prijava
SARAJEVO, May 31 (FENA) - In the period from 2018 until now, with the help of the Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) program, 1,088 people have returned to their countries of origin from Bosnia and Herzegovina, confirmed for FENA the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The interest for the program and the benefits it offers is growing, but the realization of returns due to restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic has greatly limited the possibilities for voluntary return to certain countries whose borders are still closed.
All beneficiaries returning to their countries of origin receive financial reintegration assistance, and those from particularly vulnerable and marginalized groups, according to their primary needs, also receive additional reintegration support for starting a small business, education, treatment and/or housing.
The IOM says the largest number of voluntary returns has been made to Iraq, Pakistan, Morocco, Iran, Algeria, Afghanistan and Tunisia.
People who decide to return to their country of origin have different motives and reasons for such a decision, and the AVRR program is there to provide the opportunity for voluntary return to be realized in a safe and dignified manner.
"Despite the benefits that the AVRR program provides to its users, for a certain number of migrants, the possibility of returning to the country of origin is the last option on the way to a better life," says the IOM.
They also note that families with children very rarely decide to return voluntarily, since they have invested a lot in their trip to the countries of the European Union and they want to continue at any cost.
The circumstances of the pandemic further complicate the process of voluntary returns because some of the countries such as Morocco and Algeria have been closed for some time, and a large number of migrants registered for voluntary return are from these countries.
Also, warmer weather in the summer is usually the time of more intensive migrant movements and numerous attempts to cross the border irregularly in the hope of reaching the final destination in the European Union, and consequently, the interest for AVRR has been reduced.
They announced that in the coming period they will work more intensively on informing migrants about all the possibilities that the program provides and try to get information about AVRR to every person from the migrant population who would like to return home voluntarily.
They add that communication with countries of origin and diplomatic and consular missions will be strengthened in order to give migrants as specific information as possible regarding the re-issuance of travel documents and the situation in countries of origin.
The AVRR program is a regional initiative implemented in all Western Balkan countries and is currently funded by the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The program, according to the IOM, has the support of BiH institutions that work on solving the problem of the migrant crisis, and for the needs of the realization of returns, they mostly cooperate with the Service for Foreigners' Affairs of BiH.
(FENA) S. R.
