LAUSR

Abstract In 2015, the European Union experienced a 51% increase in asylum requests. Kosovars constituted the fourth largest group of these asylum seekers, yet only 4% were granted asylum. Rejected applicants continue to be forcefully returned to Kosova partly because repatriation, or the right to return to one’s country of origin, is the EU’s preferred solution to migration crisis. This despite a significant body of research which substantiates that repatriation is largely involuntary and not a durable solution. To address the discrepancy between existing evidence and the adoption of repatriation as a sustainable solution, my study employed Critical Discourses Analysis to explore the involuntary repatriation of rejected asylum seekers from Kosova. Findings from semi-structured interviews with rejected asylum seekers suggest that this population employ discourses which construct EU countries as superior to Kosova and migration to these countries as an opportunity for a better life. These discourses contribute to how returnees approach repatriation, as well as inform the practice of helping professionals. Responding to calls for models of practice which guide the work of helping professionals with forced returnees, this paper builds upon study findings centering dominant discourses to develop a framework across micro, mezzo and macro levels of practice.