Supporting returnees: the perspective of social workers

In our presentation, we investigate the interconnection between social work and migration studies by looking at the social practice of assisted voluntary return. Although return migration has received renewed attention in... [ view full abstract ]

In our presentation, we investigate the interconnection between social work and migration studies by looking at the social practice of assisted voluntary return. Although return migration has received renewed attention in migration research and many social workers have a role in providing support to migrants returning to their country, the role and perspective of social workers realizing this support remains unexplored in international social work research. For social workers in West-European receiving countries who guide migrants before return, parallels can be drawn with research on social work practices with immigrants, which show that migration policy often contradicts the value and ethics of social work. Though, we raise the question about the mind frame of social workers in the country of origin, who are assigned the task of supporting returnees’ reintegration process within projects created by West-European governments and where the profession of social worker is relatively new.
Based on semi-structured interviews with a Georgian and Armenian social worker who guided, respectively 35 and 50, returnees or returned families in frame of the Belgian assisted voluntary return programme, we investigate the view of social workers on return support, their abilities to realize this support and how their perspective relates to the receiving country’s policy. The data demonstrate that the social workers considered returnees ‘in need for support’, though not to ‘re-integrate’ as the programme assumes. Further, they described themselves as mediator between returnees’ needs and the possibilities within the programme. Finally, they did not question the return policy of the Belgian government, though their vision of ‘good return support’ that is tailored to the needs of the returnee once back in the home country, contradicts the receiving country’s policy goal to use return support as tool to encourage people to return and therefore allocates support to returnees before their departure.