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‘It’s a long walk’: Haitian migrants’ traumatic journey to Panama

So far in 2021, 64,000 migrants have crossed Darien Gap, a vast jungle and one of the world’s most dangerous routes.

Migrants queue to be transported from Bajo Chiquito village to the Migrants Reception Station in Lajas Blancas, Darien Province, in Panama. [Ivan Pisarenko/AFP]
Published On 26 Aug 2021

When Moise Cliff Raymond arrives at the Turquesa River, he plunges in to wash off the filth from trekking five days through the perilous Darien Gap jungle in order to cross the Colombian border into Panama.

The Haitian and his companions, who have just arrived at Bajo Chiquito – the first community on the Panama side – are covered in mud after the previous night’s heavy rain.

“The journey was very hard because it’s a long walk,” said the 29-year-old. “There are many dead, people who didn’t make it this far.”

While Raymond walked, other migrants who had spare cash or children chose to hire a canoe taxi to take them to the village’s small port.

Another Haitian, Peter, struggled into one of the canoes while holding onto his three-year-old daughter.

“This is how things are. You have to do it if you want a new life. Things are very difficult for us Haitians,” said the 29-year-old, who did not give his last name.

So far in 2021, 64,000 migrants have crossed the Darien Gap, a 575,000-hectare (1,430,000-acre) jungle which the UN’s children agency, UNICEF says is one of the world’s most dangerous routes, including 18,000 in August alone, according to Panama’s Security Minister Jean Pino.

Most of them are Haitians.

The jungle is infested with armed gangs and drug traffickers who often rob or attack the migrants crossing it.

In a bid to cope, Panamanian and Colombian authorities have agreed to allow the passage of 500 migrants a day.

They all arrive in Bajo Chiquito, a village that is home to members of the Embera Indigenous people.

However, none of the migrants wants to stay there.

“I am going to the United States. That’s my destiny, that’s where I’ll be able to accomplish my dreams, to get a good job,” said Raymond.

He still has a long way to go.

The number of children taken through the Darien Gap has multiplied 15-fold in four years, says UNICEF.

Many arrive in Panama dehydrated or with breathing difficulties due to exposure to rain and humidity, says Vasquez.

From Lajas Blancas, the migrants will travel by land to San Vicente where they have to pay $40 for a bus trip to the Costa Rican border.

From there, they still have to make it through Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico before finally reaching the US border.

Migrants from Haiti and other countries arrive in Panamanian territory, after walking for five days through the Darien Gap. Migrants set off at 6am and walk for 12 hours a day, said Yadira Rosales, one of a small number of Cubans among the throngs. [Rogelio Figueroa/AFP]
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A migrant with her baby upon their arrival at the Tuquesa river in the Bajo Chiquito village, Darien province. Panama and Colombia reached an agreement to control the flood of migrants crossing the common border to the United States. [Rogelio Figueroa/AFP]
A family of migrants wait to register in the Bajo Chiquito village. All migrants tell stories of attacks by armed groups, including murders and sexual assaults. [Rogelio Figueroa/AFP]
A group of migrants queue to register in the Bajo Chiquito village. So far in 2021, 64,000 migrants have crossed the Darien Gap. [Rogelio Figueroa/AFP]
A group of migrants rest on the banks of the Tuquesa river. In Bajo Chiquito there is a post run by the Ministry of Health and Doctors Without Borders (MSF) where around 400 migrants are treated daily. [Rogelio Figueroa/AFP]
A migrant walks over the moored boats in Bajo Chiquito village. UNICEF says the Darien Gap is one of the world's most dangerous migration routes [Rogelio Figueroa/AFP]
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Migrants queue to be transported from Bajo Chiquito village to the Migrants Reception Station in Lajas Blancas. Locals offer to send WhatsApp messages for $2 and villagers have set up a wire transfer system for the migrants, collecting a 20 percent commission. [Rogelio Figueroa/AFP]
The number of children taken through the Darien Gap has multiplied 15-fold in four years, says UNICEF. Many arrive in Panama dehydrated or with breathing difficulties due to exposure to rain and humidity. [Rogelio Figueroa/AFP]