Thousands of migrants, most of them Venezuelans, stranded in Necoclí

The agglomeration in the Colombian town of Necoclí of more than 10,000 migrants seeking to reach Panama, to continue their route to the United States, has put this northern municipality in a delicate situation, according to the authorities.

“This year the migratory crisis is much more serious than the one registered last year,” said Colombia’s ombudsman, Carlos Camargo, who I observe the situation first-hand, according to his agency.

The official pointed out that the “number of people in human mobility” who have passed to Panama exceeds 150,000 so far this year, compared to the 134,000 migrants who did so in all of 2021.

“And the trend is to continue increasing. And second, because the conditions of economic vulnerability are evident, citizens who are more exposed to being used by illegal armed groups and criminal organizations,” Camargo assured.

Migrants arrive in this Colombian town at any time of the day or night looking for a ticket to continue their journey, but despite the high demand, transport companies only have the capacity to sell 2,000 tickets a day.

According to figures from the Colombian Ombudsman’s Office, in the week of September 24 to 30, 14,000 migrant departures were reported, which reflects an increase of 12% compared to the previous week, which was 12,000 people.

The registry shows that in 2021 approximately 133,000 people migrated throughout the year, as of September 2022 the figure represented 151,582, of which 21,570 are minors.

Given this situation, the Colombian defense organization called on the governments of Panama and Colombia to address the situation of vulnerability, especially the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF), given that 15% of migrants are minors. .

“We made several recommendations to the State entities, in a special way we request a more active presence of the ICBF given that 15% of the migrants are children and adolescents. In the last 15 days, about 4,290 minors have passed through. This is a population at high risk, particularly those who travel unaccompanied, since they are exposed to additional dangers such as trafficking or commercial sexual exploitation,” revealed Camargo.

Luis Manuel Padilla, a Venezuelan migrant imprisoned in Necoclí, told the voice of americawho are waiting for the situation to normalize so they can continue on their way to the United States, where they hope to find “better living conditions.”

“We leave with that goal, with that destiny, with seeking a better future, with seeking a better life and in this way we help each other,” he said.

Ester Lundy, a Haitian citizen who left Chile and toured Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador before arriving in Colombia, hopes to get a ticket that will take her from Necoclí to Acandí and, from there, enter the dangerous jungle of the Darién Gap.

“I left Haiti, I decided to travel to find a life; the transit was from Chile to Bolivia and from Bolivia to Peru, from Peru to Ecuador and from Ecuador to Colombia”, he told the VOA. “Now I am in Necoclí, very soon with God’s favor I am going to move forward because I am not going to go back, I am not going to give up, in this process I have suffered everything that I have had to suffer, I no longer I am afraid of nothing, with the favor of God I am going to achieve everything that I am going to propose”.

Finally, the director of Migration Colombia, Fernando García, stressed this Wednesday that “the humanitarian situation in the Darién did not start today.”

“For nearly a decade, thousands of migrants have been crossing through Colombia as a continental transit country to Panama, Central America and the United States. The policy of ‘letting go little by little’ and the lack of coordination between governments has contributed to what is becoming evident today”, he stated.

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