Case studies
Within the project Transnational Exchange III the idea of case studies emerged: up to 10 return cases should be supported individually to gain more information and knowledge on the challenges vulnerable returnees face in the reintegration phase.
In general, there is a lack of data in the field of return and reintegration assistance. Respective research was rarely done until the 1980s; since then, research on return migration has increased to more than 1,100 contributions in this field [1]. Although several aspects of the return process have been investigated, research on return migration is still only in the beginning. There are many impact factors and country-specific challenges which impede research and the definition correlations in this field. Especially in the context of vulnerable migrants returning publications are rare.
In order to understand the diversified process of reintegration better, more research and long-term studies are needed. The Transnational Exchange III case studies will not be able to contribute comprehensive and quantitatively significant findings but rather point out certain aspects which could be considered when counselling vulnerable returnees. The Transnational Exchange III project provided a reintegration budget up to 2500€ for vulnerable returnees. The return and reintegration was organized in direct consultation with the reintegration partners in the countries of return. Instead of offering generic advice the intention of this summary is to make counsellors and reintegration partners more aware of challenges and possible obstacles as well as to add food for thought to the ongoing discussion how vulnerable returnees could be assisted in the best way possible. Please find the summary of the case studies and its findings on the right-hand side.
[1] http://cmsny.org/publications/2018smsc-smc-return-migration/
