Page 12 - aruba-today-20190429

A12 WORLD NEWS
Monday 29 april 2019
Global migrants' journey stalls in southern Mexico

By MARK STEVENSON kept on walking."
TAPACHULA, Mexico (AP) — "Now, I just spend my time
Thousands fleeing conflict praying they will give me
or poverty in Nigeria, Cam- my papers," said Kolo, who
eroon, Bangladesh, Haiti said he would consider
and Cuba have traveled staying to work in Mexico.
across oceans, through the The large numbers of trans-
jungles and mountains of continental migrants tra-
South America, up through versing that dangerous
Central America, on a route speaks to the des-
route that — so far — ends peration of their situations
here: the steamy, crum- at home, said Meyer, of the
bling Mexican city of Tapa- Washington Office on Latin
chula, near the Guatemala America
border. Charles Lwanga, a 38-year-
Over 1,500 of them while old teacher, said he fled
away the weeks — or Cameroon two months
months— in a park dotted ago to escape violence
by giant ceiba trees and against the English-speak-
vines, awaiting exit visas ing population by the Fran-
that never seem to come, cophone majority-govern-
like a Mexican version of ment there. Lwanga trav-
the movie "Casablanca." elled to Ecuador and then
Some say they've given headed north, hoping to
up hope of reaching the seek asylum in the United
United States and just want States.
papers that will allow them A migrant child calls out to a street vendor selling water as he waits with other children inside an At the Panama-Colombia
area of the Mexican Commission for Refugee Aid office, while their parents fill out paperwork, in
to work in Mexico — but Tapachula, Mexico, Friday, April 26, 2019. border, Lwanga was lucky.
northern Mexico, where Associated Press "My group wasn't robbed,"
wages are higher. The gov- though others were, and
ernment is not prepared to Now the Mexican gov- Many of the migrants way- One of the longest routes he said, "Some people just
grant that, so it keeps them ernment is trying to get a laid in southern Mexico was that traveled by Musa died out of exhaustion ...
here, waiting. Perhaps for better handle on the flows take the interminable wait Kolo, a welder from Nige- We saw bodies, fresh bod-
an asylum ruling, perhaps -- and perhaps even limit for visas in stride; they have ria. He said he fled violence ies, and skeletons of peo-
residency status. transit visas -- amid pressure been through much worse from the Islamic extremist ple who died some time
Their lives are a daily round from U.S. President Donald on their long torturous jour- group Boko Haram in Ni- before."
of boredom, a lack of an- Trump to clamp down on neys. geria's Borno State several Now, like so many others,
swers from authorities, dirty, migration to the U.S. "The thief took my back- months ago and made after covering so many
overcrowded bathrooms "They didn't fully assess the pack, with my telephone, his way to the Ivory Coast, miles, his trail seems to
and insufficient food. Those messaging of being a more my documents, my pass- where he stowed away on have ended in Tapachula,
who still have money some- open country," said Meyer. port. He took everything," a freighter. Once he was where he said immigration
times sneak out of the com- "It's obviously a very difficult recounted Paul Eneceron, discovered, the crew took authorities endlessly put off
pound by jumping a wall situation" for Mexico. a 21 year-old economy stu- pity on him and left him off any response.
and buying their own gro- The backlog on Mexico's dent from Port-au-Prince, in Brazil, and he made his "These are the most arro-
ceries to cook over open southern border also ap- Haiti, who set out on Jan. way up through Colombia gant immigration authori-
fires. The international me- pears, in part, to be a func- 13 from Chile — where he and on to Panama. From ties I have seen on this jour-
lange of migrants seems tion of budget cuts, as well worked packing fish and there the route — now well- ney," Lwanga said. "Every
to share a taste for rice as the country's limited baking cakes for 2 1/2 worn — leads through Cos- minute they threaten you,
and lentils, not the tortillas, capacity to handle large years — hoping to reach ta Rica, Nicaragua, Hondu- to take you to another
beans and eggs provided numbers of migrants, es- Mexico, where he has rela- ras, Guatemala and finally camp which is worse than
by Mexican authorities. pecially those from distant tives among the thousands Mexico. this."
Maureen Meyer, director countries, some of which of Haitians who have set- Like Eneceron, Kolo strug- Sometimes migrants travel
for Mexico and migrant lack the infrastructure to tled in Tijuana. gled in the roadless Colom- a staggeringly long way
rights at the Washington handle repatriations. He crossed through Peru, bia-Panama border area to go just a short distance.
Office on Latin America, Trump has repeatedly Ecuador and Colombia, known as the Darien Gap. Cuba is 90 miles from Flor-
said that word quickly threatened to close the but like most, he found the In previous months, some ida, but Alain Romero, a
spread through internation- U.S. border with Mexico if border between Panama migrants had been lucky baker and desert chef from
al smuggling networks that the heavy flow of migrants and Colombia to be the enough to pay to make Havana, has travelled nine
Mexico had become more to the U.S. continues. most dangerous. It is pa- the passage on small boats months and thousands of
permissive for migrants. At- "The Mexican government's trolled by bandits toting that avoided much of the miles only to be stalled in
tention drawn to the large decision to detain as many guns and machetes who jungle, and the robbers. southern Mexico.
caravans meandering migrants as possible, after call themselves "Los Indios" But in February one of the Romero, who hopes to get
north to the U.S. last year, President Trump put pres- ("The Indians") even though boats sank, killing about 19 a job in the United States
combined with Mexico's sure on them to do so, they have no links to Pan- migrants, and the service and send money back to
fast-track for thousands of has made it clear just how ama's indigenous popula- was shut down. So migrants his wife and two daughters,
humanitarian visas in Janu- many third-country nation- tion. It was there that the like Kolo were left to hike. "I flew from Cuba to French
ary, appeared like wel- als from outside Central bandits sprang out of the spent nine days in the jun- Guayana, then made his
come mats on the global America are actually in jungle. "He (the robber) gle, walking in the jungle. way through Brazil and Co-
stage. At the same time, it the country," said Andrew pointed the pistol at me We had no water, our food lombia to follow the Pan-
became more difficult for Selee, president of the and said: 'Hand over every- finished after about three ama route north, suffering
migrants in Asia or Africa to Washington-based Migra- thing.' And I gave him my days because we didn't the same brushes with ban-
reach Europe. tion Policy Institute. backpack." bring a lot of food. We just dits the others did.q