This is a collection of first-hand accounts by 22 Dominican returnees. It traces their lives from leaving their island, what happens to them overseas and now their experiences back home, both positive and negative.

Home Again

HOME AGAIN: Stories of Migration and Return compiled by Celia Sorhaindo and Polly Pattullo with the Dominica UK Association (DUKA) Publication date: 1 August 2009, £9.99

Dominica has one of the highest migration rates in the world. But what happens when those migrants return to Dominica after living and working abroad, often after decades away? The migrants' journey is a well-told story but little is known about those who return. Why do they go back? What is it like to be 'back home'?

Home Again is a collection of contemporary real-life stories by 22 Dominicans, from all walks of life, aged between 40 and 73, and from all parts of the island, who are now back home after living, working or studying in the UK, the US, Canada, and in the Caribbean region. In their own words, each contributor recounts the story of their childhood, the experience of migration and, finally, the positive and negative aspects of returning to their much-loved island.

Home Again highlights the important contributions made by the returnees, both overseas and in Dominica. Compelling, moving and intensely personal, Home Again is a revealing insight into the lives of these pioneering migrants.

Some quotes from Home Again:

"We're saying that we have built this country just as the people who stayed have built it."

"They just think because you go to England you pick up money on the ground."

"I said to myself this is my paradise jungle. I love it."

"I have a sense of belonging for the first time in my life."

Celia Sorhaindo is a Dominican returnee who came home in 2005.
Polly Pattullo is a British journalist and the publisher of Papillote Press.