Advising asylum-seekers on how to return home

Every Thursday Andreas Ackermann (photograph), who works for the Caritas organisation, comes to Zug to advise asylum-seekers who have decided to return home on how to go about it.
 
The Caritas organisation, for which Ackermann has been working for five years now, is responsible for advising asylum-seekers on how to return home in the cantons of Obwalden, Schwyz and Zug. Last year 14 refugees resident in Zug decided they wanted to return home, with Ackermann, a graduate in Arabic, advising them accordingly.
 
It must be on the minds of many refugees, particularly at this time of the year, the nights getting longer, and winter already here, spending one uneventful day after another, some having already waited months without any decision as to whether they can stay here or not. It is only natural their thoughts are with loved ones at home.
 
In an interview with a journalist of the Zuger Zeitung, Ackermann was asked if it was not somewhat frustrating to advise asylum-seekers on how to go about going home, after their having taken so much trouble to get here and arrived with so much hope for a better life. In his reply, the 35-year-old, who comes from Zurich, said he did not see it in this way. “Of course, there is the administrative procedure of it all, which has to be completed, but I hope to be able to help refugees who have made this decision to return home with dignity. They are not going home empty-handed; they are also going with a certain perspective in mind.”
 
As to the types of refugees Ackermann sees, these may be those who have had their application for asylum rejected. “They come from a number of countries, from Somalia or Afghanistan for example. Sometimes they go out of a sense of duty to their family, for example if a father has died and it is up to them to take on his role. Many have a very strong sense of duty in this regard.”
 
When asked whether this meant refugees were going back to dangerous places, Ackermann said this was rarely the case. “You have to make sure they are fully aware of what risks are entailed. Sometimes I advise them to stop and think about it again, especially if their family is here and they have children in school. For the most part, they are individual adults who opt to return.”
 
Ackermann went on to explain that those who opt to return home, and who have not been charged with any criminal offence here, their flight is paid for them (by the Swiss state) and they get CHF 1,000, for which no conditions are attached. Then there is the opportunity for them to receive CHF 3,000 to enable them to set up a business, a kiosk perhaps, in their homeland. In order to obtain this, a business plan has to be drawn up, with its eventual implementation monitored in situ by the Organisation for Migration (OM) on behalf of the Swiss state. The clients, as Ackermann refers to the refugees, are not given CHF 3,000 in cash; they have to prove certain sums are needed in their business plan. As to whether this all works out, Ackermann was not able to say. His responsibility lay solely in advising the refugees. “I am happy if my clients are able to head back home with a certain level of confidence,” he said. Sometimes he received feedback from those who have already returned home. “Naturally they want to get on with starting up their business straight away but with having to provide receipts and such forth it all takes time and they get a bit frustrated.”
 
“Is it not the case that many refugees got into debt in order to get to Europe in the first place? What is the point of providing them with these funds if they have debts to pay off?” asked the journalist.
“This is a good question and we have to explain to the refugees that this funding they get is not to pay off debts. It is their job to set up this business and pay off debts with whatever they earn,” replied Ackermann.
 
As to whether this assistance was available to all countries, Ackermann said it was, though there were areas, such as in Somalia outside the capital Mogadishu where it was not possible for the OM to monitor what businesses had been set up.
 
When the journalist put it to Ackermann that offering such advice to refugees merely gave them false hope, the counsellor said he did not believe that any refugee would go back just for the sake of a maximum of CHF 4,000. And there was no way in which it could be claimed twice. Any refugee registered in another country would not be able to claim for these funds here. Furthermore, it is much cheaper for the cantons if refugees do go back under this scheme. Individual deportation would cost a lot more. “May I point out, too, that it is the Swiss state which pays for this advisory service,” he concluded.