Since 2014, almost 50,000 migrants have died or disappeared trying to reach places like the United States or the European Union.
File, Archive | The US-Mexico border presents a major challenge for migrants
In a matter of just a few days, the world has witnessed two deadly tragedies involving people trying to cross international borders.
On Friday, at least 23 people were killed when a large crowd tried to cross the Melilla fence, which divides that enclave from Spain from Morocco. Three days later, police in the US city of San Antonio, Texas discovered the bodies of more than 50 people abandoned inside a truck.
Tighter restrictions will likely result in higher death tolls, experts warn. The International Organization for Migration (IOM), a UN agency, estimates that since 2014 almost 50,000 migrants have died or disappeared trying to reach places like the United States or the European Union. The agency believes the true number of dead and missing could be higher.
But what are the most dangerous routes in the world for migrants? and why are they?
the central mediterranean
According to the IOM, this is the most dangerous route for migrants. It is estimated that more than 19,500 have died trying to navigate the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa to Europe since 2014.
Crossing attempts are often made in overloaded, improvised vessels, such as inflatable boats, making the crossing dangerous and life-threatening.
These vessels are often piloted by criminal gangs and human traffickers.
In Tunisia, which with Libya is the main departure point for migrants seeking to reach Europe via the central Mediterranean route, there is a cemetery reserved for those who drown at sea.
“Seeing these graves here makes me feel very sad,” Vicky, a Nigerian migrant hoping to make the journey from Tunisia, told AFP while visiting the cemetery.
Frontex, the European Border and Coastguard Agency, reports that almost 300,000 people have been rescued trying to use this route since 2015.
Internal routes of Africa
For many African migrants, the dream of reaching Europe begins with a journey across their own continent that involves a long crossing of the Sahara desert, en route to the countries of North Africa.
Harsh environmental conditions are a major threat: the IOM estimates that the Saharan crossing was responsible for the deaths of nearly 5,400 people between 2014 and 2022.
“In the desert you see people dying. Some due to lack of energy, died here. Others, when they run out of water,” migrant Abdullah Ibrahim told the AFP agency about his crossing experience.
Another serious threat to migrants is the number of smuggling gangs operating in the region.
The US-Mexico border
Although the migratory routes in the American continent are not all to reach the United States, that is the main goal for many people who seek to make a new life in the region.
00: The region is known for its inhospitable geography, including desert regions, and migrants frequently try to cross into the US through the dangerous Rio Grande (or Rio Bravo, as it is known in Mexico) that flows through much of border.
Drowning is one of the main causes of death on this route, which, according to IOM estimates, has claimed more than 3,000 lives since 2014.
Those who try to avoid natural hazards by hiding in vehicles face different threats, like the one that led to the deaths in San Antonio.
“IOM remains concerned about the dangers of migration from Latin America to the United States,” added Msehli.
migrants
Asian Routes
The IOM says that more than 4 in 10 migrants in the world in 2020 were born in Asia, and that continent has several important migration routes.
According to the UN agency, almost 5,000 people have died or disappeared in Asia in the last eight years.
Most of those deaths are Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants using the sea route to cross the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea to reach a safe haven in neighboring countries, or perhaps try to reach Europe.
As on other routes, these migrants are often victims of exploitation by gangs of human traffickers.
Another problematic route is on the border between Iran and Turkey, which has seen an unprecedented influx of Afghan migrants since the Taliban seized power in August last year.
The UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, indicates that more than two million Afghans have registered as refugees in Iran and neighboring countries.
The Darien Gap
While many eyes focus on the thousands of migrants who arrive at the northern and southern borders of Mexico to enter the United States, a part of the journey goes virtually unnoticed.
This is the crossing of the Darién Gap, the 575,000-hectare border forest between Colombia and Panama that thousands of migrants who arrive from Haiti, Cuba, and even from Senegal and other African countries cross, as part of their dangerous journey to reach To united states.
Many of the migrants cross it with their suitcases and children in their arms, under the extortion of coyotes and paramilitary groups such as the so-called Gulf Cartel, who control the area.
Irregular migration, however, is not the only crisis that exists in this Colombian region of Urabá: here there is also drug trafficking, smuggling, criminal control, precarious public services and one of the largest land dispossessions seen in the history of the country. .