ABSTRACT

This chapter presents a regional perspective on the issue of return migration and the complex problem of reintegration back into civil society. The Africa region is the focus of the chapter, with emphasis on Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It has been argued that future patterns of migration in SSA will most probably be dominated by refugee and clandestine workers, and the political and economic situations giving rise to such migrants are likely to remain unstable. The changing political, economic and environmental situations that propel such migratory movements are also potent factors in return migration. Following the wars of independence and cessation of civil confl icts, many countries in the region have been facing the problem of reintegrating the returnees back into civil society (Arowolo, 1998).