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Emergency Trust Fund for Africa
News article26 November 2021

Habi’s return and reintegration story

EU-IOM Joint Initiative: Habi story
IOM / Alexander Bee

Habi thought that she could easily earn money working as a maid in Libya and come back to Nigeria to take care of her children with some savings. In 2019, she sold all her belongings to pay for the trip. At three months pregnant, she crossed Benin and then Niger, but suffered a miscarriage on the road.

When she finally arrived in Libya, she and the group she was traveling with were immediately intercepted by soldiers, who took them to a camp before sending them back to Arlit in the north of Niger, where IOM offered her assistance. She spent two months in IOM transit center in Arlit before she was transfered to the transit centre in Agadez.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, she remained there for seven months before being able to board a plane to Lagos. Upon her return, IOM invited her to attend a business management training before she opened a grocery store. Today, Habi uses the money she earns to support her family and to send her children to school.

Details

Publication date
26 November 2021
Region and Country
UgandaEthiopiaEritreaDjiboutiKenyaSudanTanzaniaSomaliaSouth SudanGuinéeGhanaCôte d'IvoireSenegalTchadThe GambiaMaliMauritanieBurkina FasoCamerounNigeriaNiger
Thematic
Improved migration management
Partner
International Organization for MigrationUnited Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Programmes in the region