"Guide to Return" | Frontex defends controversial deportation brochure

With its controversial brochure "My Guide to Return, " Frontex aims to support minors during deportations. "We don't decide who is returned. But we have the opportunity and the responsibility to make this experience less frightening for a child," the EU border agency wrote in response to a parliamentary question from Left Party MP Özlem Demirel about the heavily criticized publication.

The 169-page brochure, available in three versions, is aimed at children, young people, and unaccompanied minor refugees. It became known a month ago through a posting by the Hessian Refugee Council and sparked outrage online. Critics accuse Frontex of using child-friendly language and colorful images to trivialize the coercive measure of deportation.

Instead of openly naming "deportation," the publication always speaks of "repatriation" and euphemistically describes children as "living in their family's home country" afterward. The little ones might be "excited" about this "big change." A picture of a person in handcuffs is explained in the brochure with: "This way, he and the others are safe."

According to Frontex, over 35,000 copies of the brochure have been printed in 15 languages, including Arabic, Farsi, Albanian, Kurdish, and Tamil. The total costs for design, translation, proofreading, printing, storage, and distribution have so far amounted to approximately €74,000. The brochure was printed two years ago by the Publications Office of the European Union.

According to Frontex, the brochure was developed "in close collaboration" with child protection experts, psychologists, and migration specialists. It deliberately uses "simple language and familiar images," as children respond to them in stressful situations. This approach was developed with input from child rights experts "who understand how children experience trauma and how best to communicate with them in moments of upheaval."

"Frontex's justification is as disgusting as their deportation children's book itself," said questioner Özlem Demirel to "nd." It is highly questionable which child protection experts she claims to have consulted: "Because they usually agree that deportations are incompatible with children's rights." The Left Party politician considers telling children that the violence and trauma inflicted on them are for their safety to be "perfidious indoctrination."

The idea for the guide emerged from workshops Frontex held with EU member states in 2019 and 2020, the agency explained in its response. The brochure was reviewed by the agency's Fundamental Rights Office, the Advisory Forum, and various internal and external stakeholders. Various member states contributed throughout the process, with national authorities emphasizing "the need for more child-friendly tools to help children and families better understand the return process."

Frontex rejects criticism that the brochure obscures reality or attempts to trivialize the return. Its aim is to support children when the competent authorities of the Member States—and not Frontex—have decided to return them.

However, the agency fails to mention that a separate "European Return Centre" is being set up at its Warsaw headquarters since a revision of the Frontex Regulation in 2019. It is headed by former Federal Police instructor Lars Gerdes and is intended to offer deportations as a comprehensive service for member states – climate-neutral and, if necessary, using "restraint techniques." Gerdes is also one of Frontex's three deputy directors.

According to the response, Frontex aims to ensure that even forced returns "are carried out with respect for the rights and dignity of those affected." Most of the measures supported by Frontex are voluntary, meaning that the family has consciously made the decision to return, often in consultation with reintegration assistance in the country of origin.

"The alleged voluntary nature of returns in most cases simply means choosing between deportation and boarding the plane yourself," comments Timmo Scherenberg of the Hessian Refugee Council, "nd." Frontex is participating in a violent deportation process and is therefore "simply not suited to explain to the children in a quasi-neutral way what is happening." Scherenberg concludes: "If Frontex is serious about upholding children's rights, these should be given much greater consideration in the deportation decision itself—and these decisions should be monitored by independent children's rights organizations as standard."