Reintegration experiences of internal return migrants in the Wa Municipality, Ghana.

Abstract

In Ghana, studies on returnees’ reintegration are mostly limited to international return migrants from western countries. Re-integration of internal return migrants has not attracted much research. This paper explores the reintegration experiences of internal return migrants resident in the Wa Municipality. Using the mixed method approach, the study surveyed 150 return migrants and interviewed 10 key informants. The results indicated that the main challenges associated with reintegration of returnees were frequent family demands, unemployment and low incomes. To mitigate these problems, some of the returnees had to relocate from their previous places of abode while others engaged in illegal artisanal mining activities. A chi-square statistic test indicated a significant association between returnees’ challenges of reintegration and their length of stay, age, level of education and marital status. Consequently, most of the returnees expressed their desire to re-migrate perhaps due to the difficulties they faced in their reintegration process. The study recommends that relevant stakeholders such as the district assemblies, NGOs and religious bodies should develop programmes to assist returnees with skills training and start-up capital/loans to enable them reintegrate into their communities to avoid unemployment.