KALMEY: Gulf crisis reveals the downside of labour migration (Monday, oped)

***There has been a clear policy push to export workers from Kenya to many countries in Europe and the Middle East/ FILE***

The ongoing Gulf crisis teaches us one lesson, that human resource exporting countries like Kenya not only need to celebrate the highs of exporting migrant workers, but also managethelowsoftheirabruptreturnhome.

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Ononehandthereisaclearadvantageinthat theyouthsgetemployedabroadtoalleviatejoblessness.Ontheotherhand,however,when thereisanunplannedreturnaswewitnessnow,itcanbebecomeacrisis.

Thereistheshort time happiness when people return from aconflict zone. Although some come home with savings and skills, others return with debt, trauma and uncertainty.

There has been a clear policy push to export workers from Kenya to many countries in Europe and the Middle East. This has led to the exponential growth of the number of Kenyans working in Gulf countries.

A natural outcome of this is the surge of diaspora inflows from the Gulf, which has been a key foreign exchange earner for the Kenyan economy. However, the flipside of this is the baggage that comes when these migrant workersreturnhome,insomecasesunplanned,orwhentheyexperiencedifficultiesinhost countries.

In numerous occasions there have been press coverage of the Department of Diaspora Affairs in helping Kenyans in distress abroad. Yet there seems to be a lack of coherentlong-termpolicytohelpmigrantworkerssettlebackhome.

Reintegration,avital pillarinthemigrants’successecho-systemremainsfragmented,underfundedandlargely left to individuals and families to pick up the pieces.

Transition to life can become difficult after being away from home for a long time. Re-adjustingtolifecanbeextremelychallengingafterexperiencinganunpredictedreturn,as is happening now. Many returnees may struggle to find jobs that match the wages they earned abroad.

Others lack formal certification/recognition for skills acquired overseas, and this may limit their employability. Additionally, social reintegration may equally become a herculean task for returning migrants., especially after long periods in the diaspora.

In situations of this nature there should be a helping hand from the government that had encouragedthemtoseekemploymentabroadinthefirstplaceasdonebymanycountries.

Without structured support from a government, returnees may experience social displacement, unemployment and may resort to remigration under more precarious conditions. Therefore, the government should move beyond ad hoc programmes and establish a national reintegration strategy anchored in three key pillars:

First,thegovernmentshouldinstituteeconomicreintegrationasacenterpieceforsuccess. There should be targeted programmes that link migrants to jobs. Moreover, there should beentrepreneurship funding thatinclude financial literacytraining for returningmigrants.

AgoodstartingpointisaReturneeEnterpriseFundthatmayinthebeginningoffer interest free loans with business incubation support.

The second critical step is the establishment of skills recognition and certification. It is possible that many Kenyan migrants acquire valuable skills abroad but return without getting formal recognition. A recognition of prior learning framework would allow returnees to convert experience into certified qualifications.

Thethirdkeypointthatshouldbeundertakenispsychosocialandcommunityreintegration support. Migration and expatriation research has shown that returnees often experience isolation,stigma,orreversecultureshock.

Thesepsychologicalsetbacksareexponentially accelerated when the return is unplanned. Migrant exporting countries have structured counsellingandprogrammesthatre-introducemigrantstolifeintheircommunities.Kenya shouldadoptamigrantreturneeoutreachschemethatproactivelyprovidessupportservice toitsmigrantcommunities.

Ifimplementedwellsuchschemescanhaveaprofoundeffect on all returnees especially vulnerable groups. Other countries have implemented reintegrationsystemscombiningfinancialsupport,trainingandlong-termassistance.The most successful approaches are coordinated, long-term and embedded in national development planning.