A mother, a daughter, a deadly journey (2023)

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From the New York Times, I'm Michael Barbaro. This is The Journal.

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The jungle that connects Central and South America is among the most dangerous and deadly areas on earth. But in recent years, the number of migrants trying to cross them to reach the United States has skyrocketed. Today my colleague Julie Turkewitz with a first hand account of the Darien Gap crossing.

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It's Friday, January 20.

Julie, tell us what we should know about this place, the Darien Gap.

So the Darien Gap is this narrow strip of land between Colombia and Panama. Connects South and Central America. And this stretch of land is a jungle. And it is an extremely inhospitable jungle. And that's because the area is made up of rugged mountains, deep, intense mud. It is very dangerous to cross it on foot as there are deadly animals, beetles, snakes and mighty rivers.

Wow.

And it's also a changing area because it's incredibly humid. This place has no road. There is a highway called Panamericana that connects Argentina with Alaska. And the only part of that highway that was never built, that the engineers who tried it couldn't build, is that 66-mile stretch of jungle called the Darien Gap.

So what you saw over the years was that a small number of migrants, having heard word of mouth about the possibility of crossing that they could make it, braved this walk. And so between 2010 and 2020 it saw an average of less than 11,000 people crossing each year. What you have seen in the last two years is a huge historical increase in people traversing this very dangerous, in many cases deadly jungle.

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how many people were left

What we saw in 2022 was almost 250,000 people crossing the Darien Gap.

And what explains why so many people are trying to embark on this treacherous journey right now?

First, the pandemic has hit the economies of South America very hard. And since the crisis was regional, this left a way out. And that exit was to the north through the Darien Gap. That demand really triggered the supply. And that opened up a business opportunity for a lot of traffickers to capitalize on what was going on between them.

On the right.

And so we see traffickers advertising on social media, encouraging people to cross the gap, and talking about this trek as if it were a vacation. And suddenly the Darién, which was once considered this impassable space, has become a highway out of the continent. And there is a group that is really concerned about all this, the Venezuelans, whose humanitarian economic and political crisis is well known.

And for Venezuelans there was an added incentive to try to close the gap because right now there is this de facto exception in US policy that allows them to cross the border, stay temporarily and apply for asylum in the United States. And that is something that almost no other nationality in Latin America has.

And, Julie, give us a quick reminder of what's behind this de facto exception.

So what we've seen since the beginning of the pandemic is that the US is turning away most people who come to the border seeking asylum. They don't let her stay. Or if they do enter, the US has the option of deporting them while they process their asylum application. This situation is different for Venezuelans.

And that's because the relationship between the United States and the Venezuelan government is extremely tense. There are very few diplomatic or economic ties between the two nations. So it is extremely difficult to put Venezuelans on a plane back home from the United States. So the result was this de facto exception. The US allows Venezuelan immigrants traveling to the US to stay while turning away many other people. And the Venezuelans understood that.

Got it. So now there is a strong reason for Venezuelans to attempt this trip.

I agree. So I had to understand this contradiction that I saw between this incredibly rugged terrain, this idea that this place is an impassable jungle, and these numbers that we were seeing, which were absolutely staggering. So my colleague Fede, Federico Ríos, a photographer, and I decided that the only way to really do this was to do the trek ourselves. And so we set out to cross the Darien Gap.

Tell us, Julie, about this trip.

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So I started the trip in Necocli, the beach town in Colombia that serves as the starting point for the journey through the Darién.

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So, from Necoclí, the migrants have to cross this great body of water, this gulf, to reach the point where the jungle begins. And I have to say that we were totally enthusiastic about the organization and the way it all played out.

Then there are calls over the loudspeaker where the people who run these former tour boats, now immigrant boats, ask immigrants one by one to board their assigned boat after they have purchased their ticket.

So here we immediately see the business component of this.

Absolute.

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So we got on this ship with a large group of migrants to start this journey. And we arrive at Capurganá, the town on the other side of the gulf, the last town before humans enter the jungle.

We then set out on a journey through the jungle that would take between six and 10 days for most of these migrants.

We pass some modest houses on the dusty road. And then you see the towering trees in front of you. And it's quite beautiful, but also quite menacing because of all the horrible stories you've heard about this jungle. And soon the terrain becomes very steep. And its very hot. It is very hot.

On this steep, rather muddy terrain, people fight. You breathe heavily. Some people start crying.

And then it starts to get really difficult. The mud becomes extremely thick. So at this point we're walking across a river. Everyone has that beat-up look, just covered in mud. You just slip and slide and sink so deep into the mud that the mud coats your wellies if you're lucky enough to have wellies and then fills your boots and traps you in place.

On the right. And somehow people manage with children in their arms or on their backs.

Yes, many children. Lots and lots of kids.

Wow. [CRYING BOY]

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So when we're there for two days, we really start to see people fall apart. You start to get sick. You start to hurt yourself.

There is a pregnant woman we see falling down an extremely steep hill.

And it is becoming clear that some will not make this journey. You will not survive.

And just a few days after...

– We came across a dead body on the road.

Wow.

And I can hear the reaction of person after person hitting that body.

And I can hear them trying to protect their children from a very, very, very horrible part of this hike.

And then we continue. And the shocking thing is that a little later...

- I hear cheers.

People encourage each other, support each other.

Often the adults could be heard singing along with the children just to keep the mood up.

So on the fourth day we crossed Panama. We are halfway through the journey. And we are about to face the most difficult part of the walk, the so-called Hill of Death.

And on this hill I meet Sarah.

Sarah is this little six-year-old girl from Venezuela. She is wearing a tiny pink glitter top.

And she goes up the hill of death with a man named Angel.

He's not her father, which of course I thought. And I see Angel helping Sarah up and then down the hill of death.

And when we arrived Angel asked us if he and Sarah could spend the night near us.

And of course we said yes.

And as we set up camp for the night, I got to know Sarah a little better.

And what I learned that night, as I sat with Sarah and Angel, was that Sarah's mother had become friends with Angel and some of Angel's friends earlier on the trip. So Sarah's mother had been hurt, she didn't quite understand how, and she had asked Angel that morning if she could help her by carrying Sarah in a few places, guiding her as she trotted in her wounded state.

And finally, Angel and Sarah looked back. And Sarah's mother was gone. And when I met her, nobody knew where her mother was. We didn't even know if she was alive.

As we camp out that night, Fede and I try to process everything we've heard about this sweet girl and what must have happened that day, as well as what her mother must be thinking.

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It really seemed to illustrate how cruel this journey was that a mother was urged, some would say forced, to give up her son, her son's fate, to someone she had just met, all in the hope of reaching the Darien Gap. and she came to the United States.

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We'll be right back.

So what happens the next morning?

So Sarah's group wakes up very early. And they tell us that they will leave. You will continue.

But before they left I asked Sarah for a description of her mother in case I could see her later that day and interview her, tell her that Sarah is okay.

And I have been told that Sarah's mother is exactly like her, that she is physically identical, the same hair, the same skin. Sarah's group leaves. And Fede and I decided that we were left behind. And we will wait and hope to find the mother.

And in fact -

- A few hours later, a woman fitting the description comes down the hill. And I ask him, are you Sara's mother? And she calls. And she wants to know right away if her daughter is okay. At this point, it had been over a day since she had seen her only son. You've been on this trip for about six days so far. Her name is Alejandra.

Sarah's mother tells me that she has terrible blisters on her feet, blisters so bad she can barely walk.

So we sit on a log by a river. And I asked her what brought her here. How did she get here? Why is she here?

She told me that she is a lawyer in Venezuela. And she earned decent money for some time. But when the country's oil industry collapsed, her business collapsed.

And for years she had to wait in long lines for food, for Sarah's diapers, for basic supplies.

And according to her, Venezuela was not a place to raise a family. So earlier this year she left Venezuela, crossing the Atacama desert on foot to reach Chile, where she thought she could start a new life. But her wages were too low.

He could not practice law there because he did not have the proper documentation. Y -

Alexandra tells me that she feels that the United States is letting her enter and stay in the country. And here she wants to raise her daughter. That's what brought her on this journey in the first place.

So let's talk about what that experience was like for her. And she is dismayed by the fact that she was separated from her daughter. She is horrified by what her daughter is going through.

All he can think about is what this experience must be like for this little six-year-old.

So we parted. And I kept walking, hoping to catch up with Sarah and tell her that her mother was alive and well and it looked like they were going to meet.

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At this point it is day seven. we are exhausted. But Fede and I keep moving much faster than Alexandra. And we think maybe we can catch up with Sarah at the next camp. Finally, we finally arrived at a place called [ESPAÑOL].

The next camp is a place called [SPANISH]. This camp is a pretty big stopping point at the end of the trip. [SPANISH] is run by a family that sells groceries. There are policemen. There is some infrastructure nearby.

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And once we're settled in, I start looking for Sarah.

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And I discover Sarah and Angel. And I tell Sarah right away that I met her mom, she's only a day or two late.

He kept asking about his mother.

And as I speak to her, she asks to wait in this camp, to wait in [SPANISH] until her mother finds her there. But it is quite clear that this camp, [SPANISH], although it has some infrastructure, is not designed for a child to sit for days waiting for her parents. It's dirty. There is really no sewage.

So Ángel has decided that they have to go to the end of the walk, where there is a government camp where the children who have been separated on this trip can stay until they are reunited with their parents, with their adults. And that's where they want to take Sarah. So I tell them that I will stay to report and that I will be there when her mother arrives. Alexandra is probably a day late. I know I can wait and try to connect with her at this camp.

What happens next?

So we wait in [SPANISH]. I see this ship coming.

Alexandra is on the boat. Her face is simply contorted in pain.

His feet are so damaged that he can no longer walk. She cries. And she is shaking. She tells me that they spent the night outside because their tent broke down. She's covered in these bug bites. Her skin is red and inflamed.

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He hasn't eaten or drunk anything for two days.

She keeps asking about Sarah. And she keeps asking, where is Sarah? And she just wants to move on right away to find Sarah as soon as possible. Y -

I tell him that I saw Sarah, that Sarah is right in front of me.

And all you want to do is get started right away.

She does not want to eat. She doesn't want to sleep. She doesn't want to rest. She just wants to find her daughter. And so we got on this ship to go together to the UN government camp.

So we got off the boat. It has yet to be used.

She is looking for her daughter.

She scans and scans.

You really feel hope, but mostly despair. And finally, the Panamanian officials take her to one of her cabins. And there in the cabin is Sarah, her daughter.

So I'm in this room with my colleague. And we see this meeting happen. And Alexandra, she grabs her daughter. she holds them. And she immediately begins to ask for forgiveness.

Please forgive me. Please forgive me. I didn't leave you, she says. She wants Sarah to know that she didn't do this on purpose. She would never intentionally leave her daughter. That's the most important thing you can tell Sarah.

Alexandra touched Sarah all over and scanned her body. On the right.

And she wanted to confirm that they are together. But I also think that she wanted to know that her daughter wasn't hurt. They've been apart for three days. A lot could have happened to her.

Sarah seemed to be in shock.

And she almost didn't seem to believe her mother was there. Or she seemed to be struggling to understand what had happened in the last three days. She kept telling her mother that they had made it out of the jungle.

It was a very bittersweet reunion because they were finally together after going through so much, each one of them. They had just experienced something so difficult that I know will shape them both for the rest of their lives. But they hadn't even gotten anywhere near the United States. They still had a lot to do.

On the right. Well, we'll talk about that briefly. After everything they just went through, will Alexandra and Sarah make it to the United States?

Yeah, that's a really heartbreaking question. Sarah and her mother are resting for a day or two. And then they head north. They have to pay for the buses that take them through Central America. And they end up in Honduras. And when they're in Honduras, they hear about new policies from the Biden administration.

And what is this policy?

The Biden administration ended the waiver that allowed people like them to enter the United States from Venezuela at a time when very few other South American nationalities could enter the country. And essentially, Sarah and Alexandra learn that after this harrowing, harrowing, and traumatic journey, they will be turned away when they arrive at the US border.

And the Biden administration did it because they were looking at the same numbers that we are. They saw that this exception had helped lead people through the jungle. And they saw this large number of people going to the United States. And honestly, they freaked out.

And that's how they introduced this new policy. Venezuelans are now turned away. And that's what Sarah and Alexandra discover just two days after leaving the jungle. But what's interesting about this new Biden policy is that it also creates a new way for people to come and stay in the country temporarily while they seek asylum.

And essentially, the Biden administration is saying: Please, Venezuelans, don't come to the Darien Gap. Apply for this new route to the United States, which the US calls humanitarian parole, which requires you to meet several requirements, such as a passport and someone in the United States to sponsor you, which essentially says, I'm going to be your funder for a few months when they arrive.

So Sarah and Alexandra think, OK, maybe we can do that. We will try. And they apply. And talking to you, there they are. They live in Honduras. You have no family there. You have very little support. And they just wait.

Coincidentally, this entire harrowing journey through the Darien Gap was essentially wasted for Alexandra and Sarah in this cruel twist of fate and timing given Biden's change in policy. to no avail. There was no way I was getting her to the United States.

Yeah, I think that's quite an intense thing for a mother to struggle with after she's pushed herself and more importantly her son through this incredibly traumatic experience in search of something greater, in looking for something Looking for something better, a kind of security. .

If you are the United States, this makes sense, as painful as it is for Alexandra and Sarah and everyone who has been through this journey. And the logic is that they want to advise against this trip because it is dangerous and because the US cannot accommodate so many people, according to the White House. So has this change in policy had the effect it was intended to have? Has the number of people attempting to cross the Darién decreased since its creation?

This answer has two parts. The first part is that the policy worked in the immediate sense. When we came out of the jungle, about 5000 people came out and through the jungle in a single day. When this policy was implemented, the number dropped significantly almost immediately within 10 days.

But the thing is, there are still 700, 800 people walking through the jungle every day. And if you look at 700 or 800 people a day for 365 days a year, we are talking about almost 300,000 people who could cross the Darien Gap in 2023. This would follow a year in which 250,000 people crossed the Darien Gap . And we thought that was an amazing, amazing, shocking number. So this tells us that despite these policies, people are still willing to undertake this enormously difficult journey.

Although the number of migrants has decreased, it has not returned to the much lower numbers of years ago. And it sounds like what you say, there are still many more people crossing the Darien than ever before.

Absolutely. And if you ask me why this is happening, you must first look at the fact that US immigration policy from South America seems extremely confusing. They change all the time. And so people think, well, politics could be x if I go. But when I get to the border it will be different. And maybe I'll be the one to get ahead.

Second, this despair continues. The financial consequences of the pandemic continue. And third, you have to look at what's happening on the internet, the way the traffickers lure people, they advertise people like it's a vacation. And that's really happening very randomly.

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And all these factors mean that despite this US policy of discouraging people from making this trip, the Darién is already open. The Darien is an open corridor for migrants that will continue to be used unless something major changes in the US or something major changes in the jungle. And that means that more and more families are putting themselves in these extremely traumatic situations because they feel they have no other choice.

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Julius, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

thanks miguel [PLAY MUSIC]

We'll be right back.

This is what you need to know today. On Thursday, the Supreme Court said an internal investigation had failed to identify the person who leaked the draft opinion that struck down Roe v Wade in May, an extraordinary violation of the court's rules of secrecy. The investigation included 126 interviews and an examination of the court system's computers, printers, and telephones. But in the end, the mystery of who revealed the historic verdict may never be solved.

And the United States hit its debt ceiling on Thursday, prompting the Treasury Department to begin a series of accounting maneuvers to ensure the federal government can keep paying its bills. Republicans have said they will not vote to raise the debt ceiling unless the Biden administration agrees to a series of major spending cuts, a strategy likely to result in a high-stakes showdown in the coming weeks.

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Tonight's episode was produced by Sydney Harper and Carlos Prieto with assistance from Nina Feldman and Clare Toeniskoetter. It was edited by M.J Davis Lin and Patricia Willens with assistance from Lisa Chow, verified by Susan Lee, features original music by Elisheba Ittoop, and is edited by Brad Fisher.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk from Wonderly. A special thanks to Eileen Sullivan.

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That's it for The Daily. I'm Michael Barbaro. See you Monday.

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