Olef and Zeus, two restless one-and-a-half-year-old twins, believe they are going to “go on a safari to see animals” This is what their mother told them on the bus ride from Venezuela for “camouflage“The real reason: to cross the dangerous jungle of Darien to get to Panama a scale towards USA.
With a kangaroo to carry one of the babies on her chest and another on her back, Yasmeri Jalmeida, the Venezuelan mother, prepares for the difficult 97-kilometer journey between Colombia and Panama, where her husband is.
Even though he has been climbing hills and hiking with them for months “of more than 70 kilometers”knows that it will be a challenge for the three of them, but he maintains a good attitude thanks to the hope of finding a better life.
Like them, thousands of families with children, amid the cries of the little ones who do not understand why they have not returned home for so long, embark on the boats that leave the Colombian town of Turbo bound for Acandí, on the border with Panama and where the wild path of Darién begins.
In the first four months of this year, the record of children crossing the Darien was broken, which according to figures from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is a 40% higher than the same period last year, with more than 30,000 children en route.
One of these children, about to board, meets Angela, one of the workers from Aldeas Infantiles who accompanies the families, while she places a stamp of a smiley face on his hand and says: “This is for your protection.”
Tents waiting
The coastal town of Turbo, on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Urabá, is full of tents and makeshift shelters where families try to scrape together the US$350 it costs “the travel package” -a dubious term that borders on illegality, which is guiding migrants- that guarantees them a guide who will take them through the jungle to the border with Panama, known as the hill of “the flags”.
Every morning, rain or shine, in the area called by migrants “dining room” Because 1,500 meals are offered there every day, hundreds of families wake up and take down their tents.
In one of them sleeps Luz del Carmen, a 44-year-old woman who picks it up and puts it out to dry with the help of her four children before seven in the morning. They have been in Turbo for 16 days and she hopes to be able to leave soon, although she confesses to EFE that they have not yet gathered enough money to buy the package.
However, they have already prepared water, food, medicine and tents for the nights in the jungle, which can last up to a whole week walking along narrow paths, climbing slippery hills and crossing rivers, which at any moment can rise and sweep them away.
The tour company promised them that they could pay for half a package (US$ 175 per person): “They say that you pay half the package and stay in Acandí” until the local guides do “a sweep” and take everyone who is waiting on the shore, explains the mother.
Nest of accidents
The Darien route is one of the most dangerous migration routes in the world because it lacks an infrastructure adapted to the mass transit of people and is the scene of slips on steep paths, falls into abysses, drowning in rivers or the dangers of wild animals and insects.
The routes are controlled on the Colombian side by the Clan del Golfo, the largest criminal group in the country, and once they enter Panama, criminals and other groups subject migrants to robberies and even mass rape.
There are no numbers to reflect the tragedy either: in Darien we know how many people are leaving – more than 195,000 so far this year – but not how many are dead. Added to all this is the closure of trails and border crossings ordered by the new Panamanian president, José Raúl Mulino, which began with barbed wire fences in the middle of the jungle.
It may interest you
- Panama: Organized crime “earned” US$ 820 million by moving migrants through Darien
- More than 500,000 migrants have crossed the Darien jungle in 2023, a historic record
- Social media, the deception that encourages thousands of migrants through the Darien jungle
Source: Gestion
Ricardo is a renowned author and journalist, known for his exceptional writing on top-news stories. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he is known for his ability to deliver breaking news and insightful analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.
