Oct 12, 2021

The number of migrant children who cross the Darien Gap on foot has hit an all-time high, UNICEF warned in a statement on Monday.

The Darien Gap, a jungle that separates Colombia and Panama, is one of the most dangerous places for migrants attempting to reach North America.

It added that almost 19,000 migrant children have journeyed through the Darien Gap so far this year, nearly three times more than the number registered over the five previous years combined. More than 1 in 5 migrants crossing the border between Colombia and Panama are children. Half of them are below the age of five.

In 2021, at least five children were found dead in the jungle, the agency said, adding that “more than 150 children arrived in Panama without their parents, some of them are newborn babies – a nearly 20-time increase compared to last year.”

Migrant children sometimes travel with relatives or in the hands of human smugglers.

“Each child crossing the Darien Gap on foot is a survivor,” said Jean Gough, UNICEF Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean.

“Deep in the jungle, robbery, rape and human trafficking are as dangerous as wild animals, insects and the absolute lack of safe drinking water. Week after week, more children are dying, losing their parents, or getting separated from their relatives while on this perilous journey. It’s appalling that criminal groups are taking advantage of these children when they are the most vulnerable.”

UNICEF said migrants of more than 50 nationalities – from Africa, South Asia and South America – have crossed the area.

In early 2021, Panamanian authorities had warned of a possible crisis after opening the borders that had for months been closed because of the pandemic.

By September, the immigration authorities of the Central American nation reported a record number of 91,305 migrants who entered from neighboring Colombia. Of these, 56,676 were Haitians and 12,870 Cubans.

The Darien Gap is an extensive and inhospitable strip of tropical forest that divides Panama and Colombia, considered the most dangerous on the continent.

Migrants move along trails, exposing themselves to drug gangs and assailants, as well as wildlife and rivers.

“Never before have our teams on the ground seen so many young children crossing the Darien Gap –often unaccompanied. Such a fast-growing influx of children heading north from South America should urgently be treated as a serious humanitarian crisis by the entire region, beyond Panama,” Gough said.