BACK AND BEYOND_IOM MIGRANT STORIES

PREFACE
It is with great pleasure that we present you with six different real-life portraits of migrants and
an in-depth interview with a return counsellor of IOM the Netherlands. The publication was
prepared for colleagues, partners and the public at large to illustrate the reality of our work
which puts each migrant at the core of our attention.
We would like to frame our compilation of stories with three important observations.
From Numbers to the Individual: Having assisted a record of 4,634 migrants with their voluntary
return and reintegration in 2016, we had to remain flexible whilst working under pressure and
without compromising our attentive care to each case. Following the closure of the Balkan
route, the Turkey statement, changes in Dutch return policy and recent interceptions in Libya,
our caseload fell to 1,532 in 2017. However, the number of complex cases, mostly involving
vulnerable migrants, increased that year, requiring more 360-degree counselling and tailormade
approaches. Following Dutch policy decisions, excluding certain nationalities from our
services, IOM worked on making sure that, irrespective of their nationality, vulnerable migrants
could still access the voluntary return support they needed. Given the voluntary nature of our
return programme, IOM the Netherlands is in touch with twice the number of migrants than
those who actually depart.
A Shift in Focus: In the wake of recent mass arrivals, greater attention is now being paid
towards new reintegration facilities in the countries of origin. This approach is more coherent
and in many ways more logical than the current practice based on each destination country's
approach. Theoretically, it allows for fairer access to reintegration benefits for all returnees of
a given country of origin, regardless from where they were returned; and existing imbalances
in the actual 'assisted voluntary return and reintegration (AVRR)' programmes across EU
member states are finally addressed. However, the new focus on post-arrival assistance does
not sufficiently pay attention to pre-departure support in form of counselling and to preparing
the migrants before they return. Our experience shows that discussing the real and possible
challenges that our clients may face upon return is key to planning a successful and soft landing
in their home countries. IOM in the Netherlands is engaged 24/7 in providing assistance and
counsel based on real demand. This remains the basis of our successful AVRR projects in the
Netherlands.
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There is no such Thing as 'The' Migrant: This is what our colleague – one of our twenty
mobile return counsellors – states in his interview. In the public and political debate the reality
easily gets blurred, in which the term 'migrant' is used for all possible purposes. By directly
engaging with migrants on a daily basis, we see them as individuals and as subjects of their
destinies, rather than the objects of the situation they are in. In our AVRR projects we make
use of a tailor-made approach and include the communities in which migrants live here in the
Netherlands and where they will live upon return.
With this publication, we want to inform you about the different motives and decision-making
processes of migrants. We hope it can lead to a better understanding of the important role
of our counselling and assistance which contributes to the humane and sustainable return of
migrants and which benefits the Dutch society at large.
Martin Wyss
Chief of Mission
IOM the Netherlands