The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that the Latin American and Caribbean region is witnessing an “unprecedented” crisis in the migration of children, of whom a record number of children have entered major crossing points on the continent.
“The Latin American and Caribbean region is home to one of the largest and most complex child migration crises in the world,” the report of the United Nations agency said.
Despite the fires, poisonous snakes, and swamps, the dangerous Darien Forest, located between Colombia and Panama, saw 133,000 people cross into Panama in 2021, including 29,000 children, which is “five times the number of children in the past four years combined,” according to the report.
In 2022, the number of passers-by almost doubled, reaching 250,000, including 40,000 children.
In a historic record that worries UNICEF, more than 40,000 children crossed the Darien forest in the first half of 2023.
The United Nations coordinator in the region, Gary Connell, expressed his concern, saying, “The region is under the sway of gang violence, instability, poverty and climate changes, forcing more children to leave their homes.” He pointed out that immigrants are children, often alone, and hail from many countries. Children under 11 years of age account for 91% of migrant children in the Latin America and Caribbean region.
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2023-09-07 22:08:50
