By Fatoumata Joof & Abdou Mbye
The Ministry of Interior is the custodian of The Gambia’s National Migration Policy, which provides the framework for the implementation and governance of migration management in the country. One of the key implementation areas of migration policy is safe return and reintegration of Gambian migrants who embarked on the backway journey and could or not reach their country of destination. Some migrants choose to return home voluntarily whilst others do not. Thus, the Ministry of Interior becomes the lead institution for the coordination of safe return and reintegration of migrants with key stakeholders and partners.
Mr. Manding Saidykhan, the Focal Point for Migration Governance at the Ministry of Interior explained that the Ministry spearheads the National Coordination Mechanism on Migration’s (NCM) Thematic Working Group on Return and Reintegration. This working group regularly conducts quarterly meetings to discuss return assistance programs to enhance the welfare of migrant returnees. He explained that migration is global, and a natural phenomenon that requires holistic and effective management. “However, governments all over the world, have been and still collaborating cooperatively to deter irregular migration in different patterns’’.
He added that through partnerships with relevant public and development agencies, the government intends to minimize the trends in irregular migration using the policy directives that guide how people should move in and out of the country in a regular and safe manner. This would help avoid negative impacts of irregular migration such as deaths, displacement and economic loss.
Mr. Saidykhan stated that despite the existence of policy framework to govern migration and migration management, some people still find ways to leave the country irregularly, during which they become exposed to risks like trafficking in persons. This consequently affects economic sectors such as agriculture, which is witnessing a drastic reduction in productivity due to insufficient labor force.
He narrated that migrants, who could not succeed in reaching their desired country of destination and got stranded in transit countries, would decide to return home voluntarily and a number of them receive assistance through the Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) program of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) The Gambia.
According to him, migration is cross-cutting and hence involves collaboration among different stakeholders, partners and institutions to ensure its effective management for safe return and reintegration of migrants; especially the voluntary returned Gambians. Key stakeholders in the country, particularly the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Health, Gambia Immigration Department (GID), National Youth Council (NYC), Gambia Red Cross Society (GRCS), IOM The Gambia, take a leading role in receiving returning migrants and provide them with immediate support such as medical assistance, food, transportation and temporal accommodation.
“Upon arrival, the migrants are processed and provided with their most urgent needs. After this, returnees eligible for further support report to IOM Banjul or Basse sub-offices to begin the process of their reintegration support,” Mr. Saidykhan explained.
He emphasized the commitment of the Government of The Gambia in providing guidance and support to all institutions towards migration management and governance. “However, they still need to ensure that there is a budget line for migration governance and management’’.
Mr. Etienne Micallef, the Program Manager for AVRR, IOM The Gambia, said that IOM was established as a country office in The Gambia in 2017 and has since then supported over 6,600 returnees as of 2021, a majority through the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration.
“Where information is received either from government, migrants or their families, IOM processes this information through networking with other country offices as first point of contact to ascertain the status of those stranded Gambian emigrants. This is to ensure these external offices provide support to the said migrants, in terms of basic assistance including food, shelter, medical aid, clothing and transportation from one destination to The Gambia either by chartered or commercial flights”, he said.
He reiterated that IOM provides reintegration support to the returnees through collaboration with government institutions such as Ministry of Health, Department of Community Development, and Department of Labor. Authorities are also part of the Thematic Working Groups (TWG) on Return and Reintegration spearheaded by the Ministry of Interior. He added that IOM has strong collaboration with the Government of The Gambia in everyday migration management and governance to facilitate both strategic and operational needs required in the implementation of the migration policy with best practices.
Finally, Mr. Micallef elaborated on the criteria for returnees to be eligible for reintegration assistance by IOM: “Not all returnees that come back to The Gambia are eligible for further reintegration support by IOM. Different IOM programs have different eligibility requirements, and IOM would need to assess the eligibility on a case-by-case basis. Some are eligible only for assistance upon arrival, while others that return not through an IOM return program or are not officially referred by the government would not be eligible for assistance.”
Assistant Superintendent Samba Mballow at the Migration Management Unit of The Gambia Immigration Department (GID) under the Ministry of Interior stated that the unit was formerly established in 2009 as the Illegal Migration unit purposely to combat irregular migration in The Gambia. Along the way as the unit’s mandate expanded, they changed to irregular Migration and in 2018 to Migration Management Unit. The unit is responsible for the reception of returnees, interception of irregular migrants, advise the immigration command on migration affairs as well as manage migration data.
“GID has a limited responsibility as far as the issue of return and reintegration is concerned, as mandated by the Immigration Act and other relevant migration laws of The Gambia. We are responsible to receive any person coming into The Gambia regardless of whether national or non- national at any port of entry. Thus, it becomes our automatic responsibility to receive Gambian returnees once they arrive in the country. However, once we receive information on stranded Gambians, we make contact with the relevant ministries which off course includes our line Ministry, Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Organization for Migration (IOM) for their support. The Department is currently working on a project supporting stranded migrants from Libya, Algeria and other golf countries with Ministry of Foreign Affairs and IOM. Our role in this project is to conduct interviews for intending returnees in order to ascertain their nationality and if confirmed facilitate the issuance of emergency traveling certificates where there is no Gambian Embassy or consular,” Mballow explained.
The Assistant Superintendent further informed that GID Migration Management Unit receives voluntary returnees at the country’s borders in which migrants are processed and referred to IOM and Red Cross Society for the provision of some cash support, food and non-food items as well as psychosocial support services.
Demba Sallah, a Gambian voluntary returnee said he embarked on the “backway” journey in 2015 and was imprisoned in Libya but managed to escape and went back to the city, where he received information about IOM’s AVRR program in partnership with The Gambia government.
“Upon arrival at The Banjul International Airport in 2018, the immigration officers received us and IOM officials took us to a temporary residence where we stayed for three days. We were given some cash for transportation to reach our various homes. Thanks to the Gambian Government and IOM, I have received my reintegration support and I now own a well-functioning tailoring workshop with employed staff’’, he added.