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News > Colombia

Thousands of Haitian Migrants Remain Stranded in Colombia

  • Haitian families in Necocli, Colombia, Sept. 26, 2021.

    Haitian families in Necocli, Colombia, Sept. 26, 2021. | Photo: teleSUR

Published 27 September 2021
Opinion

Over the last weeks, hundreds of asylum seekers have been arriving in Necocli every day. Their situation is deteriorating rapidly as they lack sufficient food and water.

The humanitarian situation is deteriorating in the Necocli Municipality in Colombia, where some 20,000 Haitian migrants are trying to cross to Panama and then head to the United States through Central America.

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Over the last weeks, hundreds of asylum seekers have been arriving in this municipality every day. Local media and social organizations have denounced that the situation is deteriorating rapidly as migrants lack sufficient food, water, and medical supplies.

The humanitarian problem in this coastal town is further aggravated due to an agreement between the Governments of Colombia and Panama which allows processing the departure of only about 500 migrants per day. Thousands remain stuck in Necocli waiting for a boat to take them to the Darien jungles in Panama, where human traffickers lead the migrants to Costa Rica.

The more migrants arrive in Necocli, the less is the possibility of reducing their time of stay in this Colombian municipality. According to testimonies, two maritime transport companies are offering some travel quotas for migrants after October 22. Meanwhile, thousands of Haitians will try to survive without money for food and lodging.

The tweet reads, "Dozens of migrants, mostly from Haiti, try to cross into Panama, which has aggravated the humanitarian situation in the Necocli Municipality, in northern Colombia."

Freddy Marin, the manager of one of these companies, explained that he cannot sell more tickets due to the binational agreement. As a result, the shortage of quotas has generated more disorder and speculation with prices.

Necocli Municipality official Francisco Menco said that the epidemiological risk and the accumulation of garbage are increasing at the beaches, which are crowded with people camping on them.

Besides feeling abandoned by the President Ivan Duque's administration, local authorities experience "impotence" and uncertainty in the face of the current humanitarian situation.

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