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The event highlighted the importance of a comprehensive approach to the reintegration of returned migrants. The Migration Technical Committee (La Mesa Técnica de Migración), in which the Perspectives project has been actively participating since 2024, with component one focusing on the reintegration of returned migrants, has sought to coordinate efforts between the public and private sectors and civil society to face the challenges posed by the return of migrants to San Pedro Sula.
Various institutions and organisations participated in the conference, including the Honduran Foundation for Corporate Social Responsibility (FUNDAHRSE), the Honduran Red Cross, the Municipal Office for Support to Returnees (OMRAR), UNICEF, the Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and the Family (SENAF), the Mennonite Social Action Commission (CASM), the departmental government of Cortés, as well as various youth and business associations.
One of the key moments of the event was the session ‘360° Diagnosis of Reintegration: People, Services and Conflicts’, in which several studies fundamental to understanding the reality of returned migrants were presented:
Profiling of returnees by municipality, by Rolando Sierra of FLACSO, who offered demographic and socioeconomic data on the returnee population.
The low level of education among returning migrants, with 50% having only primary education and just 1.1% having completed university, must be taken into account when creating reintegration and employability strategies. Although the Migrants' Roundtable has been affected by the freezing of funds, the “Brother, Come Home” programme offers an opportunity for reintegration.
Analysis of service networks and territorial needs, presented by César Castellón of Swisscontact, who identified gaps in the support available to returnees.
The needs of returning migrants are complex; they face gaps in social, psycho-emotional and security support. Their reintegration depends on economic, cultural, emotional and legal factors. A comprehensive approach is crucial to address vulnerabilities and foster the development of receiving communities, ensuring successful settlement.
Presented by Armando Sarmiento of FLACSO, in which the main social conflicts arising from return migration and their possible solutions were analysed.
The study identifies critical factors such as violence and insecurity due to the control of gang members (maras), unemployment and poverty with a high level of informal employment, the collapse of infrastructure due to disorderly urbanisation, environmental vulnerability due to flooding and deforestation, and forced displacement due to violence and a lack of safe housing.
It is recommended to strengthen the community through diagnosis and training of leaders, to create inclusion programmes for young people and women, to implement community policing, to regulate construction and improve drainage, and to encourage citizen participation to improve social cohesion.
The results of these studies generated an enriching exchange among the attendees, who discussed the structural and contextual barriers that migrants face when they return to the country, including unemployment and poverty, violence and insecurity, infrastructure collapse and environmental vulnerability.
Marlon Caballero from the University of San Pedro Sula (USAP), who demonstrated the need for greater involvement of local businesspeople in these processes. The proper labour integration of migrants in local companies optimises human capital and reduces the informal economy. It improves productivity and social cohesion, benefitting emotional well-being.
The Reintegration Information Fair was also held, in which participants visited themed stations focused on strengthening opportunities for returnees:
The day concluded with a presentation by Emma Oyuela of Swisscontact, who highlighted the progress made in inter-institutional coordination and the challenges that remain for the effective reintegration of returnees. The importance of continuing to strengthen collaboration between the government, the private sector and civil society organisations was emphasised in order to generate complementary and sustainable opportunities for this population, sharing information on the people served in each sector, integrating that information into a single system of care for returned migrants, as well as leveraging resources for the promotion of productive enterprises. To achieve this, it will be necessary to strengthen the forums for dialogue at municipal and national level.
San Pedro Sula continues to be a key point in the country's migratory dynamics. Spaces like this not only allow for the analysis of the situation, but also trace clear routes to transform return into an opportunity for economic and social development for migrants and their communities.
The challenge now is to turn these discussions into effective public policies and concrete actions that facilitate the socioeconomic reintegration of these populations.
The project Perspectives for Returnees through Social and Professional Integration is an initiative aimed at promoting social and professional integration. The project is funded by the german cooperation through the German Development Bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) and implemented by Swisscontact alongside the Secretariat of Central American Social Integration (SISCA).