The “Darién Plug”, a dense jungle of more than 5,000 km2 separating Colombia and Panama, has become one of the main corridors for irregular migrants of different nationalities from around the world aspiring to reach the United States. According to the Panamanian government, 227,987 people crossed the Darién’s dangerous and unsafe routes between January and November this year, a number that represents a historic record. In 2021, about 130,000 people crossed this border.
Since April 2021, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has been taking care of migrants crossing the Darién after spending between 4 and 10 days trekking through the jungle, crossing rivers, climbing mountains and exposing themselves to criminal groups in the region. According to the Panama Ministry of Security, the main nationalities of migrants crossing the Darién in 2022 were: Venezuela (148,953), Ecuador (21,535), Haiti (16,933), Cuba (5,530) and Colombia (4,876).
Throughout 2022, MSF has worked from the San Vicente Migration Reception Station – one of the points that migrants pass through – and provided 35,302 medical and 2,230 psychological consultations. Most of the attention was for skin diseases and body aches; Diarrhea, respiratory infections and digestive system disorders. The most common chronic diseases are high blood pressure, asthma, diabetes and HIV. From April 2021 to November 2022, the total number of MSF consultations on physical health was 79,402 and 3,570 on mental health.
Between January and October 2022, 83.3% of the people receiving mental health treatment came to the consultation because of violent incidents. Of the events that triggered psychological complaints, 23% correspond to exposure to violence, 13% to the consequences of migration (separation from the family, restricted living conditions, etc.), 11% to sexual violence, 11% to migration for economic reasons, and another 11% to situations related to transit through the Darién and 7% on exclusion, stigmatization and discrimination.
Here are two testimonies from migrants who have crossed the jungle this year and been cared for by MSF:
“Mom, what is rape?”
32-year-old woman, Venezuelan
My husband was killed in the 2017 protests in Venezuela. At that moment I decided to emigrate first to Colombia and then to Ecuador with my two children aged 12 and 9. I sold cakes and coffee in both countries, but in neither of them did I have enough money to stay.
A group of friends decided to emigrate and cross the Darién and I took the opportunity to go with them to the United States where my brother is. In total we were 23 people, we left Necoclí, arrived in Capurganá and from there we entered the jungle.
The Darien was very strong, the path was difficult and we saw everything, even the dead. The worst happened in an area called Las Banderas, where they robbed and raped us. They raped me and several women, including girls.
Some hooded guys came with machetes, pistols and rifles. They intercepted us all and took us to the top of a mountain. The women were separated from the men. I put my kids with the boys with a cousin of mine. I had my daughter mated by a friend. When all the women were there, the armed men began to ask where the prettiest faces were, and they took the youngest girls away. First they chose her, but then they raped us all anyway. They used their own mats and blankets, which we brought along to sleep on the way, as beds.
They held us hostage for about four hours while they searched us and took our belongings. When they let us out we ran as best we could and started going downstairs calling the names of the people who had come out first to see if we could find each other.
I was very afraid for my children. I was particularly afraid for my daughter. I thought about the girls who were also raped. We had to keep going and it was very strong. I thank God that they did not harm my children and at least let us live.
My children are very close, it’s the three of us for everything. They didn’t see anything, but they heard what the other girls were saying. “Mom, what is rape?” they asked me. And I just told them that’s when they abuse women. They asked if they had hurt me and I said no. I just want to protect them because I know they’re scared.
When we arrived at the migrant center, they gave us medical treatment. We came home sick from drinking so much contaminated river water and my son had an ear infection. They examined me and gave me pills to prevent HIV. I don’t know if it was because of the rape, but I also had a severe bladder infection. I’m already feeling better and now I want to continue. I want to find opportunities for my children to study. For a single woman, it’s very powerful.”
“Don’t you dare go through this”
Venezuelan woman, 18 years old. She is 8 months pregnant.
“I am Venezuelan and emigrated to Peru last November. I was dating my husband and we arrived in Peru and asked for coke. There my husband got a job in a tuna factory and we stayed there until May of this year. We decided to leave Peru because we experienced a similar situation as in Venezuela: money was not enough for us at all. So we started hearing everyone about the United States and the opportunities that exist there, so we decided to give it a try.
We also left Peru and asked for coke. From there it went to Ecuador, from Ecuador to Colombia and from Colombia to Panama. We cross the jungle. Before I walked by I would have liked to know what this jungle looked like. I thought I knew, but I really had no idea. We left Capurganá in Colombia. I crossed the seventh month pregnant, it took us 10 days. We did it alone, it rained a lot and I was scared, we were lucky because the river wasn’t swollen. We carried a pot and a tinderbox and cooked the food we brought with us using the firewood we found along the way. In the beginning we carried a lot of things but we had to throw them away because we couldn’t support the weight. We had to throw away our clothes, sheets and even the pot we used to cook with. Here in Panama we arrived with nothing, just what we were wearing. I would advise against anyone who wants to go this route, I’ve seen many people arrive traumatized, I’ve heard stories of people seeing their loved ones dying along the way. Don’t you dare go through this.
Photo: Courtesy of MSF
While I had to be here at San Vicente Station, I checked my pregnancy in the Médecins Sans Frontières tent. There they listen to the baby, check if everything is ok and give me all the vitamins I need. It will be a girl and her name will be Chery. I’m very scared because I think I have to give birth here.
As soon as we can continue, we will continue our way to the United States. There we plan to work to save until we have enough money to buy a house in Venezuela so we can return. Otherwise it would not be possible. Other than that, I don’t know what the future will look like now. I still couldn’t even imagine what my baby was going to be like.”