Migrant stories

Fatma Wakil, a political scientist, has a vision for Afghanistan and gives her all to building up her native country. Via IOM she went to her home country for a period of time to map out what needs to be done about health care. Read more

Archil Tsintsadze is the only internationally acknowledged mountain guide from Georgia. He lives in Germany, but his job takes him on expeditions to the Alps and the Himalayas. Early in 2011 he returned to his home country via IOM to set up a training course for mountain guides. Tourism in the Georgian Caucasus is booming and there is a growing need for local guides who know the region well.Read more

My name is Debritu Lusteau, I am from Ethiopia and I live in Holland for more then 20 years. I have my own company for 15 years and since 4 years I work with educational institutions in Ethiopia and in The Netherlands.Read more

Marechi Togonidze is a risk manager at Rabobank. In December 2009 she visited her native country Georgia for three weeks via IOM. There she supported Crystal, a micro-financial organization that is active in the regional market, in the field of guidelines, risk management and strategy. Marechi: ‘If they follow my advice they will become the biggest agrarian bank of Georgia.’Read more

Visual artist and restorer Gotscha Lagidse has lived in the Netherlands for more than fifteen years but still returns to his native country Georgia regularly. Last year he worked in the National Museum in Tbilisi for a month within the framework of the TRQN project of IOM. Gotscha: "During the lecture that I gave after the project the room was completely filled. There was even attention from television channels. That was very special."Read more

Mr Roshangar came from Afghanistan to the Netherlands in 2000. In May 2009 he returned for three months to his native country to coach young law teachers at the university of Herat. His assistance was exactly what they needed. ‘In the last few years many things have been built up in Afghanistan. But still the problems have not been solved by far.’Read more

Studen-AgranaRafinerija is a sugar refinery in Bosnia. The Dutch-Bosnian Suhreta Tatarovic was posted by IOM to this company for an assignment to train the Bosnian staff in marketing, internal communication and positioning. Her supervisor, Natasa Pucar (PR manager) is “more than positive” about her contribution towards the company.

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“When I grew up in the Netherlands, I had no idea how life in Bosnia would be”, says Suhreta Tatarovic. She came to the Netherlands as an eight-year-old girl and studied International Business and Languages at the HES [School of Economics]. She is now working as a marketing expert at a sugar refinery through the intermediary of the IOM. Her work includes training courses to the staff about internal communication, advertising and competitive positioning.

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“The IOM TRQN projects allow me to gain the work experience I so badly need”, says Iglal Ashmage. In 2002, she followed her husband to the Netherlands. During the five consecutive years, she had three children. She is now living in Delft where she has the daily care of her children. Her husband has a temporary job as a teacher.Read more

Robert Chakanda will soon go to his homeland Sierra Leone for the third time through the intermediary of the IOM. This time he is going to assist local initiators with agricultural projects. Previously during two assignments, he worked as a teacher of geographic information systems at the Freetown University.Read more

“Persons with psychiatric problems in Sudan have to drive 3,000 km in order to be given treatment in a psychiatric hospital. And if they receive treatment it is a purely medical one. There are hardly any facilities. The therapies or group therapy sessions that we regard as normal in the Netherlands are not feasible in Sudan for lack of money.”Read more

Osman Hamed is a mechanical engineer and has studied at the University of Khartoum. Read more

William Clarkson has lived in the Netherlands for seven years. He was born in Sierra Leone. Clarkson is a Logistics and Marketing Manager.Read more

Ekhlas Eisa Osman is a participant in the IOM Temporary Return of Qualified Nationals (TRQN) project. She first came across the IOM during a conference of the Sudanese Forum in the Netherlands at the end of 2005. Six months later she received news as promised that the project had begun. She sent off her CV and within three days she was invited for an interview. “I was taken on and soon I will be returning to Sudan for the second time to make a contribution to the development of my country”.Read more