2023-08-26 01:01:22
The Government of Panama plans to take “forceful” measures to stop migration through the jungle region of the Darién Gap, which could include closing its land border with Colombia in the face of a large increase in irregular migration that transits this route.
“We try to seek international cooperation with the countries of origin and transit, but it has been difficult,” said Panama’s Minister of Public Security, Juan Manuel Pino, on Thursday.
“We have the support of some NGOs, but it has not been enough and we have exhausted all instances in the face of very large human mobility because we are receiving about 2,000 to 3,000 people daily,” he added.
The minister indicated that despite the bilateral and trilateral meetings on the subject, a meeting point has not been reached to try to find a solution to this situation, since -in his opinion- the southern countries have not given sufficient importance to the affair.
‘Darién is not a road, it is a jungle’
To raise awareness of the situation, the Panamanian government is going to launch the international media campaign ‘Darién is not a route, it is a jungle’, with the intention of warning of the dangers of crossing 266 square kilometers of jungle, as reported by the Ministry of Public security.
The route is breaking traffic records. So far this year, at least 307,000 people have traversed the jungle, a number 12 times higher than in 2016.
The director of the National Migration Service, Samira Gozaine, pointed out that 21% of migrants are minors, half of whom are less than five years old.
Environmental damage and damage to native populations
The increase in uncontrolled traffic in this region supposes, in addition to a migratory drama, an environmental problem, since the area is being devastated with environmental and health damages for the host communities.
The most crowded route normally takes migrants five days and runs along the tributaries from which 13 communities take their water. In that area, according to the director of the National Border Service, Jorge Gobea, 50,000 tons of garbage have been dumped in rivers and parks, which will take “more than 60 years” to be cleaned up.
The situation would also have caused a food safety problem. “Our indigenous people stopped learning to plant and have dedicated themselves to other activities,” said Gobea, who also explained that they currently depend on a commercial distribution line with high prices.
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