EU-IOM Joint Initiative

for Migrant Protection and Reintegration

Stigma infuses returning migrants with a sense of foreboding that is even more debilitating for female returnees. In Hargeisa and Mogadishu female returnees reported being wary of admitting to their families that during their time in Libya they had had to “get married” to “feel protected”.

It emerged that personal circumstances and fears can influence the decision-making processes of some stranded female migrants during registration for assisted voluntary return and reintegration (AVRR) in transit or destination countries.

In some instances, female migrants signed up for return support, but then “changed their mind” and “hid in the city” for fear of being stigmatised, discriminated against or abused upon their return. There are also cases where female returnees “changed their names during registration” or “took the name of someone else who cannot return immediately” in order to enter the country of origin anonymously. 

These are all rare insights of the experiences of female returnees in Somalia, gleaned through two focus group discussions held on International Women’s Day (8 March 2020), in Mogadishu and Hargeisa and organised by the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration in the Horn of Africa.

The aim of the events was to understand the experiences of female returnees, who make up a much smaller percentage than their male counterpart and hence usually find themselves overshadowed. Yet gender is among the factors that most impact on the success of reintegration. Thus it need to be considered along with other variables such as age, health needs, the nature of the returnee’s migration journey and the circumstances of return.

The discussion in Mogadishu was arranged in collaboration with the Ministry of Women, Human Rights and Development. Twelve returnees participated. Seven female returnees volunteered for the event in Hargeisa, which was jointly organised with the Nagaad Network, an organisation engaged with women’s empowerment and gender equality in Somaliland.

Facilitating the discussions were trained female facilitators. The sessions were held in a safe and private space where returnees could freely and safely express themselves. They were encouraged to share their views, priorities and experiences of the AVRR process.

The women invited to take part in the discussion were returnees between the ages of 16 and 29, and were assisted to return to Mogadishu, Hargeisa and Burao from Libya, South Sudan, Sudan, Egypt, and Tanzania between September 2017 and December 2019. All the participants undertook the migration journey alone except for one returnee who travelled with her aunt.

Among the main issues encountered during their migration journeys, the participants mentioned the fear and reality of arrest, physical torture, ransom, travelling with strangers, starvation, dehydration, lack of transport and general insecurity.

And when it came to the journey back, the respondents said despite being stranded, it had been easy for them to seek assistance prior to arriving back in Somalia. This was thanks to frequent visits by IOM through the EU-IOM Joint Initiative and the representatives of the Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the detention centres where many were held.

However, respondents mentioned misinformation circulating within the detention centres where security officers often persuaded migrants to call their families to ask for money that would ostensibly be used in facilitating the migrants’ release and return home.

Participants said some Somali migrants were held hostage in facilities referred to as “smuggling detention centres” from where “it is very hard to leave unless ransom is paid”. Such migrants were often perceived as “cut off” from the reach of IOM and the Somali Embassy.

The travel arrangements back to Somalia were considered well-organized and safe. Participants agreed on the need for immediate support - besides pocket money - to be made available upon their arrival, including hygiene kits, kitchen utensils, soaps and buckets so that they could support themselves during the first few days of their return. 

The respondents in Somaliland viewed their reception at the crowded airport in Hargeisa as having made it hard for them to feel comfortable. Nonetheless, they felt satisfied at having been provided, a few days after arrival, with a safe and private space at the IOM office to begin  reintegration counselling with a case manager.

With regards to referrals to health facilities, Mogadishu-based respondents said they had not always be able to choose between male or female healthcare providers and would have felt more comfortable to be assisted by female healthcare providers.

On reintegration support, the feeling among participants was that their skills, past experiences and capacities were duly taken into consideration. The respondents explained that family members sometimes participated in the selection of the type of assistance needed or in the utilisation of the in-kind support provided.

But in some cases, returnees preferred to start and run microbusinesses without involving their family members, thus avoiding the pressure to “share the profit”. In other instances, female returnees used the in-kind support to join already existing and operational businesses. Such business partnerships allowed them to learn from the experiences of others and to share the running costs  while mitigating the risks of failure.

Commenting on the discussions, Carlotta Panchetti, an IOM Migrant Protection and Assistance Programme Officer in Hargeisa, said: “The events were an intimate moment in which female returnees had their voices heard over the fears and challenges they experienced, as well as a platform of exchange between IOM and its female beneficiaries.’

 About the EU-IOM Joint Initiative

Launched in December 2016 and funded by the European Union (EU) Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, the programme brings together 26 African countries of the Sahel and Lake Chad region, the Horn of Africa, and North Africa, the EU and IOM around the goal of ensuring migration is safer, more informed and better governed for both migrants and their communities.