• New York
  • Politics
  • U.S.
  • World
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
  • Tech
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science
Sunday, January 29, 2023
  • Login
  • Register
NYC Daily Post
  • New York
  • Politics
  • U.S.
  • World
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
  • Tech
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science
No Result
View All Result
  • New York
  • Politics
  • U.S.
  • World
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
  • Tech
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science
No Result
View All Result
NYC Daily Post
No Result
View All Result
Home World

Darien’s jungle: A deadly pursuit of the American dream

by Oriana Valderrama
November 26, 2022
in World
Reading Time: 7min read
0
children playing in shabby yard with old clothes

Photo by Ahmed akacha on Pexels.com

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Panama and Colombia mark the division of South America and Central America. In between their borders “La Selva del Darien”, or Darien’s jungle, extends up to 37 miles into both countries. Known for its hostile conditions, El Darien has been a deadly pit stop for immigrants on their way to the promise of the American dream over the past decade.

As of October, Panama had recorded over 150,000 migrants that crossed Darien’s jungle “​​fleeing poverty and violence with the hope of reaching the United States”. The biggest group of migrants comes from Venezuela. 

In the last few years, Venezuela’s economic and socio-political status has declined because of corruption, poverty and lack of day-to-day resources. With Venezuela facing its biggest humanitarian crisis in their history, it is no surprise why it would lead them to also be responsible for the second biggest migration crisis in the world.

Luis Garcia — whose name was changed to protect his identity — embarked on a journey from Guyana, Venezuela, to find a better life in the U.S. His goal was to go through Colombia and Panama on foot, along with a group of migrants from Venezuela and other South American nations.

“The jungle is worse than you can imagine,” Garcia said. “There are moments where the darkness catches you in the middle of a river or a mountain and you don’t know if you should continue or stay put until the next day.”

Source: Global Conversation

Children are the most affected

While many adults make the decision to leave their home and enter the deadly jungle, it’s the children who suffer the most. Sandie Blanchet, a UNICEF representative in Panama, told CNN that many children and babies are brought to reception centers with no parent or adult present.

“We see a lot of children being separated from their parents during this horrendous trip, so when they arrive, they’ve been picked up by someone who was just walking by,” said Blanche. 

Since she joined UNICEF in September 2021, Blanchet has been an advocate for the rights of children and adolescents, visiting different areas of the country to see first-hand the reality and needs of children and adolescents residing in high risk areas. One of the first places she visited was El Darien.

Blanchet found 20 percent of children who faced abandonment and health issues in rural areas of Panama came from the Darien jungle.

It all came down to gas prices

According to a UNICEF report on the Deterioration Of The Situation Of Migrants In The Framework Of The National Strike, immigrants coming from Colombia did not have to face “Mountains, swamps and dense jungle” in the depths of El Darien earlier this year. Panama closed the usual routes where trucks and buses would transport immigrants across the pavement roads of El Darien safely to migrant reception centers in Panama.

This happened because of gas prices. 

On July 7, protesters flooded the streets in the capital city and other places in the country demanding the Panamanian government lower the price of gas, along with other demands such as lowering food prices and increasing medicine supplies. 

“[Protesters] blocked the main highways and avenues of the capital city and generated a long series of traveling protests that paralyzed schools and obstructed access to services and roads,” the report said.

With the public transportation system’s paralysis and blockades of the main roads, buses that transported immigrants from the Province of Darién on the Colombia-Panama border to the Province of Chiriquí on Costa Rica’s border could not continue their usual service or route. This led to thousands of families continuing their journey to Panama on foot through the hostile jungle. 

The hell within the jungle

Source: World Vision Canada

Luis Garcia began his odyssey with hope and resilience. However, within a few days in the depths of the jungle he quickly realized the biggest enemy was the people around him.

“Out of despair people fought with each other for the little resources we had,” he recalled. “If you go with women and they are pregnant you can last up to 10 days in the jungle. If they are not pregnant, it doesn’t take long until they are raped by gangs that reside in the jungle.”

In Colombian departure centers, authorities encourage migrants to pack lightly, only bring essentials and stay hydrated as much as possible for the difficult hike.

“​​I went in with one backpack, but the truth is that not all of us can carry that much weight anyway,” Garcia said. “You climb many mountains, hills and you get very tired, very fast. It’s important to have plenty of water and coffee candies. Things that give you a lot of energy and are small.”

Source: AP News

Most families and solo travelers decide to go through Darien knowing the consequences and dangers that lie ahead. According to Unicef executive director, Hannan Sulieman, the reality for most immigrants is they are better off facing the jungle’s dangers than staying in their home countries.

“Violence, poverty and the hope of finding better living conditions push families with children to leave their homes and face threats in inhospitable areas such as the Darien Gap,” she said. 

UNICEF has asked the U.S. government and European Union to provide aid to this massive immigration crisis. Their latest report said they’ve begun providing a “humanitarian response with regular water supply services, implementation of the sanitation strategy, delivery of personal hygiene kits differentiated by age and gender, maternal and child health care, support in managing child protection cases” at reception centers both outside and within the Darien region.

El Darien is not the end 

Source: ADN America

Those fortunate enough to make it out of El Darien still find blockades every step of the way through Central America. Garcia spent almost a month in El Darien, and his trip was far from being over. He refers to Mexico as the place that most mistreated immigrants and accused Guatemala of having the most corrupt police force. 

“[Police officers] would get us in buses telling us they were going north and then asked us how much money we had,” he said. “If we didn’t give it to them, they would send us back to El Darien.”

The road to the American dream is one people often take a chance on, but it doesn’t come without the possibility they might not reach the final destination. Garcia managed to reach the U.S. safely with an Asylum Visa.  

When asked if he would do it again, Garcia answered with a definite, “Yes.”

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...
Tags: ColombiaimmigrationmigrantsPanamaVenezuela
Oriana Valderrama

Oriana Valderrama

Related Posts

Brazil 2023 protests: The domino effect of our leaders’ words

Brazil 2023 protests: The domino effect of our leaders’ words

by Oriana Valderrama
January 17, 2023
0

As world leaders rise and fall, and their voices are elevated with the power of social media, there's an inherent...

The 20th CCP Party Congress: The Reassertion of China’s Continued Rise?

The 20th CCP Party Congress: The Reassertion of China’s Continued Rise?

by The NYC Daily Post Editorial Staff
November 4, 2022
0

Marion Gabriel, NYC Daily Post Contributor On October 16, Xi officially secured another five years as leader of the CCP,...

Long-term solutions needed to respond to Ukraine’s refugee crisis

Long-term solutions needed to respond to Ukraine’s refugee crisis

by The NYC Daily Post Editorial Staff
August 30, 2022
0

Marion Gabriel, Contributing Writer 6 months after the start of the Ukraine invasion, the refugee crisis becomes one of European...

ukraine gtain deal

Russia, Ukraine sign grain deal to avoid disapproval from Global South

by The NYC Daily Post Editorial Staff
August 2, 2022
1

By Marion Gabriel, Contributing Writer A U.N.-brokered agreement between Russia and Ukraine resumed Ukraine's grain exports after months of global...

Why would Putin’s Russia do this to Ukraine?

Why would Putin’s Russia do this to Ukraine?

by Joe McGraw
August 2, 2022
0

As footage rolls in of Russian T-90 tanks scurrying across the Ukrainian border, many are left with a shaken worldview....

The day that changed it all: Firsthand account of the beginning of the war in Ukraine

The day that changed it all: Firsthand account of the beginning of the war in Ukraine

by Olga Steckel
March 15, 2022
0

February 24, 2022. For many Ukrainians it is now a date that split their lives into “before and after” forever....

Next Post
How to Customize Your Chef Apparel

How to Customize Your Chef Apparel

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Recommended

The overturn of Roe v. Wade does not come as a surprise

The overturn of Roe v. Wade does not come as a surprise

7 months ago
Rafael Silvestre Knack: Boston Congress of Public Health 40 Under 40 Winner

Rafael Silvestre Knack: Boston Congress of Public Health 40 Under 40 Winner

8 months ago

Popular News

  • children playing in shabby yard with old clothes

    Darien’s jungle: A deadly pursuit of the American dream

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • NFL player Damar Hamlin suffers cardiac arrest during game

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Jie Sun: Boston Congress of Public Health 40 Under 40 Winner

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Ithar Hassaballa: Boston Congress of Public Health in 40 under 40 Winner

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Latest on looming war in Ukraine

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get the latest news from the US and around the world in your inbox.
SUBSCRIBE

Category

  • Education
  • Entertainment
  • Fashion
  • Food
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Miscellaneous
  • New York
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Travel
  • U.S.
  • World

Site Links

  • Articles
  • Home
  • Meet our leadership
  • Newsletter
  • Submit an Article

The New York City Daily Post

Welcome to the world’s premier daily news platform. We bring you the latest news from the US and around the world right at your fingertips.

  • New York
  • Politics
  • U.S.
  • World
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
  • Tech
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

© 2021. The NYC Daily Post. All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • New York
  • Politics
  • U.S.
  • World
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
  • Tech
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

© 2021. The NYC Daily Post. All rights reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Go to mobile version
%d bloggers like this: