“I went through a lot when I came back,” recounts Simon, a returnee who came back to Ghana in 2018, following a journey to Italy and Germany, via Libya. “People made fun of me for not bringing wealth from my travels. This always made me very angry. Through the therapy sessions I learnt to manage my feelings.”

Returning home is not easy for some migrants and their families. The expectations are high for migrants to support their families back home. Instead of finding greener pastures, migrants might experience stigmatization, exploitation, violence, and life under inhumane conditions when they travel through irregular means. Upon return, they might encounter challenges to reintegrate in their communities.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) assists Ghanaians who decide to come back to their home country with return and reintegration support. As part of the reintegration scheme, returnees can receive psychosocial assistance to help them cope with the difficulties of return and sequels of the journey.

With the outbreak of COVID-19, IOM’s psychosocial support to returnees has been challenged by preventive measures adopted to fight the pandemic, as physical meetings had been suspended, especially during lockdown.

To continue providing them with the necessary support, IOM Ghana has started offering virtual mental health and psychosocial counseling. The Organisation is also running trainings on psychological first aid, introducing participants – from doctors and nurses to security personnel and community leaders – to tools to provide basic psychological first assistance. Training material is also being made accessible online.

From economic to psychosocial support – a holistic approach to reintegration

In December 2018, IOM in Ghana partnered with the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) and its Ghanaian-German Centre to support returnees as well as potential migrants and their communities with in-kind reintegration assistance and psychosocial support (PSS).

IOM counsels the returnees and guides them through their reintegration process, be it economic, social or psychosocial. It also supports them with their income-generating activities, housing needs, education, or training to develop skills.

IOM involves migrant communities into its programmes, by supporting returnees through community-based development projects to provide employment opportunities, but also by sharing reliable information related to safe and informed migration.

Community support key to successful reintegration

The participation and support of communities is crucial in ensuring successful socio-economic reintegration.

IOM has trained community influencers such as opinion leaders, assembly members, social welfare officers, immigration officers, teachers, nurses, peer counsellors, religious leaders and youth leaders, in the psychosocial aspects of migration. They were informed about the issue of stigmatization and shown how to detect psychosocial issues and provide first aid and referrals to a professional, if need be.

Amidst COVID-19, psychological first aid (PFA) trainings have been offered to doctors, nurses, pharmacists, members of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), national ambulance service and security personnel including Army, police, and fire service, for example working at government-run quarantine centres.

“This training was really insightful and expanded our knowledge base on mental health issues some of the returnees might face when they come here. We will now be better able to cater to their mental health needs,” said Christabel Boateng, a Doctor working at the Prampram Quarantine Centre in the Greater Accra region, following the session.

Also, the community-based development projects have proven a successful intervention, as, beyond the economic benefit of migrants working together on a common business goal, they also provide social support to one another within the group.

“We were encouraged to form groups, and I was lucky to become part of a farming collective. We are five men; two also returned from Libya, and the other two are members of the community who found themselves in challenging situations, too,” says Justice, a returnee in Techiman, Bono East Region, one of the migration-prone areas in Ghana. “We made a business plan, and decided to farm tomatoes and cabbage. The group farming has helped us collectively achieve much more than we could have achieved individually,” he added.

Professional psychosocial support

While community-support is key, a psychologist might be needed to help migrants cope with their experiences.

“As IOM’s Psychosocial Project Assistant and a Clinical Psychologist, I counsel those who are in need of psychosocial therapy. If indicated, I also get in touch with the family with the objective to prevent stigma or refer them to specialized institutions,” explains Robert Ketor.

For some returnees, group counselling, focus group discussions or collective psychosocial activities can be an important first step. For others, one-on-one sessions is a better therapy option.

“My return was very difficult. I went to see the counselor at IOM because I had emotional problems, I couldn’t sleep, any little noise made my heart beat, I was always afraid. After about three months, I started recovering,” says Bless, a returnee from Accra. “When you are a returnee and you are advised to see a counselor, you shouldn’t refuse it. It will take away the pain and it will make you feel better,” she added.

COVID-19 has called for increased anti-stigma work

With the spread of COVID-19 in the country, the need to raise awareness on issues related to stigmatization has increased.

IOM Ghana has fought the stigma which is often attached to returnees for years. Stigmatization and subsequent discrimination are a major obstacle for sustainable reintegration. They hamper the process of readjusting to the community of origin on several levels.

“Migrants not feeling welcome and supported back in their communities are likely to suffer from mental health problems and may opt for irregular migration again. COVID-19 has made the fight against stigma and discrimination even more important which is why we include it into all our relevant activities as the pandemic has caused xenophobia to rise and made many migrant’s livelihoods more precarious,” explains Florian Braendli, IOM Ghana’s Project Manager.

The work becomes more crucial during these trying times, as returnees might already face stigmatization due to the perception of having “failed”. Now, additionally, returnees might be considered to have brought COVID-19 into the country.

IOM trainings contain information on stigmatization generally, as well as tips on how to deal with experienced stigma or discrimination.

“I try to equip my patients with strategies to overcome stigma. Depending on the situation, I might encourage them: ‘Stand up for yourself’. Refrain from self-stigmatisation. Educate others. Be strong and prove yourself. Talk to people with whom you feel comfortable. Join a support group. Try to explain the facts. Ignore people who stigmatize you. Or: Avoid people who you know will stigmatize you,” explained Robert. “If someone realizes the stigmatization they experience is affecting their actions, emotions and thinking, subsequently affecting their daily functioning, they should seek help,” he added.

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These activities are part of the “Assistance to Ghanaian returnees and potential migrants” project (December 2018-July 2020), funded by the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ), through the Ghanaian-German Centre for Jobs, Migration and Reintegration (GGC), and complement IOM’s work under the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration, funded by the European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Africa. Through its various projects, IOM Ghana supports Government to manage the return and reintegration of migrants effectively.

Through the project, returnees, potential migrants and host communities were supported with individual reintegration assistance (120 total, 75 men, 40 women, 4 girls, 1 boy), collective reintegration assistance (31 total, 25 men, 6 women), and community-based reintegration assistance (634). Almost 400 have received support with finding new employment opportunities.

What’s more, 116 persons (83 men, 33 women) have gone through therapy either individually or in group sessions. 15 capacity building sessions (almost 300 participants) for partners and community members took place in seven regions across the country to address issue of stigmatization and to raise awareness of the mental health implications of a difficult migration experience.

For more information, please contact REISSIG Juliane, JREISSIG@iom.int.