The Daily Guardian: 400K U.S.-Bound Migrants Brave the Dangerous Darién Jungle
Title: Record Number of Migrants Cross Darién Jungle on Treacherous Journey to the US
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Panamanian officials have reported an astonishing milestone – a record-breaking 400,000 migrants have successfully navigated the perilous Darién jungle in the first nine months of this year, making their way to the United States. Upon arrival, their first stop is Bajo Chiquito, a humble Indigenous village in Panama, which has become a crucial waypoint on their arduous journey.
After days of traversing dense rainforests, migrants arrive in Bajo Chiquito exhausted and dehydrated. Under the scorching sun, they line up for hours to register with overwhelmed Panamanian immigration officers. The sheer volume of migrant crossings has resulted in a humanitarian crisis, with regional governments struggling to cope. Panamanian authorities have even deemed this influx a threat to their national security.
The harrowing accounts shared by the migrants are heart-wrenching. Approximately 25% of them, including numerous children, have experienced sexual assault or robbery along the way. Shockingly, Doctors Without Borders treated 216 women and girls who fell victim to sexual violence within the first six months of 2021. Panamanian health workers are doing their best, but they are ill-equipped to manage the overwhelming numbers and often run out of vital medicines and supplies.
Crossing the Darién Gap can take from three days to a full week, with last year’s statistics citing at least 140 deaths along this treacherous route. The majority of migrants originate from Venezuela, followed by Ecuadorians and Haitians. These individuals are often fleeing their home countries due to political and economic instability and have previously struggled to rebuild their lives in other South American nations.
Human rights workers argue that the policies implemented by the United States and Mexico are inadvertently pushing migrants towards this perilous journey, as they encounter significant obstacles when attempting to seek asylum through established channels. While the Biden administration has attempted to redirect migrants away from the Darién jungle by establishing processing centers in Colombia, the process remains slow, and many migrants continue to brave the dangers.
Each day, roughly 2,000 individuals pass through the village of Bajo Chiquito, completing their paperwork before embarking on boats to a government-run camp. From there, they eventually make their way to the border with Costa Rica, fueling concerns about the capacity and resources of neighboring nations to address this ongoing crisis.
As the number of migrants risking their lives in the Darién jungle surges, urgent attention and international cooperation are required to address this dire situation.
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