BACK AND BEYOND_IOM MIGRANT STORIES

INTRODUCTION
Since 2015, when the flow of migrants to Europe via the Mediterranean reached a peak,
migration has stayed at the top of the public and political agenda. The question of how
admission, reception, integration and return of migrants should be dealt with remains both
urgent and complex.
IOM has a long track record worldwide in migration management and is always in direct
contact with the migrant in its operational activities. This also applies to return migration.
At the request of the Dutch Government, IOM has facilitated the voluntary return of migrants
from the Netherlands to their country of origin since 1992. Over the years, more than 60,000
migrants in the Netherlands have returned to more than 100 different countries with the help
of IOM. This publication is dedicated to this achievement.
Return is not an isolated action or event, but part of the migration cycle. That is why
we decided to highlight the different stages of this cycle, from the journey to Europe to
reintegration in the country of origin. This is done through personal stories, collected during
IOM's daily interaction with migrants in the Netherlands and beyond. Every migrant we meet
has his or her own very personal story in the context of global and national developments in
the field of ​migration. These stories give access to a piece of reality of the individual migrant,
otherwise hidden more often than not behind the discourse on migration. The role of IOM
is also addressed. A role that often starts before a migrant possibly decides to return, and
does not end upon the migrant's departure from the Netherlands. It is a role that can make a
difference.
A lot of visual material is used in this collection. The migrants look straight into our eyes and
make us part of their environment in different situations. That is not self-evident. Return is
not always an easy topic to talk about, let alone an occasion to be photographed. We are
deeply grateful to all the interviewees for their courage and openness in sharing their story.
Their story enables us to accompany them along their journey and, to some extent, identify
ourselves with their experiences on more than one emotional level. It puts the topic in
perspective and reminds us that migration is anything but an abstract fact.
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