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Snigdha Banerjee, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)
The article focuses on the socio-economic reintegration of the unskilled and semiskilled Gulf returnees in the villages of Murshidabad district, India. Three blocks of Murshidabad district were selected for data collection. 330 Gulf returnees were interviewed with a structured interview schedule to understand the socio-economic reintegration status of the returnees. Successfully reintegration of returnee’s in the origin place is determined by their preparedness to return. Return can only be sustainable when returnees can become socio-economically re-embedded at the origin place. The study revealed that migrants returned to Murshidabad district unprepared with no significant accumulation of material and non-material resources to facilitate their reintegration. ‘Socio-economic reintegration’ index was computed for further analysis. The study revealed, one-fourth of them achieved a high level of socio-economic reintegration after the return. Returnee’s readiness to return, age, marital status and reason for return was significant predictors of their integration at origin place. The study emphasized that returnees faced many socio-economic reintegration challenges like lack of suitable jobs, feeling valueless in their family, cut off with friends and low participation in social activities after the return. These challenges impact the ability to reintegrate into their communities and trigger remigration to the Gulf countries.
Keywords: International migration