- Last Sunday, 580 people emerged from Darien Gap, a forest covering 575,000 hectares, which UNICEF said is one of the most dangerous routes in the world.
- It is full of armed groups and drug dealers, who often rob or attack migrants who cross it.
- In response, the Panamanian and Colombian authorities have agreed to allow 500 migrants to pass through each day.
When Moise Cliff Raymond arrived at the Tuxa River, in order to cross the Colombian border into Panama, he trudged through the dangerous Darien Gap jungle for five days. In order to wash off the dirt on his body, he jumped into the water to clean it.
The Haitian and his companions who had just arrived in Bajo Chiquito, the first community on the Panamanian side, were muddy after the heavy rain last night.
The 29-year-old man wearing rastacap said:
The journey is very difficult because it takes a long way. There are many people who have died and no one has come to this point.
When Raymond was walking, other immigrants with spare money or children chose to rent a canoe taxi to take them to the small port in the village.
Another Haitian, Peter, struggled to get into a canoe while supporting his three-year-old daughter.
“That’s the way it is. If you want a new life, you have to do it. For us Haitians, things are very difficult,” said the 29-year-old, who did not reveal his surname.
According to Jean Pino, Minister of Security of Panama, as of 2021, 64,000 migrants have crossed the jungle, of which 18,000 were in August alone.
Most of them are Haitians.
Last Sunday, 580 people emerged from Darien Gap, a forest covering 575,000 hectares, which UNICEF said is one of the most dangerous routes in the world.
It is full of armed groups and drug dealers, who often rob or attack migrants who cross it.
In response, the Panamanian and Colombian authorities have agreed to allow 500 migrants to pass through each day.
They all arrived at Bajo Chiquito, a village inhabited by the indigenous people of Embera.
However, none of the immigrants wanted to stay there.
Raymond said:
I am going to America. That is my destiny, that is where I can realize my dream and find a good job.
He still has a long way to go.
Yadira Rosales, one of the few Cubans among the immigrants, said that the immigrants depart at 06:00 and walk 12 hours a day.
Rosales, who traveled with her husband Jose Alberto Reyes and five-year-old daughter Adlis, said:
We saw five corpses…some of them were swollen, some I don’t know because they were covered, but you can see their outlines and then the stench.
All immigrants told stories of attacks by armed groups, including murders and sexual assaults.
Rosales said: “We met some people, but we were a group of people. They took our money and then let us go. They checked the belongings of those who did not have money.”
In Bajo Chiquito there is a post operated by the Ministry of Health and Doctors Without Borders (MSF), where approximately 400 immigrants receive treatment every day.
Sofia Vasquez said:
Due to long walking and difficult routes, most injuries are foot trauma…gastrointestinal injuries, insect bites, and cases of sexual violence.
After registering with local immigration officials, most immigrants settled in a basketball court in the center of the village, surrounded by small businesses and people selling lunches for $3, which is not affordable for everyone.
“This year we got together and prepared to receive them in the community. We set up business and food stalls in different places,” said community leader Nelson.
For sanitation purposes, the village also installed water pipes from portable water tanks.
The locals offered to send WhatsApp messages at a price of US$2, and the villagers established a wire transfer system for the immigrants and charged a 20% commission.
According to UNICEF, the number of children passing through the Darian Canyon has increased 15 times in four years.
Vasquez said that many people who arrive in Panama are dehydrated or have difficulty breathing due to exposure to rain and humidity.
Reyes said his daughter Adlis was “very strong” and “walked often.”
She smiled as if it was just a walk.
Most French-speaking Haitians speak a little Spanish, and after working in Chile for three or four years, they decide to go north—whether it is because of losing their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic, or suffering from abuse and racism.
On Monday morning, as a small fog enveloped the village, migrants lined up to pay $25 to board a canoe and take them onto the river to the refuge in nearby Lajas Blancas.
They were given an orange life jacket and were told not to move suddenly in the canoe.
“You already know what will happen,” one of the boatmen said ominously.
From Lajas Blancas, migrants will travel by land to San Vicente, where they must pay $40 to take the bus to the Costa Rican border.
From there, they must pass through Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico before finally reaching the US border.
Their adventure has just begun.
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