Haramaya University in collaboration with IOM organized returnees’ reintegration project local capacity building forum at its resource center on 18 January 2020.

While the participants of the forum were elders, aba gadas, religious fathers, youths, and concerned government representatives from16 districts/Woreda in East Harerghe Zone, and other stakeholders; research papers related to migration were presented and discussed.

During the opening ceremony of the forum, Professor Jeylan Wolyie, Vice president for Administrative and Students’ Affairs said thatmigrants probably have 3 main reasons to migrate to abroad. These reasons are economic, social and political problems which are regarded as push factors, but they face other worse problems during andafter migration; things may not be as expected. When they come back to their home country, they may encounter integration, psychological and economic problems. For this reason, Haramaya University took the initiative to design Returnees reintegration project and to work on it with the society.

Dr. Ketema Bekele, the coordinator of the project, in his turn, said that a number of steps have been done for 147 returnees in the migrants rehabilitation process. After the returnees, for instance, were given psychological makeup and skill based busyness creation idea trainings, they were made to identify which area would be suitable for them to work on it and IOM approved the selected busyness area such as animal fattening and the likes. Dr. Ketema added that, next the support will be offered to them, then following and guidance activities will be performed by Haramaya University with the concerned offices from Zone up to lower government structures.
After hot discussion on presented paper and the realities on the ground, the participants agreed to play their own roles in the process of supporting and rehabilitating the returnees.