TY - JOUR
T1 - Beyond 'Just Comes' and 'Know-It-Alls': Exploring Strategies to Deal with Returnee Stigmas During Diaspora Return Visits for Knowledge Transfer
AU - Mueller, C.
AU - Kuschminder, K.
N1 - data source:
Funding Information:
This research was conducted as part of the evaluation for the Connecting Diaspora for Development (CD4D) Project, operated by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and which has been funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The authors express gratitude to everyone at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) who supported data collection and assisted in this research. The authors would also like to thank everyone who provided research assistance for this project for their excellent work.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).
PY - 2023/3
Y1 - 2023/3
N2 - Drawing on in-depth interviews with 35 diaspora members on return visits for knowledge transfer as well as conversations with stakeholders in Ethiopia, Sierra Leone and Somaliland, this paper examines returnee stigma in the case of shortterm return visits. The diaspora members in this study choose of their own volition to participate in the programme and are mostly highly educated with valued expertise in a certain field. We find that despite their skills, education and voluntariness, the returnees still experience and prepare for stigmatization in their return visits. We examine, first, the general stigmatizations that stakeholders perceive that diaspora members and returnees experience; second, diaspora members' actual experiences of stigmatization, and third, the strategies used by diaspora members to prevent and counteract the stigmatization. The findings show that stigma towards the highly skilled diaspora members in return visits is rooted in the perceived inequalities among the home employees and communities of origin in comparison to these diaspora members, which are underpinned by global inequalities in terms of citizenship and access to international mobility. These findings contribute to the academic literature on return and returnee stigma by discussing return visits for knowledge transfer as a distinct type of return mobility, exploring returnee stigma in a context other than post-deportation and showing that diaspora returnees use preventive and counteractive strategies. Diaspora return programmes should include preparation and coaching of returnees on stigma to enhance their (re)integration and optimise their contribution to the development of the countries of origin.
AB - Drawing on in-depth interviews with 35 diaspora members on return visits for knowledge transfer as well as conversations with stakeholders in Ethiopia, Sierra Leone and Somaliland, this paper examines returnee stigma in the case of shortterm return visits. The diaspora members in this study choose of their own volition to participate in the programme and are mostly highly educated with valued expertise in a certain field. We find that despite their skills, education and voluntariness, the returnees still experience and prepare for stigmatization in their return visits. We examine, first, the general stigmatizations that stakeholders perceive that diaspora members and returnees experience; second, diaspora members' actual experiences of stigmatization, and third, the strategies used by diaspora members to prevent and counteract the stigmatization. The findings show that stigma towards the highly skilled diaspora members in return visits is rooted in the perceived inequalities among the home employees and communities of origin in comparison to these diaspora members, which are underpinned by global inequalities in terms of citizenship and access to international mobility. These findings contribute to the academic literature on return and returnee stigma by discussing return visits for knowledge transfer as a distinct type of return mobility, exploring returnee stigma in a context other than post-deportation and showing that diaspora returnees use preventive and counteractive strategies. Diaspora return programmes should include preparation and coaching of returnees on stigma to enhance their (re)integration and optimise their contribution to the development of the countries of origin.
KW - Return visits
KW - Stigma
KW - Knowledge transfer
KW - Capacity development
KW - Diaspora return programme
KW - MIGRATION
U2 - 10.1007/s12134-022-00975-w
DO - 10.1007/s12134-022-00975-w
M3 - Article
SN - 1488-3473
VL - 24
SP - 427
EP - 443
JO - Journal of International Migration and Integration
JF - Journal of International Migration and Integration
IS - SUPPL 2
ER -