The ombudsman of Panama, Eduardo Leblanc González, asked a migrant child how the journey through the Darién was.
“I saw several deaths,” replied the boy of about 7 years.
Leblanc collected that testimony last Tuesday, April 11, during a visit to the Darién Gap together with his Colombian counterpart Carlos Camargo Assis.
The next day, the governments of Panama, Colombia, and the United States announced a “joint declaration to address irregular migration in the Darién,” through “a coordinated 2-month campaign” to “end the illicit movement of people” that They want to reach the United States.
The Darien Gap is a tropical forest that occupies eastern Panama and the land border it shares with Colombia.
Despite the adverse conditions of the jungle and the threat of armed groups, according to the Panamanian authorities, at least 250,000 people crossed this natural barrier between Central and South America last year.
And the migratory flow increases.
By the beginning of April 2023, more than 100,000 people had already crossed, almost 1,000 per day, despite the fact that the US government closed the southern border to Venezuelans, Haitians and Cubans, some of the nationalities that lead the transit statistics for this route.
In an interview with BBC Mundo, Leblanc explains why Panama is not in a position to face this increase and what are the economic, social and environmental costs that the Central American country entails being part of the corridor that thousands of migrants travel each year on their journey to USA
What is the situation of migrants crossing the Darién at this time?
We visited the migrant reception centers in San Vicente and Lajas Blancas, which are the stations where the Panamanian government receives migrants and gives them assistance. There is also the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders and other NGOs to provide the corresponding medical assistance.
100,000 people have crossed the Darién in 102 days of the year. 20% of them are children and adolescents. Of them, 5% are from 0 to 5 years old.
Approximately 980 migrants cross that road every day. Although there was a dip for a few months after the US government changed its policy in October of last year, the number of people coming has continued to rise.
We think that this year more than 300,000 people can pass through the Darien. That’s more than we saw in 2021 and 2022.
It is a record that makes a dent in the economy of the area. Also in us, in the work, the budget and the effort of the institutions.
The Panamanian Ombudsman has a regional office in the area and human rights groups stationed at immigrant reception stations. We are constantly visiting the area.
And why not, it must be said, I believe that neither Panama nor any nation, at least in Central America, is prepared for such an important and large group of people on the move.
Did you have the opportunity to speak with migrants?
The testimonials are heartbreaking. How they are scammed as soon as they leave their countries, how they are robbed in the Colombian area and in the Panamanian area, how they cross the Darién and face difficult situations in the mountains, jungle, the danger of animals.
They see dead people on the road, they face the danger of armed groups.
We were talking with some children and when we asked them how the journey through the Darién had gone, one child replied: “I saw several dead people.” He didn’t say, “I came with my mom.” He said: “Several deaths.”
It is difficult shock for children. A fact that worries us a lot is that there is a large and important psychological issue of violation of that child who passes through the Darién.
Every time you visit the Darién, the faces of the children remain in your mind. It breaks your heart when you ask a child how he was and he answers that he saw many dead.
In the case of women, there are some records of rape on the road, touching and degrading behavior.
However, despite the presence of the Public Ministry in the area, what happens is that there are people who are not filing a complaint for various reasons.
One is that they are going to detain your group because they are probably going to be asked to submit to tests and other legal proceedings.
Also, and this has been commented to our human rights officers, is that relatives of the victim come along the way and if they betray, they can be killed.
Since they hire the coyote from the moment they leave and this is a criminal network until they reach the border, something could happen to them along the way.
What does the transit of so many people through an area like the Darién represent for Panama?
We are seeing the effect of migration in the Darién and in the native populations that have dedicated themselves to caring for migrants.
The first thing is that in the indigenous part there is an important economic income for people [por la venta de comida e insumos a los migrantes]. But what does that produce?
The abandonment of culture, cultivation and commercial activities, the abandonment of schools by children and adolescents to dedicate themselves to the migration issue, to provide places to sleep and supplies.
It also has an effect on the funds that Panama had earmarked to care for 250 people in an area like Bajo Chiquito, for example.
At this moment, in 30 minutes, 250 people have already arrived. In one day 1,250 arrive, which means that our resources, those of the NGOs and those of the government, are quickly consumed by this number of people.
The other issue is that this creates xenophobia, because the common Panamanian sees that the person who enters Panama, in attention to humanitarian law, is given support. But the one on the other side of the fence, which is the Panamanian, does not have that capacity and those accesses.
It is a complex problem that we are attacking in a humanitarian way to ensure that the benefits that reach the migrants also reach the population.
Does Panama have the capacity to assume the costs of this crisis alone or has it reached a point where it requires the help of other countries?
He definitely needs help.
I am going to tell you about my institution, which is independent and autonomous from the central government. By May I must have already consumed 95% of my budget at the national level, because obviously the campaigns to go there, the displacement, the payment of gasoline, water, the payment of travel expenses, everything increases exponentially.
Similarly, Panama is full of inequalities and also has other needs. That is why we applaud this tripartite meeting, because the issue of migration is not from a government, it is not from a State.
We have to work on why the person has to walk out and deal with it. Also in transit.
For example, Colombia must support us with information, in providing resources and security. I always stress that it is necessary for the Colombian army to be in the Darien area.
Destination countries also have to help us. Those of origin, those of transit all join us, and those of final destination, help us nations that have multiple needs such as Panama.
What is the plan that Panama, Colombia and the United States are discussing to address the crisis in Darien?
They are going to work together to combat human trafficking networks and illegal groups, and they are going to develop public policies to seek the well-being of indigenous communities.
It is about giving that social and economic boost to the host populations, after all, many are forgotten by the State and seek livelihood through illegal and clandestine operations.
There is a combination there: on the Colombian side there is an Afro-descendant population and some indigenous population.
In Panama, the main posts through which [los migrantes] They are two large regions: Guna Yala, in the Caribbean area, and Emberá-Wounaan, where there is movement on the border.
They are also going to work on something that we have been warning about, and we applaud that it has been a topic of conversation between countries, which is the environmental approach.
The Darien Gap is the largest forest reservoir in Central America and it is being severely impacted. It has to do with what is sold on the road, what remains like the boots, the machete.
There are some little stoves, for example, that they sell in Necoclí and Capurganá, which remain on the road. That remains in our rivers.
It is the part that we discussed with the native authorities: “If you sell them food [a los migrantes] in [envases] plastic that remains in their rivers”. And that is the water source of fishing, water intake and water for washing.
With this we do not want to discourage migration, we want it to be more regular and safer.
The difference at this time is that we are not only focusing on the 100,000 migrants who have passed, but we have also warned about the impact on the native Panamanian population and the environmental focus.
What consequences has the decision of the government of US President Joe Biden had to block the southern border for migrants of some nationalities such as Venezuela?
Last year, in November and December, there were days of zero entry. However, people have continued to join the United States, not the number of Venezuelans we had in August, September or before, but it is still maintained.
It must also be remembered that the person who emigrates sometimes comes from a second country.
How does a Haitian national go down to Colombia and then go up? He probably comes from Chile or Brazil, from building stadiums or working in the mines, and comes with other nationalities.
During the two years that you have been in charge of the Panamanian Ombudsman’s Office, what is the most moving thing you have seen or heard on your trips to Darién?
It’s a tough question because all the stories are moving. There are entire families that have died from submersion, from the grandfather to the son, seven or eight relatives who are carried away by the current of the river. That is hard.
When these cases occur, both the Ombudsman’s Office and Migration alert the National Border Service and the survey is carried out with the Public Ministry.
However, it is not just that it is [una zona] difficult to access by helicopter or canoe or two days walking, but also that the references are very vague.
Let’s remember that the coyote is not going to say the place. Usually the migrant says it. For example, he calculates so many days or so many hours after having passed a place or on such a morning. It is very difficult because it is relative.
That is why counting the number of deceased people is very difficult. Since the Republic of Colombia does not give us information about who is coming along the way, we do not know how much we are leaving behind. When they arrive in Panama we have no way of counting how many arrived, how many are missing.
nothing else yesterday [martes 11 de abril]When we returned from there, in different interviews with different people they told us that they had seen a couple of a girl in her mother’s arms, dead in one place. Others told that they even saw human parts.
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BBC-NEWS-SRC: https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-65271497, IMPORTING DATE: 2023-04-25 12:20:06
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