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In Ivory Coast, would-be migrants who return home are known locally as “the cursed”. With their dream of a better life abroad in tatters, they also face stigma and rejection from their families and communities. Yassin Ciyow and Guillaume Collanges went to meet them.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) describes former migrants who have returned home as “returnees”. In Ivory Coast, they’re known as “the cursed”. In the economic capital Abidjan and other major Ivorian cities, tens of thousands keep a low profile, consumed by shame. Some lived in Europe for a few years, some survived in North Africa before attempting to cross the Mediterranean, while others found themselves stranded in the Sahara desert at the start of their journey. All of them fled their country and experienced hell. All of them returned, unable to fulfil their dream of a better life elsewhere.
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Back home, they often face psychological distress and financial ruin, forced to pay back their community-funded migration effort. Alone or with the help of NGOs, these former migrants are trying to rebuild their lives and reintegrate into society. But some think only of leaving again, convinced that the reasons for their departure have not disappeared.
Ivory Coast boasts one of the most flourishing economies in Africa. Yet Ivorians are the leading nationality among asylum seekers in France, and the second in Italy. Respected by financial institutions, Ivory Coast is trying to prevent its young people from fleeing. It has the support of the IOM and the European Union, as well as French and German cooperation agencies, which are stepping up awareness campaigns and workshops to warn of the dangers of migration.
