2023-07-31 17:38:38
Panama City (EFE).- A total of 248,901 irregular migrants have crossed the Darién, the dangerous jungle that divides Panama and Colombia, so far in 2023, a historic figure that exceeds the record number of transients who crossed that border during all of last year, reported the Panamanian government.
In 2022, 248,284 migrants crossed the Darién, a “historic record” led by the Venezuelan exodus. Panamanian authorities have repeatedly stated that more than 400,000 migrants are expected to cross the dangerous jungle this year.
“Unfortunately, today the record for the total was broken, which had been unprecedented in 2022. In 2022, 248,284 people entered Panama, which to this day is unfortunately broken with 248,901 people,” the deputy director of Migration told EFE. from Panama, Maria Isabel Saravia.
In addition, he added, “21% of this group are children and adolescents and approximately 51% of them are children five years of age or less.”
Unprecedented migration in the Darién
The number announced today is the highest since there are records: in 2021, 133,726 people crossed the Darien jungle; 6,465 in 2020; 22,102 in 2019; 9,222 in 2018; 6,780 in 2017; 30,055 in 2016 and 29,289 in 2015, when there was a massive influx of Cubans.
With much smaller records, there were 6,175 in 2014; 3,051 in 2013; 1,777 in 2012; 283 in 2011 and 559 in 2010, the first year that there are official figures from Migration in Panama.
“We are facing a humanitarian crisis of major proportions. (This is) something that Panama cannot address alone,” Saravia said.
Panama’s deputy director of migration, María Isabel Saravia, speaks during an interview with EFE, in Panama City (Panama). EFE/Carlos Lemos
Panama has said in international forums and meetings that it needs help to manage the migration crisis through the Darién because the large daily numbers of migrants collapse the facilities where they are housed.
The Central American country receives travelers heading to North America at immigration stations located near its southern border with Colombia and on the northern border with Costa Rica, where it offers them health care and food, in a unique operation on the continent that involves a dozen international organizations.
July, the busiest month despite the rain
The report of the Ministry of Public Security of Panama highlights that, from January 1, 2023 until this Monday, 248,901 migrants crossed through the Darién, of which the majority are Venezuelans (136,650), followed by Ecuadorians (34,357), the Haitians (34,082), Colombians (8,183) and Indians (3,299).
July has been the month that most passers-by have crossed that dangerous border with 52,530 migrants, of which 11,926 were minors, according to official figures.
From approximately May to November there is usually a decrease in the number of migrants in transit because it is the rainy season and it makes it difficult to pass through the jungle due to the swelling of the rivers.
According to figures from the authorities cited on other occasions, this year 40,000 migrant children have crossed the jungle, including some who get lost or are found next to their mother’s body.
“The Darién is not a route”
The deputy director of Migration stressed once once more that “Darién is not a route” and that “the way that people submit to organized crime from Colombia to Panama is not humane (and especially) it is not fair for children.”
Saravia explained that “by definition, a jungle is not a passable place (…) it is a dangerous place (and) even more so when it borders a gray area on the Colombian side, where organized crime reigns.”
“From Panama we make a call for attention, although migrating is a human right, it is not worthy to do so in the conditions that this type of (dangerous) realities provide,” added Saravia while making another call to the “international community to attend the causes of this mobility.
The thick climate characteristic of a tropical jungle and the presence of armed groups increase insecurity in the Darién, where migrants report being assaulted and victims of rape.
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