Some refugees decide that, despite completing perilous journeys to Europe, their lives will be better if they return home. Support is available for them

Despite the horrifyingly dangerous journey Dakheel Harkash and his family took by land and sea from Sinjar in Iraq to Berlin, once they arrived it quickly became apparent that they would not have the life they expected.



Dakheel, wife Saere and their two small children Serwan and Avham spent 25 days and $7,500 (£5,700) travelling to Germany in November 2015, but found that – despite what the young family expected – work was scarce, the language was difficult to learn and they quickly ran out of money.

I was so happy to come back. I felt like I lived 1,000 years away from Iraq

In Berlin the family were isolated, and Dakheel couldn’t find a job. The language barrier meant that Saere was unable to take the children to the hospital when they were sick. “Serwan had flu and a chest infection from the journey because it was too cold and we had few clothes, and my other kid Avham had cracks in his feet which increased through the journey. In addition I also got sick with loin pain,” says Dakheel, speaking to the Guardian through a translator.

A lack of money meant that in March the family went to the Iraqi embassy in Berlin to ask to go home. Fifteen days later, they were on a flight out of Germany.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Migrants grab for food delivered by volunteers as they wait for registration at the reception centre for refugees and asylum seekers in Berlin. Photograph: Markus Schreiber/AP

They now live in the Karbato refugee camp in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. “I was so happy to come back,” Dakheel says. “I felt like I lived 1,000 years away from Iraq. I am totally relieved now because I have come back to my country, even if life is still difficult here.”

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This story is becoming increasingly common. Despite the current turmoil in Iraq – this week’s fighting between Islamic State and government forces in Fallujah is just one example – migrants who left are increasingly coming back. Statistics from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) show that in 2014 there were 1,280 cases of migrants returning to Iraq, whereas in 2015 there were 3,474, with October, November and December seeing record numbers. Thomas Lothar Weiss, IOM Iraq chief of mission, adds that “the number of returns facilitated by IOM to Iraq has gone up from approximately 100 per month in early 2015, to recently often more than 1,000 per month.” Despite the fact that migrants often pay thousands of dollars to people smugglers to get to Europe, the average stay of recent émigrés is only around three months according to IOM figures.



Coming home can be fairly straightforward for some, such as Mahdi Hussein Benwan, who travelled from Baghdad to Norway in 2014, couldn’t get asylum, and so came back to his IT business several months later. But there’s still an enormous amount of logistical work to do and support needed, which is why the IOM’s Iraq spokesperson Sandra Black points out that funding for this area is crucial.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Refugees arrive on a rubber boat from Turkey on the Greek island of Lesbos, near the port city of Mytilene, Greece. Photograph: Kay Nietfeld/EPA

The IOM began facilitating voluntary return to Iraq in 2003, and the organisation helped Benwan come home to Baghdad. It ensured that he was fully appraised of the security situation at home, and helped him to find his feet after arriving back in Iraq. Eligible returnees can all apply to receive reintegration assistance in the form of a grant and the assistance can be used to establish small businesses, invest to an already existed business, get an education, for healthcare or housing. Often, migrants will have sold their assets or had their home seized before they left – Dakheel and Saere sold the family jewellery, for instance, and had no house to come back to – and funds are scarce by the time they are back in Iraq. On top of this, there’s a reception service, where the returnees are met at the airport and taken home, and counselling services on offer after they come back.

As long as I’m living in a safe area I don’t have any worries, but Iraq is not safe now Saeed Elias ​Ismael

Anas Saleem, programme assistant for the IOM, says that it can be more complicated to reintegrate people who have come back after years rather than mere months. “Many returnees stayed in Europe for more than eight years and some for as many as 12 years. Therefore reintegrating with their communities will be more complicated than one [who] stayed for couple of months,” he says.

Saeed Elias Ismael, a pharmacist originally from Tel Keppe, is a case in point. He left Iraq in September 2008 and spent six years in Munich, but after splitting with his wife and having family problems back in Iraq, he returned alone in October 2015. “It’s difficult but step by step I’m trying to integrate with the community,” he says. Tel Keppe is now under Isis control so he’s been relocated to Dohuk. He says he has “no problem” with the locals, but his enthusiasm for being home is muted. “As long as I’m living in a safe area I don’t have any worries, but Iraq is not safe now,” he says. “Anything could happen.”

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The mental toll on returnees who have sustained psychological scars from the fraught journey to Europe is significant. Ibrahim Abou Khalil, mental health and psychosocial director for International Medical Corps in Iraq, helps to rehabilitate Iraqi returnee migrants. He says: “It is essential that we know people’s expectations and can prepare them for what is ahead to avoid doing more harm to individuals and families affected by the conflict and the traumatic events they have witnessed – both when they leave and when they return.”

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