Abstract

GARZON MARTINEZ, María Angélica. Putting down roots again? The place of origin in studies of returning populations. Rev. colomb. soc. [online]. 2020, vol.43, n.1, pp.133-150.  Epub Apr 13, 2020. ISSN 0120-159X.  https://doi.org/10.15446/rcs.v43n1.78204.

The article reflects on representations of the place of origin, associated with meanings of home, identity, culture, and roots, drawn from specialized literature dealing with forced migration, especially that focusing on the issue of returning populations. This literature assumes that returning is the obvious end of migration routes and conceives the place of origin as the "natural habitat" or place where migrant populations belong. In fact, in the case of migrations due to armed conflict, forced displacement is strongly associated with estrangement and a certain social anomie resulting from those populations' impossibility to adapt. On the other hand, population return is read as going back to roots, culture, and normality, and considered to be the solution to uprooting, or, in terms of public policy, the best reparation option for populations affected by forced displacement. In this context, the place of origin acquires meaning on the basis of static perspectives that do not fully understand the diverse dynamics and relations that build the place, the capacity for agency of victim populations, and returning as a trip that does not necessarily mean returning home.

With respect to methodology, the article is a critical state-of-the-art that accounts for and comments on the theoretical approaches used by different sources to address the issue of returning populations and, especially, the place of origin. The objective of the text is to open up a debate on how and why it is necessary for sociology to think the place of origin in a context like the Colombian one, where it is urgent to know analyze, and reflect on population return and propose guidelines for its management and accompaniment.

Descriptors: home, resettlement, return migration, war victim.

Keywords : house; forced displacement; place of origin; representation; return; roots.

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