Journey to nowhere? reintegration of Nigerian ‘deported returnees’ from Libya

This study is about the implementation of reintegration of returnees under the Assisted and Voluntary Return program of the IOM. The study uses a qualitative approach as its empirical tool to elicit and investigates the experiences of five male Nigerian returnees from Libya, through interviews, as well as interviewing two male representatives of IOM and NAPTIP, respectively. The extent of success or failure in reintegration in the AVRR program of the IOM comes out through these experiences. Whilst challenges include stigmatization, debt and family commitments, difficulties with reintegration on a personal level, and delays in remittance of support funds, and insufficient funds all emerge as structural challenges. Unsurprisingly, challenges to reintegration on the personal level for returnees tend to be the same for deportees as for returnees. This study explores the experiences of returnees to show how personal reintegration strategies are undertaken, and to show the importance of their immediate social networks in influencing the reintegration process.