Darien Gap migrant flow increases  5-fold

In the remote community of La Peñita, in Darién, something is being observed that did not happen four years ago: a large migratory flow of people through the mighty Chucunaque River.

In 2019, La Peñita was the epicenter of the migration crisis; but they did not have the basic and necessary conditions to care for the walkers, so the migrant population was transferred to other points such as San Vicente or Lajas Blancas, both in Metetí.

However, now that the migration scenario is worsening, the community of Tomás is smiling again. an Embara youth explains the reason. “When there were hundreds of migrants in La Peñita, we sold them food, water, and provided other services such as boats or transportation to the center of Darién. When they left, our small businesses went bankrupt and we had to go back to fishing and planting”, he said.

La Peñita is a rural hamlet of some 150 houses on the banks of the Chucunaque River and in the poorest province in the country, second only to the indigenous regions. It is about five hours from Panama City and is practically lost in the border jungle. Its population is made up of indigenous people and peasants, including people who decided to emigrate from Colombia decades ago, fleeing the armed conflict between guerrillas in the neighboring country. There, the family income per month ranges from $80 to $100.

Currently, the first communities receiving migrants such as Bajo Chiquito or Lajas Blancas are reporting the arrival of a high number of migrants, with which travelers are arriving through other access points to Darién. Until, Tuesday, there were 6,376 migrants in this province, of which 2,674 were in Bajo Chiquito and 1,328 in Lajas Blancas. There is overcrowding and both communities lack infrastructure and basic services to serve this migratory population.

The Bishop of Darién, Pedro Hernández Cantarero, has seen how in recent years some migrants request help in this province. In the words of Hernández, the humanitarian drama is “complex”, since this year the arrival of more travelers to the province is notorious.

Chiriqui deaths
For the priest, the recent traffic accident in which migrants who were being transported to a shelter in the province of Chiriquí died, means managing and transferring this population. “We must eradicate xenophobia against migrants since most of them do not want to stay here. Hernández’s humanitarian call coincides with reports of the National Migration Service, showing that between January and February, 49,291 migrants arrived in Darién, a number five times higher than in the same period of 2022.

Organizations like Unicef and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) warned last year about what is happening in Darién. Eduardo Leblanc, Ombudsman, urged the creation of a plan to deal with the migratory wave.

Other entities such as the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences also prepare for any tragedy. José Vicente Pachar, director said, that this week they will launch a “humanitarian pantheon” in Darién, with 100 niches for those migrants who die on the hard journey and whose remains are not identified or no one claims.