Those who remained – Migrant stories

The following stories were originally compiled for the Mixed Migration Review 2022 and have been reproduced here for wider access through this website’s readership.

This is a series of in-depth interviews with refugee and migrants’ family members who stayed behind — the events from their perspectives and the emotions that migration evokes for them. Sharing the stories of a mother who remained in Venezuela, a father in Afghanistan, and brothers in Burkina Faso, Kenya, and Tunisia, their stories are of success and failure, their concerns, the dangers of migration and the mixed emotions that accompany the departure of their loved ones.

Failed onward movement to Côte d’Ivoire: “We even had to send him money.”

Finding success in South Africa: “My brother felt he had no option but to migrate.”

Sweet sorrow in South America: “I miss my children but I’m happy and at peace with them being abroad.”

Taking flight from the Taliban: “My home is empty without my sons.”

The greener fields of France: “My brother always wanted to live in Europe.”