Abstract
Studies revealed that migrant returnees face challenges of reintegration into their countries of origin, particularly when countries to which they returned face weak economies and labour markets. In such countries, it is considered returnees are a burden to their place of origin. This article explores the socio-economic and
psychological challenges the Ethiopian returnee migrant females encounter to fully re-integrate within their
original social environment. The data collection methods include in-depth interviews, key informant interviews,
and document reviews. Purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used to select returnee migrant
females and experts working in relevant offices in Gulale sub-city of Addis Ababa. The collected data were
analyzed thematically. The findings reveal that returnee migrant females were deported from high wage
earnings in Saudi Arabia due to a sudden declaration by the Saudi government. The returnees have faced
challenges of reintegration into the social and economic structure of their place of origin. The specific
challenges include the breakdown of the migrants' previous social network, lack of adequate financial capital,
and absence of encouraging job opportunities for generating personal income. As a consequence, they suffer
from psychological problems like anxiety, depressions, loneliness, humiliation, and self-neglect. Based on the
findings, the study recommends that addressing the problem requires intervention at the grassroots level with
unreserved commitment from all concerned bodies. Interventions need to be gender-oriented, inclusive, and
participatory.
Key words: /Deportation/Gender/Home environment/Migration-returnee/Socioeconomic/Psychological/Reintegration/