Immigration isn't a one-way ticket. For many, the homeland calls back. From the Basque region to Israel, Jamaica to Taiwan, Kamal al-Solaylee talks to those who've chosen to make their way home as he plans his own return. Will reality match the fantasy? Why is the call of home so powerful? And what if you're still a foreigner there?
Show notes
[00:00:30] Intro
[00:01:29] Migration isn't just a one-way ticket
[00:05:27] Ghana's Year of Return
[00:07:25] Return is big business, politics and emotion all mixed up
[00:09:08] Can reality match the fantasy?
[00:13:44] Return is not a failure of the immigration journey
[00:16:54] The irrational call of the homeland
[00:18:48] The pain of feeling like a foreigner at home
[00:23:00] The exploitation of nostalgia
[00:25:07] Return can feed or soften the edges of nationalism
[00:29:14] Whose return is actually wanted?
[00:31:12] Deportees, the unwanted returnees
[00:35:02] Kamal's own return plans
📚 Return: Why we go back to where we come from. Harper Collins Canada, 2021.
Find it here.