Return Migration To Afghanistan PDF Download

Return migration policies are used by states to manage migration. The assumption is that populations on the move, be it refugees, failed asylum seekers, or migrants, can return to their home country, voluntarily or by force, with or without assistance, to resume their lives in societies of origin and be deterred from further migration abroad. In “whose interest”? The end goal of most policies is dual: a migration and development objective, i.e. to improve the conditions in the country of origin (reconstruction), linked closely with a deterrence objective, i.e. to prevent unwanted migration (reintegration). This thesis will focus on 3 types of return - the repatriation of refugees, the voluntary return of migrants and the forced return of migrants as illustrations of the diversity of return migration policies. These policies have been dominant features in the North-South and South-South efforts to regulate migration and immigration flows – but do they work? What is their intended and actual consequences? This thesis takes the case study of returns to Afghanistan. Ten years of an intervention, six million refugees have returned, and one transition is in process. Faced with this machinery, where does afghan society stand? What have organisations done and where do they stand? What about governments and their policies – do return policies work for each of these actors? The mechanic of seeing ‘problems’ and offering ‘solutions’ in Afghanistan has to be de-constructed to see how policies and programmes have affected an entire society and the individuals making it. By categorizing and defining groups, new borders emerge.