Children at risk due to climate crisis 0:41
(CNN Spanish) -
Almost 19,000 migrant children have crossed the Darien Region on foot in 2021, making it the year with the largest number in history in this category, the United Nations Fund for Childhood (Unicef).
The Darien Region is a jungle that separates Colombia and Panama, and UNICEF notes that it is one of the most dangerous places for migrants seeking to reach North America.
"In this dense rainforest, migrant families with children are especially exposed to violence, including sexual abuse, human trafficking and extortion by criminal gangs. Children crossing the Darien Region are also at risk of contracting diarrhea, respiratory diseases, dehydration and other conditions that require immediate attention, "said Unicef in a statement.
How big is the magnitude of the situation?
If the migrant children who crossed the Darien jungle in the past five years were joined, even then, the nearly 19,000 who started their way through this place in 2021 would not be reached.
Likewise, the following data also give an account of the panorama:
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So far in 2021, five children have been found dead in the jungle.
Between January and September of this year, Unicef has registered 29 reports of sexual abuse against adolescent girls during their passage through the jungle.
"In the Darien jungle, sexual violence is increasing and is used intentionally by criminal groups as an instrument of terror," said Unicef.
On the other hand, since the beginning of 2021 to date, more than 150 children arrived in Panama without parents, and some of them are newborn babies.
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Increase in migrant children, a "humanitarian crisis"
Jean Gough, Unicef regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean, commented that the rapid increase in migrant children crossing the Darien jungle should be treated as a humanitarian crisis throughout the region and not only focused on Panama.
"Never before have our field teams seen so many young children crossing the Darien Region, often unaccompanied. Such an increasing flow of children heading north from South America should be urgently treated as a major humanitarian crisis across the region, beyond Panama, "Gough said in the UNICEF statement.
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The regional director of the Fund added that the Darien jungle is such a dangerous place that every person who crosses it on foot is a survivor.
"Deep in the jungle, robberies, rapes and human trafficking are as dangerous as wild animals, insects and the complete lack of clean water. Week after week, more children die, lose their parents or they are separated from their relatives during this dangerous journey, "he remarked.
In both Colombia and Panama, Unicef is providing water, health and hygiene services to migrants at different points (particularly in the Necoclí dock and in Bajo Chiquito, Lajas Blancas and San Vicente, respectively).
Unicef declared that it will increase its humanitarian aid as the number of migrant children and their families is expected to increase in the following weeks and months.
Migrant children UNICEF