Link - IOM Publications - International Organization for Migration

eturn to the South African labour market, demonstrating the need
to generate economic opportunity and professional perspectives
for returnees.
Importantly, governments have an interest in giving migrants
a stake in their home country. By ensuring that nationals abroad
continue to participate in the life of the society of origin, countries
of origin can help keep migrants connected to social, economic,
cultural and political networks at home and maintain their sense
of belonging to the home country. Allowing dual citizenship is one
measure which can help maintain a degree of loyalty to the home
country, especially for long-term migrants. Overseas voting rights,
as implemented by the Philippines and Ecuador for example, can
also be a key mechanism to secure the political involvement of
citizens abroad. However, overseas voting programmes can be
very costly to operate and politically controversial.
An example of a measure to encourage migrants’ economic
participation in the country of origin is the Mexican “Three for
One” (“Tres por Uno”) programme in which municipal, state
and federal governments together triple every dollar remitted
by Mexicans abroad for investment in development projects in
communities of origin. Such initiatives instil in the diaspora a sense
of ownership of the political, economic and social developments
in their home country and reinforce the positive aspects of
transnationalism.
In sum, preparing for departure, staying in contact with
migrants throughout their journey, and planning for their
reintegration emerged as three of the more concrete roles for
countries of origin in supporting the integration and reintegration
of migrants.
The Role of the Migrant
Migrants bring a lot of potential to the countries of destination,
a fact which is not always recognized by the host societies
and indeed migrants themselves. Many traditional countries
of immigration are acutely aware of the inherent value of
9