Return and reintegration of migrants: the role of the family and the community

Abstract

This article examines the global issue of the return and reintegration of migrants in West Africa, particularly in Senegal, Gambia, and Guinea Conakry. More specifically, using a qualitative method, it will look at the roles played by family and community authorities in the reintegration process of returning migrants. Indeed, much research on migration has focused on migration policies such as departures, repatriation, voluntary returns, support, monitoring, and reintegration of migrants by governmental and non-governmental organisations. However, it has been noted that the roles supposedly played by family and community bodies are rarely mentioned in the return and reintegration of migrants. Yet we know that, although they may appear to be individuals, families largely support migratory departures and, as a result, their involvement in the return seems to us to be the major factor in rein