Job fair in Cote d'Ivoire helps reintegrate 350 voluntary returnees

October 07, 2019

Credits: IOM/Mohamed Diabate

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has assisted over 5,250 stranded Ivorians to voluntarily return to Cote d'Ivoire over the past three years, from countries such as Libya, Niger, and Morocco.

The IOM said that despite the logistical difficulties, the journey home turned out to be the easy part, as the returned migrants face the more difficult challenge of reintegrating into their former communities. They can face rejection, the stigma of unemployment and the shame of returning empty-handed. To mitigate these challenges, the IOM hosted a job and training fair organized for returned migrants in Cote d'Ivoire attened by about 350 young men and women.

Job fair helps migrants not feel abandoned

The IOM said more than 2,000 returning migrants had received reintegration assistance with training and income-generating activities through initiatives supported by the European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF). The job fair targeted Ivorians who had returned home between 2017 and 2019 under the IOM's Assisted Voluntary Return (AVR) programme as part of the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration.