assistance to contribute to the purchase of supplies Europe 6 and equipment to set up a small business. Some however have Africa 7 used the assistance to pay fees for vocational training courses and South America Africa Middle East South America 8 a few to pay for their children’s education. Colombia 139 Zimbabwe 276 Iraq 1660 Asia & Middle East 9 This edition of Stories of Return will again provide a snap shot Ecuador 102 South Africa 107 Iran 546 of returnees who have agreed to share their experiences of the Bolivia 39 Angola 81 Israel 21 The Reintegration Process 10 way in which they have used their reintegration assistance - some FAQs 12 successfully, and some less so because of lack of experience in Jamaica 34 Uganda 66 Jordan 8 running a small business or unforeseen financial difficulties. DRC 55 Lebanon 8 Africa: Stories 14 Brazil 5 Algeria 54 Libya 7 Asia & Middle East: Stories 23 However, this second edition also reports on some capacity Chile 5 development initiatives under the Reintegration Fund, notably Venezuela 4 Nigeria 49 Yemen 3 South America: Stories 32 training in business management (Angola), assistance in setting up Guatemala 2 Ethiopia 46 TOTAL 2253 Europe: Stories 36 businesses (Zimbabwe), and job placement initiatives (Colombia and Albania). TOTAL 330 Sudan 46 Acknowledgements 43 It should be noted that since the implementation of the Kenya 42 Asia Reintegration Fund in 2002, the programme has become more Europe Sierra Leone 40 Afghanistan 828 flexible and a variety of financial packages have been introduced. Somalia 35 Sri Lanka 602 The one basic constant has been our belief, confirmed with time Albania 284 and experience, that reintegration assistance is most effective Kosovo 157 Cameroon 23 Pakistan 261 when given in kind (not cash) over a period of one year, and with Russia 80 Ivory Coast 15 China 81 periodic advice and monitoring along the way. Ukraine 41 Ghana 15 India 79 Each story portrays an individual and his or her circumstances and Senegal 11 Vietnam 37 to which country or region they return to. Reintegration assistance Turkey 36 varies from individual to individual and from country to country. Croatia 26 Malawi 9 Azerbaijan 36 The programme aims to be flexible and tailored to the needs of Serbia and Montenegro 11 Guinea Conakry 9 Bangladesh 19 each returnee in order to make the best possible contribution to a Rwanda 9 Mongolia 18 sustainable return. Moldova 11 Bosnia and Herzegovina 9 Togo 8 Nepal 11 Macedonia 9 Gambia 7 Kyrgyzstan 8 Latvia 8 Liberia 6 TOTAL 1980 Armenia 6 Egypt 5 Cyprus 5 Botswana 5 TOTAL 683 Burundi 5 Tanzania 3 Zambia 3 Chad 2 Bukina Faso 1 TOTAL 1036 Statistics reflect up to Feb 2007 Stories of Return 2 IOM London 2007 Stories of Return 3 IOM London 2007 Reintegration Statistics A Brief Statistical Overview The following map provides a general overview of assisted cases in Europe, Asia, Africa, Middle East The success of the Reintegration Fund is reflected through the increased number of individuals that have and South America. been assisted over the last 5 years. When the programme began in 2002, 19 individuals were assisted with various reintegration activities. Today, an average of 250 are assisted per month. The graph below shows the number of individuals that have been assisted from 2002 until 2006. 4,238 4500 2830 683 4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 870 Number of Assisted Cases 1000 672 500 275 19 0 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Year In terms of activities that have been implemented, and reflected thorough the stories in the next few chapters, small business set up is predominantly the activity most implemented. Business Training 1,036 Education Other 1% 88% 6% 330 5% All statistics reflect up to Feb 2007 Stories of Return 4 IOM London 2007 Stories of Return 5 IOM London 2007 Europe Africa Type of Activity Implemented Total Assisted Male Female Type of Activity Implemented Total Assisted Male Female Business 329 275 54 Business 753 464 289 Training 166 129 37 Training 86 51 35 Education 16 8 8 Education 36 16 20 Other (job placements, 239 191 48 Other (job placements, 197 102 95 housing, medical etc) housing, medical etc) Capacity Building Initiatives Capacity Building Initiatives Hope for the Future: This NGO became a partner in 2002 and has proved to be very successful in helping Interims for Development: In 2005, IOM London through a partnership with Interims for Development (an returnees from Albania find job placements and apprenticeships. As a result we have continued to work African organization based in the UK, specializing in business training) ran several workshops in Zimbabwe in close collaboration with Hope for the Future. They have assisted over 80 returnees so far in finding job on Planning and Managing your Business. placements throughout Albania. Returnees are engaged in a broad spectrum of businesses, from welding to hairdressing, from manufacturers of school uniforms to Internet cafes and photocopy services. The feedback from 2005 has been very positive from the returnees in terms of what has been achieved, and it is for this reason the same training is planned in other countries. The same initiative has now been planned for other countries in 2007 which include: Nigeria and South Africa Training in Angola IOM Angola and IOM London in conjunction with the Ministry of Assistance and Social Reinsertion (MINARS), NGOs (Mulemba) and UTCHA (Technical Unit for Coordination of Humanitarian Activities) provided training to 20 returnees in 2006. The general objective was to contribute to the socio economic reintegration of Angolan returnees from United Kingdom by improving their skills in management, bookkeeping, marketing and an understanding of the micro credit issues. The training was very successful and it is envisaged that the same activity will take place again in 2007. Stories of Return 6 IOM London 2007 Stories of Return 7 IOM London 2007 South America Asia and Middle East Type of Activity Implemented Total Assisted Male Female Asia Business 280 157 123 Type of Activity Implemented Total Assisted Male Female Training 30 17 13 Business 1939 1763 176 Education 11 6 5 Training 38 30 8 Other (job placements, 17 9 8 Education 10 5 5 housing, medical etc) Other (job placements, 55 27 28 housing, medical etc) Capacity Building Initiatives AESCO: IOM began working with AESCO in 2003. AESCO works in a region of Colombia (Pereira) where Middle East there is no IOM office, but to which a high number of people return. AESCO provides assistance by guiding returnees on how to set up businesses. AESCO was visited by IOM London in 2003 as part of an evaluation trip. The impact that this NGO has had on returnees was assessed to have been very beneficial. Type of Activity Implemented Total Assisted Male Female Business 2109 2047 92 Training 33 24 9 Education 3 2 1 Other (job placements, 82 74 8 housing, medical etc) Capacity Building Initiatives CEFE, Sri Lanka: Discussions in 2006 between IOM UK, IOM Colombo and CEFE - an NGO based in Sri Lanka - resulted in a programme to increase the training available to Sri Lankan returnees. The programme contracts qualified and established training organisations or freelance trainers who possess well developed tools for business development and have minimum of five years’ training experience. The training aims to: 1. Enhancing the entrepreneurial competencies of the returnees; 2. Making participants aware of their strengths and weaknesses and helping them set goals. 3. Helping to identify available resources and explore market opportunities. Stories of Return 8 IOM London 2007 Stories of Return 9 IOM London 2007 The Reintegration Process Prior to Departure: In country of Return: The following flow chart provides an illustration of how the reintegration process takes place prior to This flow chart provides an illustration of the reintegration process in the country of return. departure from the UK. Mission and Returnee has 3 months Returnee undergo Reintegration Returnee Applies Application sent upon arrival to discussions on Activity Identified to VARRP to mission contact mission activities identified Discussion Reintegration Mission identifies Mission sends all on activities documents to London Assistance Requested activities identified for approval Returnee given Reintegration reintegration letter at London approves Application Filled in UK airport with contact project details of mission Monitoring and Returnee leaves the UK evaluation of project begins soon after Stories of Return 10 IOM London 2007 Stories of Return 11 IOM London 2007 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Question Answer Question Answer 1. Who is eligible All returnees returning under the Voluntary Assisted Return and 3. What does the The assistance does not cover: Reintegration Programme (VARRP) are eligible. Returnees that to apply for Reintegration Medical Assistance Reintegration apply to the VARRP are asylum seekers whose case status in the Assistance not United Kingdom is either: • IOM cannot assist returnees with medical costs. However, we Assistance? cover? do aim to provide advice and information on services available • pending to returnees.