1 00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:03,120 Speaker 1: Media. 2 00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:05,600 Speaker 2: Hey everybody, Robert Evans here and I wanted to let 3 00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:09,280 Speaker 2: you know this is a compilation episode. So every episode 4 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:12,520 Speaker 2: of the week that just happened is here in one 5 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:16,360 Speaker 2: convenient and with somewhat less ads package for you to 6 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:18,880 Speaker 2: listen to in a long stretch if you want. If 7 00:00:18,880 --> 00:00:20,800 Speaker 2: you've been listening to the episodes every day this week, 8 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:22,560 Speaker 2: there's going to be nothing new here for you, but 9 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:24,320 Speaker 2: you can make your own decisions. 10 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:27,320 Speaker 3: It's me James, and before we listen to this episode today, 11 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:28,920 Speaker 3: I just did want to make you aware that I 12 00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:33,440 Speaker 3: conducted these interviews in French and Spanish, mostly Spanish, and 13 00:00:33,479 --> 00:00:36,560 Speaker 3: then transcribed and translated them. So what you're hearing is 14 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:39,880 Speaker 3: a translated interview that's been edited for brevity and content. 15 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:44,320 Speaker 3: I hope you enjoyed the episode. 16 00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:54,120 Speaker 4: The most difficult part of the Jinney is wing. We 17 00:00:54,200 --> 00:01:00,360 Speaker 4: are tricking and your meet dead bodies on It makes 18 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:07,160 Speaker 4: you rep it makes you cry, But there's only one 19 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:11,720 Speaker 4: for coss in the forest ahead. You'll have to keep going. 20 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:21,480 Speaker 4: You'll see modest children. They're crying just to have a 21 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:29,160 Speaker 4: sip of water. It is not easy. 22 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:34,320 Speaker 3: A few weeks ago I found myself sitting beside the 23 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:38,000 Speaker 3: Tuquesa River on a warm afternoon in late September, making 24 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:40,240 Speaker 3: silly faces at a two minths old baby as we 25 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:44,440 Speaker 3: both marveled at the cloud yellow butterflies. Anywhere else on 26 00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:47,120 Speaker 3: earth it could be in a dyllic summer day, but 27 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:49,520 Speaker 3: in these final steps of the journey across the daddy 28 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:51,920 Speaker 3: and gap, it's hard to open up your mind to 29 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:56,120 Speaker 3: experience joy. I'd only been in the tiny Emberra village 30 00:01:56,120 --> 00:01:59,000 Speaker 3: of a couple of days, and I had already seen 31 00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:01,800 Speaker 3: the lifeless body of a girl as the migrants carried 32 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:05,080 Speaker 3: her into town. The river I was sleeping around him 33 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:07,160 Speaker 3: with this group of migrants resting here in the shade 34 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:09,920 Speaker 3: had swept sleeping children to their deaths earlier this year, 35 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:12,200 Speaker 3: and up to stream of me there were at least 36 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:16,519 Speaker 3: three people's remains here. It was shin deep, but crossing 37 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:19,200 Speaker 3: upstream where it's above head height and raides down out 38 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:22,480 Speaker 3: of the mountains in steep ravines. Was the migrants I 39 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:25,519 Speaker 3: walked back to town with told me the stuff of nightmares. 40 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:28,359 Speaker 3: The voice you just heard was a migrant from Cameroon 41 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:31,760 Speaker 3: who called himself James. That's not his real name, and 42 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:34,639 Speaker 3: astute listeners would have noticed that it is my real name, 43 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:37,799 Speaker 3: but for the protection of James and his family, it's 44 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:41,239 Speaker 3: a name we'll be using when I met James. We're 45 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:44,160 Speaker 3: in a migrant reception center called Las Blancas, to the 46 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:47,600 Speaker 3: north of the Daien Gap. To get there, one has 47 00:02:47,639 --> 00:02:50,919 Speaker 3: to take a dugout canoe called a piragua from Bajo Jiquito. 48 00:02:51,919 --> 00:02:54,960 Speaker 3: The voyage takes five hours, and for that five hours, 49 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:57,920 Speaker 3: migrants are packed fifteen to a boat wearing bright orange 50 00:02:57,919 --> 00:03:01,400 Speaker 3: life jackets. Here the boat with Embra Praguero, who sits 51 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:03,760 Speaker 3: at the back driving the boat with a tooth stroke motor, 52 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:06,520 Speaker 3: and a guide who sits on the front, using a 53 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:09,200 Speaker 3: pole when necessary to push the boat through shallow sections. 54 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:12,280 Speaker 3: The Umbraa people are indigenous to the area that's commonly 55 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:14,760 Speaker 3: known as a Darian Gap, or at least to this 56 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:17,960 Speaker 3: part of it, and a tiny Embrea village of Bajo Juquito. 57 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:20,960 Speaker 3: It's a first settlement migrants encounter is they emerge from 58 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:23,720 Speaker 3: the perilous crossing of the jungle that divides Central America 59 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:27,760 Speaker 3: from South America and thousands of people from a better future. 60 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:31,560 Speaker 3: There's a morale patch that the Panamanian Border Patrol and 61 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 3: military wear on their uniforms. The reflects a slogan in 62 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 3: a government messaging campaign, da Jungla. It says. The campaign 63 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:44,320 Speaker 3: was launched in August, and it translates to the Darien 64 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:46,880 Speaker 3: isn't a route or maybe a road to a better translation, 65 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:52,760 Speaker 3: it's a jungle. Obviously it's actually both. But this is 66 00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:54,720 Speaker 3: like no route. Most of us will be familiar with. 67 00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:57,960 Speaker 3: The dark and foreboding jungle I saw in Bahajiguito is 68 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:01,200 Speaker 3: one of the most impenetrable on Earth, and the crossing 69 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:03,960 Speaker 3: of it is among the most dangerous land migration routes. 70 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:07,240 Speaker 3: In the nineteen seventies, the British Army said it most 71 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:10,320 Speaker 3: experienced explorers to find a way through the gap. Their 72 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:14,000 Speaker 3: commander called the gap a gold for saken place. Today, 73 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:17,479 Speaker 3: migrants have their own names for it, Route del Morte 74 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:21,640 Speaker 3: or sometimes the Green Hell. Here's a group from Cameroon 75 00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:24,280 Speaker 3: explaining why they didn't see a future there and they 76 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:26,279 Speaker 3: decided to take this dangerous route. 77 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:29,800 Speaker 5: We are coming from Cameroon and my name is Powers. 78 00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:32,200 Speaker 5: There's a lot of crisis in our country. There's a 79 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:34,760 Speaker 5: civil war going on in Cameroon right now because of 80 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:37,479 Speaker 5: our president. President Pombia has been in power over forty 81 00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:41,560 Speaker 5: two years, so I was the anglophone. We started revolting 82 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:44,240 Speaker 5: for him to step down because it doesn't develop the 83 00:04:44,279 --> 00:04:50,599 Speaker 5: Southern American sorry, the English section of Cameroon. Yeah, the 84 00:04:50,640 --> 00:04:53,800 Speaker 5: anglophone section a revolt insid he was set in the military, 85 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:57,200 Speaker 5: and what's killing the citizens of our country. There's a 86 00:04:57,200 --> 00:04:59,159 Speaker 5: lot of hardship, a lot of that. I for one, 87 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:01,640 Speaker 5: I've lost every body. I lost one of my family, 88 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:04,159 Speaker 5: my mom, my dad, my two brothers, and I'm the 89 00:05:04,200 --> 00:05:05,200 Speaker 5: only one left. 90 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:06,400 Speaker 6: So things a moan. 91 00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:09,359 Speaker 5: There's no job. I've completed school, but there's nothing for 92 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:10,479 Speaker 5: me to do, so that's right. 93 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:12,120 Speaker 6: We decided to migrate. 94 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:15,919 Speaker 3: To get to Baho Jiquito from Columbia, as James and 95 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:19,120 Speaker 3: other migrants did. There's no road you can take. You 96 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:22,320 Speaker 3: can't even take a boat or a train. Instead, you 97 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:25,960 Speaker 3: have to walk the Darrying Gap, an area of rainforested 98 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:28,479 Speaker 3: mountains that it is one of the most dangerous migration 99 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:32,960 Speaker 3: routes in the world, for anywhere between two and fifteen days. 100 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:36,200 Speaker 3: Migrants trek through waste timeh mud, and rivers deeper than 101 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:40,960 Speaker 3: they are tall. They must climb giant boulders, cross perilous ravines, 102 00:05:41,279 --> 00:05:45,159 Speaker 3: and traverse sheer cliff faces. All of this with barely 103 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:48,320 Speaker 3: any water than what they can carry, little to no food, 104 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:53,760 Speaker 3: inadequate clothing, a terrible footwear, and no medical attention. They 105 00:05:53,839 --> 00:05:56,600 Speaker 3: must walk past dead bodies and past people who might 106 00:05:56,680 --> 00:06:00,279 Speaker 3: soon become dead bodies, as they beg for help, carry 107 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:04,320 Speaker 3: their children, their dreams, and sometimes each other. Across mountains 108 00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:08,000 Speaker 3: and rivers and about Jiqito. They take what, for many 109 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:10,120 Speaker 3: of them will be the final steps of this part 110 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:13,520 Speaker 3: of their journey. It's a journey that few of us 111 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:16,240 Speaker 3: can imagine, and they were lucky to be able to avoid. 112 00:06:17,240 --> 00:06:19,919 Speaker 3: My own migration to the US sixteen years ago was 113 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:23,640 Speaker 3: much simpler and safer. But for migrants like James, the 114 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:26,799 Speaker 3: journey's worth it because what they're leaving behind is worse. 115 00:06:27,640 --> 00:06:31,919 Speaker 3: His James describing the situation in the stative Cameroon. The 116 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:37,240 Speaker 3: situation in Cameroon is, how can I put it, very 117 00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:44,159 Speaker 3: very very very difficult, especially in the anglophone part of 118 00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:50,480 Speaker 3: the country. Yeah, because for about five to six years 119 00:06:51,200 --> 00:06:56,120 Speaker 3: there's a wall, the ongoing war in the anglophone crisis 120 00:06:57,120 --> 00:06:57,960 Speaker 3: we are sort have been. 121 00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:05,800 Speaker 4: There has been fighting the shooting Killing's I myself speaking 122 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:14,440 Speaker 4: to you. Yeah, I've been targeted. My cousin was shot 123 00:07:15,400 --> 00:07:21,560 Speaker 4: and with his husband, he was shot together. Both of 124 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:27,600 Speaker 4: them were Nessis and they were shot by the army 125 00:07:28,120 --> 00:07:32,120 Speaker 4: that were there to protect the people. So the situation 126 00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:38,360 Speaker 4: back at home, it's very very tense. Yeah, it's very 127 00:07:38,440 --> 00:07:44,000 Speaker 4: very tense. When you see most of Camaronians traveling taking 128 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:48,960 Speaker 4: the Ric's part from Columbia Brazy right up to where 129 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:52,480 Speaker 4: I am. It is not because they like it. It's 130 00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:55,800 Speaker 4: because of the situation back at home and most of it, 131 00:07:55,960 --> 00:07:59,360 Speaker 4: and most of the time it is the anglophone population 132 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:02,560 Speaker 4: that is of most of them. They choose this part 133 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:05,800 Speaker 4: because they'll not have a direct result to American. 134 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:06,880 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's very hard to get one right. 135 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:09,520 Speaker 4: Yes, it's very very difficult, so they have to use 136 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:10,320 Speaker 4: the hard. 137 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:13,400 Speaker 3: Way, which is the only way. The truth is that 138 00:08:13,480 --> 00:08:16,880 Speaker 3: dead bodies, terrible stories and families celebrating the end of 139 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:19,840 Speaker 3: their walk is nothing out of the ordinary. And Bahajiqito, 140 00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:23,160 Speaker 3: the Enbarra town with the population of just five hundred 141 00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:25,440 Speaker 3: and ninety, is a place I've been trying to come 142 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:27,960 Speaker 3: to for almost as long as I've been writing about migration. 143 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:30,440 Speaker 3: There are a few stories in my time as a 144 00:08:30,480 --> 00:08:32,880 Speaker 3: journalist that I've been pitching for close to a decade. 145 00:08:33,559 --> 00:08:35,480 Speaker 3: Most of the time, I give up if there are 146 00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:38,320 Speaker 3: no bites after a few months, and that's why you 147 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:40,079 Speaker 3: won't see me write about the people who try to 148 00:08:40,120 --> 00:08:43,440 Speaker 3: hire mercenaries to intimidate voters in twenty twenty, or the 149 00:08:43,480 --> 00:08:45,640 Speaker 3: Burmese rebels who if I did their revolution with co 150 00:08:45,679 --> 00:08:48,680 Speaker 3: op produced tea or a surfing team in the Gaza strip, 151 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:51,400 Speaker 3: And on reflection, you probably won't hear about that last 152 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:55,120 Speaker 3: one anywhere now. The media cycle has a way of 153 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:58,080 Speaker 3: coming around to these stories eventually, sure, but I not 154 00:08:58,160 --> 00:08:59,480 Speaker 3: really want to go back to what it is who 155 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:01,640 Speaker 3: didn't give a sh about people before and only care 156 00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:04,960 Speaker 3: about their stories now because they get more traffic. But 157 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:07,600 Speaker 3: there's one story I've never given up on. That's the 158 00:09:07,640 --> 00:09:10,079 Speaker 3: story of the daddy En Gap and the people who 159 00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:12,120 Speaker 3: risk their lives crossing it for a shot at the 160 00:09:12,160 --> 00:09:15,640 Speaker 3: American dream. And at this point I do want to agnolige. 161 00:09:15,679 --> 00:09:17,680 Speaker 3: I'm incredibly grateful to the people I work with for 162 00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:19,600 Speaker 3: trusting me when I ask them to pay for me 163 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:22,360 Speaker 3: to disappear in a dugout canoe into the jungle and 164 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:25,800 Speaker 3: come back two weeks later with a story. The Daddy 165 00:09:25,840 --> 00:09:28,000 Speaker 3: and looms in the stories of migrants I meet in 166 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:30,640 Speaker 3: the US border as a sort of heart of darkness 167 00:09:30,960 --> 00:09:34,360 Speaker 3: on what is a very difficult and dangerous journey. It's 168 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:36,640 Speaker 3: worse than the freight trains they hop on in Mexico, 169 00:09:37,240 --> 00:09:40,400 Speaker 3: worse than the crowded buses, worse even than the months 170 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:44,120 Speaker 3: of waiting for an asylum appointment. I've only believe that 171 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:48,760 Speaker 3: you can't really understand and write about things you haven't seen, smelt, 172 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:51,720 Speaker 3: and heard. So for years I've been asking, yet it 173 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:53,360 Speaker 3: is to send me to the tiny, en but our 174 00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:56,360 Speaker 3: community on the banks of the river, so that I 175 00:09:56,400 --> 00:09:58,960 Speaker 3: could share the final steps of this horrific journey with 176 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:01,079 Speaker 3: the people who see little option but to risk their 177 00:10:01,080 --> 00:10:04,840 Speaker 3: lives for a better future for their children. Because the 178 00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:08,839 Speaker 3: US refuses to create more legal pathways, people instead take 179 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:11,199 Speaker 3: the sudden pathway straight up and down the mountains of 180 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:14,800 Speaker 3: the Darian rainforest. The journey will take them past the 181 00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:17,880 Speaker 3: corpse of the people who never left. The terrain is 182 00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:20,720 Speaker 3: too fierce for anyone to carry their remains out, so 183 00:10:20,760 --> 00:10:23,160 Speaker 3: they must simply run there. As a reminder to migrants, 184 00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:26,000 Speaker 3: so they must keep going. It's a sort of deterrent 185 00:10:26,040 --> 00:10:28,440 Speaker 3: through death that has been the unofficial and official US 186 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:32,120 Speaker 3: border policy for decades to turn or not. Once you're 187 00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:34,640 Speaker 3: in the Darien, there's no turning back, and the lack 188 00:10:34,679 --> 00:10:37,800 Speaker 3: of escape routes has made the gap popular among criminals, 189 00:10:38,080 --> 00:10:41,520 Speaker 3: who commit untold numbers of sexual assaults, murders, and armed 190 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:45,520 Speaker 3: robberies every year in the jungle. Despite this, more than 191 00:10:45,559 --> 00:10:48,160 Speaker 3: half a million migrants made the perilous journey last year 192 00:10:48,559 --> 00:10:50,600 Speaker 3: and if many, if not more, will do so this year. 193 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:54,439 Speaker 3: To understand the Dadian you have to first understand US 194 00:10:54,440 --> 00:10:57,160 Speaker 3: immigration policy, which is something I talk about a lot 195 00:10:57,160 --> 00:10:59,839 Speaker 3: on this podcast. I want to include here a clip 196 00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:02,599 Speaker 3: amos Am I going from North Africa, who met my 197 00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:05,160 Speaker 3: friends and helped them build shelters in the Cumba last year, 198 00:11:05,679 --> 00:11:08,120 Speaker 3: explaining his journey to the United States. 199 00:11:08,640 --> 00:11:12,680 Speaker 7: So another route right now, which is a difficult route, 200 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:16,840 Speaker 7: is through Brazil because Brazil has a I don't know 201 00:11:16,880 --> 00:11:21,200 Speaker 7: if you guys know, and I think they do that 202 00:11:21,240 --> 00:11:25,400 Speaker 7: for Americans too. Yeah, So Brazil has sort of I 203 00:11:25,440 --> 00:11:27,520 Speaker 7: don't know the word, but the equivalent to them is 204 00:11:27,520 --> 00:11:31,480 Speaker 7: if you impose a visa on Brazil. Brazilians were imposed 205 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:34,960 Speaker 7: his own news. They do that to Americans too, so 206 00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:38,360 Speaker 7: so you know where I'm from. They don't have a 207 00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:42,360 Speaker 7: visa to as far as for Brazilians, so we don't. 208 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:45,280 Speaker 7: So a lot of Africans can go to Brazil and 209 00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:47,880 Speaker 7: from Brazil take the route. 210 00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:52,120 Speaker 3: All the way was Jims couldn't fly here directly, that 211 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:53,800 Speaker 3: he was able to get a little bit closer to 212 00:11:53,840 --> 00:11:56,640 Speaker 3: the US by flying to Columbia. I'll let him explain 213 00:11:56,679 --> 00:11:57,560 Speaker 3: how he pulled that off. 214 00:11:58,280 --> 00:12:03,280 Speaker 4: For me to have a pass to Colombia, it was 215 00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:08,760 Speaker 4: not easy, so we had we had to. There was 216 00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:12,280 Speaker 4: a female female on that twenty World Cup that was 217 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:17,720 Speaker 4: that was taking place in Colombia, so we had to 218 00:12:17,760 --> 00:12:19,840 Speaker 4: go to Columbia as football fans. 219 00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:22,040 Speaker 3: That's why they had. 220 00:12:22,120 --> 00:12:26,040 Speaker 4: They had to give us our bizare yes all right? 221 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:30,200 Speaker 4: From Colombia, we'll find our way out of the airport to. 222 00:12:32,120 --> 00:12:36,800 Speaker 3: Where we are today, both from the Continental America, we'll 223 00:12:36,800 --> 00:12:40,320 Speaker 3: have to travel to Brazil, just like amos. Here's one 224 00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:42,800 Speaker 3: a cap. I'll let the speakers introduce themselves. 225 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:45,960 Speaker 8: My name is tom May, I'm from Ida. 226 00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:49,679 Speaker 6: My name is Mohade from Iran. 227 00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:52,360 Speaker 9: My name is Ali and I'm from ira. 228 00:12:52,920 --> 00:12:56,120 Speaker 3: They told me why they left around but I'm sure Manydicul, 229 00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:58,160 Speaker 3: we that went out of yourself, so we weren't included here. 230 00:12:58,400 --> 00:13:01,400 Speaker 3: How did you come from Iran? Here you got for 231 00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:01,920 Speaker 3: a Turkey. 232 00:13:02,720 --> 00:13:09,280 Speaker 9: It was so difficult, and we came from Iran Tehran 233 00:13:09,720 --> 00:13:14,600 Speaker 9: to Dubai, after that South Aul of Brazil and after 234 00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:21,079 Speaker 9: that Believe Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Ecokley and jungle Panama 235 00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:25,679 Speaker 9: here Panama, And it was so difficult for us because 236 00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:31,840 Speaker 9: we're young. We just leave our family, my sister, my 237 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:35,600 Speaker 9: mother and father. It was so emotional and it was 238 00:13:35,640 --> 00:13:38,679 Speaker 9: so hard for us. But because of the freedom, because 239 00:13:38,679 --> 00:13:41,600 Speaker 9: we can't speak in our country. You know, if you 240 00:13:42,360 --> 00:13:45,600 Speaker 9: speak in your in the street something like it, they 241 00:13:45,600 --> 00:13:49,080 Speaker 9: will arrest you to and yeah, in the Jaid when 242 00:13:49,120 --> 00:13:53,120 Speaker 9: you are not Muslim, when you will be like something 243 00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:56,960 Speaker 9: like Christian or something else, they will arrest you. Yes, 244 00:13:57,160 --> 00:14:00,760 Speaker 9: it was It was so so, so so the because 245 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:06,000 Speaker 9: living in Iran. But it's a wonderful country, but not government. 246 00:14:06,840 --> 00:14:09,080 Speaker 3: When I talk to migrants, I always want to offer 247 00:14:09,120 --> 00:14:11,160 Speaker 3: them the chance to share their stories in ways that 248 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:14,600 Speaker 3: they want to share them. And I asked them what 249 00:14:14,640 --> 00:14:16,840 Speaker 3: they would want to say if they could talk directly 250 00:14:16,840 --> 00:14:19,640 Speaker 3: to Americans. It's a question I ask a lot, because 251 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:21,920 Speaker 3: in all the coverage of migration I've seen in this country, 252 00:14:22,240 --> 00:14:26,080 Speaker 3: I rarely see migrants' voices. I'm very familiar with being 253 00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:27,880 Speaker 3: the only journalist in a place, and I'd be lying 254 00:14:27,880 --> 00:14:30,160 Speaker 3: if I said I didn't prefer it that way. But 255 00:14:30,800 --> 00:14:33,040 Speaker 3: I do always feel obliged to use the platform I 256 00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:35,720 Speaker 3: have here to give people a chance to share their stories, 257 00:14:35,880 --> 00:14:39,200 Speaker 3: their voices, and their struggles. So here's their message to you. 258 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:40,440 Speaker 3: We love you. 259 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:43,960 Speaker 9: Hope too, you love is it's hard to share. 260 00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:48,040 Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, I think that's very good. 261 00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:52,440 Speaker 9: It will be our next home and we should be 262 00:14:53,280 --> 00:14:55,520 Speaker 9: proud of that. We should be vote for that, We 263 00:14:55,560 --> 00:15:00,000 Speaker 9: should be be a real American for the country. 264 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:06,360 Speaker 8: Yeah, they know Romans are very bad situations, have a 265 00:15:06,440 --> 00:15:13,800 Speaker 8: bad situation in Iran. Yeah, for all people, that is saying, 266 00:15:13,880 --> 00:15:18,040 Speaker 8: But for women is very, very, very hard. I think 267 00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:25,440 Speaker 8: American people know about Massa Amini. Yeah, and they really 268 00:15:25,480 --> 00:15:31,120 Speaker 8: they chill us, really, they chill women for simple things. 269 00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:35,520 Speaker 3: I heard hundreds of stories like this in my time 270 00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:38,520 Speaker 3: in Bajo Jiquito and the last Blancast migrant reception center, 271 00:15:38,600 --> 00:15:41,320 Speaker 3: that migrants travel to after they arrive in Baja Chiquito. 272 00:15:41,920 --> 00:15:45,920 Speaker 3: People left horrific things behind them and saw horrific things 273 00:15:45,920 --> 00:15:49,120 Speaker 3: on their journey, but they all remained hopeful for a 274 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:59,720 Speaker 3: better future in America. These journeys, in some cases can 275 00:15:59,760 --> 00:16:02,520 Speaker 3: take a year or more. When the poorly man I 276 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:05,120 Speaker 3: met in Bajo Gito, I'd spent thirty months just to 277 00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:08,440 Speaker 3: get that far, and among his group, his journey had 278 00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:12,560 Speaker 3: been the fastest. As long as these journeys are, that 279 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:16,920 Speaker 3: darien often stems out. There's the hardest part to understand why. 280 00:16:17,520 --> 00:16:19,240 Speaker 3: I want to take you back to that shady spot 281 00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:21,960 Speaker 3: by the river just a few minutes south of Bajoji Keepo. 282 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:25,680 Speaker 3: So what I'm doing right now, you can hear from 283 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:27,680 Speaker 3: my footsteps, is I'm doing what it taught me not 284 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:30,720 Speaker 3: to do. I'm walking along the migrant trail. There's lots 285 00:16:30,760 --> 00:16:37,040 Speaker 3: of like vines and creepers. Oh fucking hell, that's me 286 00:16:37,120 --> 00:16:41,600 Speaker 3: nely eating shit. There's little bits of tape marking the trail. 287 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:45,760 Speaker 3: I think they just come down the river here and 288 00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:48,120 Speaker 3: some local guys are pushing out wheelbarrows on the trail 289 00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:52,960 Speaker 3: to dump trash. There's trash everywhere to fucking mess. The 290 00:16:53,080 --> 00:16:55,560 Speaker 3: little wood arrows that they've carved just outside town to 291 00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:58,920 Speaker 3: direct people into town, and if I heard, I can 292 00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:02,720 Speaker 3: see migrants making what probably hopefully their final crossing of 293 00:17:02,800 --> 00:17:06,160 Speaker 3: the river here. One thing I noticed was that as 294 00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:07,720 Speaker 3: soon as I got out of sight in near shot 295 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:10,480 Speaker 3: of the town, the jungle seemed a lot more intimidating. 296 00:17:11,600 --> 00:17:13,600 Speaker 3: I'm somebod who spends a lot of time in the mountains, 297 00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:16,480 Speaker 3: and I grew up playing in the woods. I'm comfortable outdoors, 298 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:19,320 Speaker 3: and I frequently camp and hike for days on my own. 299 00:17:19,840 --> 00:17:22,240 Speaker 3: I like it better that way, and I might see 300 00:17:22,280 --> 00:17:24,679 Speaker 3: more comfortable forty feet under the sea free diving, or 301 00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:26,399 Speaker 3: three hours from the nearest road. Then I'm in a 302 00:17:26,440 --> 00:17:29,840 Speaker 3: busy city sometimes, But in the jungle, after all the 303 00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:35,040 Speaker 3: stories I'd heard that week, I was afraid. I keept scary. 304 00:17:35,040 --> 00:17:39,880 Speaker 3: I don't know why. I mean, everything's new to me. I'm, 305 00:17:40,119 --> 00:17:45,960 Speaker 3: you know, relatively comfortable in the outdoors. But fucking there's 306 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:48,760 Speaker 3: new animals, there's new plants. I don't know what's poisonous. 307 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:50,600 Speaker 3: I don't know what's going to kill me. I don't 308 00:17:50,600 --> 00:17:53,440 Speaker 3: know who's going to try and hurt me. Got another 309 00:17:53,440 --> 00:17:56,840 Speaker 3: fucking horse, Jesus wept. I'm jumping out my skin everything. 310 00:17:56,880 --> 00:18:07,879 Speaker 3: Now it's funny. I'm in a place that's beautiful, you know, 311 00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:10,920 Speaker 3: like these better paradise plants are just just growing here. 312 00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:17,320 Speaker 3: It's gorgeousness. Horses belong to people of the black community. 313 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:22,560 Speaker 3: I suppose it's having snacks, you know, eating jungle horse food. 314 00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:25,760 Speaker 3: And here here I am at the river. It's wide. 315 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:29,560 Speaker 3: Here it's sort of shallow, and it's been dammed up 316 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:32,040 Speaker 3: a little bit with rubbish. It's like flocks and jets 317 00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:36,240 Speaker 3: some kind of stuff. And then this is where people 318 00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:37,920 Speaker 3: cross because of that little dam. But it's still got 319 00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:40,200 Speaker 3: some force to it, like you wouldn't want to fall 320 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:42,800 Speaker 3: and crack your head or you know, a lot of 321 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:47,000 Speaker 3: these folks can't swim even without the fear. It's hard going. 322 00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:50,119 Speaker 3: If you've only hiked on trails, you probably don't realize 323 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:53,520 Speaker 3: how much work goes into making that surface possible. There 324 00:18:53,560 --> 00:18:55,840 Speaker 3: are no trail crews in the dry it and as 325 00:18:55,840 --> 00:18:58,320 Speaker 3: a result, every step has the potential to results in 326 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:01,560 Speaker 3: a sprained ankle or another injury, which might sound trivial 327 00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:04,600 Speaker 3: but can be faithal in such a remote and challenging place. 328 00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:08,760 Speaker 3: Trail is all rocks, like maybe rocks the size of 329 00:19:08,760 --> 00:19:12,200 Speaker 3: a fist. By that way nows and then there are 330 00:19:12,760 --> 00:19:15,120 Speaker 3: sort of in this area we only have the lower canopy, 331 00:19:15,200 --> 00:19:19,440 Speaker 3: so we have ferns, we have reeds, bamboo plants growing 332 00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:21,200 Speaker 3: really tall and straight. That's what they use for the poles, 333 00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:26,240 Speaker 3: so the pitag was and then sort of low grassy 334 00:19:26,320 --> 00:19:28,520 Speaker 3: kind of plants. And then where the migrants walk is 335 00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:30,760 Speaker 3: just this muddy trail that every time it rains just 336 00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:34,840 Speaker 3: turns into like ankle to knee deep mud. And I 337 00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:37,200 Speaker 3: could see them making pretty slow progress along the trail 338 00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:40,200 Speaker 3: towards me. At the end of the day, as I 339 00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:43,000 Speaker 3: took a piaguard back to Madagante, where I would be 340 00:19:43,040 --> 00:19:46,080 Speaker 3: staying the night, I reflected again on this and the 341 00:19:46,119 --> 00:19:49,400 Speaker 3: incredible tenacity it took for people with little outdoor experience 342 00:19:49,440 --> 00:19:52,520 Speaker 3: and terrible equipment to path through the jungle. You know, 343 00:19:52,560 --> 00:19:55,360 Speaker 3: I'm a fit person. I run ultra marathons, I used 344 00:19:55,400 --> 00:20:00,439 Speaker 3: to be exercised for a living. And it's fucking hard wet. 345 00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:04,800 Speaker 3: Everything's wet all the time. If you're wet from the rain, 346 00:20:05,280 --> 00:20:08,280 Speaker 3: then you're wet. If you're wet from the sweat and 347 00:20:08,359 --> 00:20:10,440 Speaker 3: you're wet. If you cross rivers, you get wet. You 348 00:20:10,520 --> 00:20:14,639 Speaker 3: just can't stay dry. And everyone's feet are just fucked 349 00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:16,560 Speaker 3: when they get into town, like the size of the 350 00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:21,080 Speaker 3: blisters I've seen. Like one lady had a cramp today 351 00:20:21,119 --> 00:20:23,879 Speaker 3: where like it just locked up a whole she like 352 00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:26,480 Speaker 3: I grabbed her or she was falling down and I 353 00:20:26,560 --> 00:20:29,879 Speaker 3: was able to hold her up. But people are really 354 00:20:29,920 --> 00:20:35,040 Speaker 3: pushing themselves physically as well as psychologically. That river crossing 355 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:37,760 Speaker 3: south of Bajiqito was as far south as I was 356 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:39,359 Speaker 3: going to be able to get without being forced to 357 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:42,199 Speaker 3: be adjacted from Panama, and my request to take a 358 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:45,280 Speaker 3: boat or walk further south was denied by the Panamanian 359 00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:48,520 Speaker 3: Ministry of Security. So the only part of the migrants 360 00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:50,840 Speaker 3: journey I would share with them was the last kilometer 361 00:20:51,040 --> 00:20:54,600 Speaker 3: or so of their walk. Even then I wasn't really 362 00:20:54,640 --> 00:20:57,879 Speaker 3: supposed to be leaving town at all, So several times 363 00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:01,000 Speaker 3: of the days I spent in Bahajikito, log over my shoulder, 364 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:04,200 Speaker 3: hop down the river bank, jump across the stream, and 365 00:21:04,400 --> 00:21:07,680 Speaker 3: lightly jog out of town. Once on the trail, I 366 00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:10,520 Speaker 3: started to walk slowly and try and waive a groups 367 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:13,679 Speaker 3: of outcoming migrants. I didn't want to scare them. I 368 00:21:13,720 --> 00:21:16,480 Speaker 3: offered to carry their bags and gant any help I could, 369 00:21:16,560 --> 00:21:19,280 Speaker 3: supporting them as they walked towards their first meal and 370 00:21:19,359 --> 00:21:41,159 Speaker 3: clean drink of water in up to a week. Just 371 00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:43,639 Speaker 3: getting to bahji Ghita was a journey in itself for me. 372 00:21:44,359 --> 00:21:47,639 Speaker 3: I took two flights, a five hour drive, which was 373 00:21:47,640 --> 00:21:50,960 Speaker 3: equally split between paved roads, roads that aspired to pavement, 374 00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:54,040 Speaker 3: and dirt roads. At the end of our road journey, 375 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:57,960 Speaker 3: the Pan American Highway, the links Alaska to Argentina, seems 376 00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:00,760 Speaker 3: to give up on fighting the jungle and peters out. 377 00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:04,880 Speaker 3: Asphalt turned to worse asphalt, which turned to dirt, which 378 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:09,120 Speaker 3: turned to mud, which led us to a river. A driver, however, 379 00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:13,239 Speaker 3: was prepared for this. The drive here was mad, like 380 00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:15,720 Speaker 3: that road was fucked. We're in this tiny little car. 381 00:22:15,800 --> 00:22:18,320 Speaker 3: The driver took off his shoes and socks to conduct 382 00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:21,720 Speaker 3: the more technical section of the drive, which I thought 383 00:22:21,760 --> 00:22:25,840 Speaker 3: was quite amusing. And yeah, really steep, lots of holes, 384 00:22:25,880 --> 00:22:29,480 Speaker 3: lots of potholes, you know, just really rutted out a 385 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:31,680 Speaker 3: kind of dirt road. And then we got here and 386 00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:36,159 Speaker 3: talked to some guys, negotiated a price, and told them 387 00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:37,960 Speaker 3: where we wanted to go, and they said, yeah, sure, 388 00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:40,600 Speaker 3: buy some water. You know, snow water on the way 389 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:44,280 Speaker 3: about three hours and so we bought some water right there, 390 00:22:44,359 --> 00:22:49,640 Speaker 3: and yeah, here we are on the boat now, as 391 00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:52,240 Speaker 3: you can hear, I recorded this on a piragua. It's 392 00:22:52,240 --> 00:22:54,720 Speaker 3: a kind of dugout canoe with the hole made out 393 00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:57,399 Speaker 3: of a single tree and a toothtroke motor bolted on 394 00:22:57,440 --> 00:23:00,320 Speaker 3: the back. It's the only way to travel here other 395 00:23:00,359 --> 00:23:03,080 Speaker 3: than on your feet, and it's the only way the 396 00:23:03,080 --> 00:23:07,119 Speaker 3: embarra can get the produced cigaret to market. The skill 397 00:23:07,160 --> 00:23:10,480 Speaker 3: of the piragueros, the people who drive the piraguas, is incredible. 398 00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:13,199 Speaker 3: They navigate parts of the river so shallow that they 399 00:23:13,240 --> 00:23:15,679 Speaker 3: have to pull up the two stroke motor. And I 400 00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:17,960 Speaker 3: noticed all the motors have propellers that are covered in 401 00:23:18,080 --> 00:23:21,640 Speaker 3: chips and bashes from smacking into the rocks at the bottom. 402 00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:23,840 Speaker 3: In the bow of the boat, I sat on top 403 00:23:23,880 --> 00:23:28,080 Speaker 3: of my giant rucksack, marveling at the birds, insects and 404 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:32,040 Speaker 3: foliage of the jungle, and occasionally I jumped up to 405 00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:35,360 Speaker 3: make fairly useless contributions with the boat's bamboo pole. Under 406 00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:38,560 Speaker 3: the close supervision of Marcellino, our driver, and are soon 407 00:23:38,640 --> 00:23:41,000 Speaker 3: to be host. Homoti just laughed at me as I 408 00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:43,399 Speaker 3: leaned my whole way into the pole, which notably slipped, 409 00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:45,879 Speaker 3: and I tried to avoid falling face first into the 410 00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:50,399 Speaker 3: chocolate brown water. On the way to Baajiquito, we passed 411 00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:54,080 Speaker 3: several small limber villages. Little children waved at us from 412 00:23:54,119 --> 00:23:55,880 Speaker 3: the banks or from the shallows of the river where 413 00:23:55,920 --> 00:23:59,160 Speaker 3: they washed and played. Adults slipped on. I doubtless why 414 00:23:59,119 --> 00:24:01,720 Speaker 3: there's one nurse six tree. White dude was going the 415 00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:04,280 Speaker 3: wrong way on the river for a migrant, but they 416 00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:08,240 Speaker 3: smiled and waved back anyway. After an overnight flight, a 417 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:10,960 Speaker 3: five hour drive, and three hours in a dugout canoe, 418 00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:14,280 Speaker 3: we rounded a corner in the river. Ba Jigito came 419 00:24:14,320 --> 00:24:17,960 Speaker 3: into view. Over the last few years, it three oriented 420 00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:21,360 Speaker 3: itself from a tiny indigenous village to an unofficial reception 421 00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:26,000 Speaker 3: center for migrants. On my hopelessly outdated topo map, the 422 00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:30,159 Speaker 3: area has nothing but contours and green shading, no roads, 423 00:24:30,280 --> 00:24:33,840 Speaker 3: no trails, no markets of human existence at all, and 424 00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:37,000 Speaker 3: perhaps that's how the state sees this place. The Daddy 425 00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:39,879 Speaker 3: n is as real to most Panamanians a Sesame street 426 00:24:40,119 --> 00:24:43,200 Speaker 3: or Jurassic Park. But for the mb this has been 427 00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:46,280 Speaker 3: their home since long before Panama and Columbia and even 428 00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:50,320 Speaker 3: maps existed. A few dozen houses in the village, mostly 429 00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:53,640 Speaker 3: built on stilts to avoid the seasonal floods, now offer 430 00:24:53,720 --> 00:24:56,840 Speaker 3: up their rooms as hostels to the migrants. Some of 431 00:24:56,840 --> 00:24:59,960 Speaker 3: them have enclosed their bottom floor using plywood or cinder blow. 432 00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:04,440 Speaker 3: Others have strung hammocks from their support posts. For four 433 00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:07,320 Speaker 3: or five bugs, migrants can get their first good night's 434 00:25:07,320 --> 00:25:09,280 Speaker 3: sleep since they left neck or Clee in Columbia as 435 00:25:09,320 --> 00:25:13,000 Speaker 3: much as a week before. Along the main street, which 436 00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:15,720 Speaker 3: is really just to raise concrete footpath about a meter across, 437 00:25:16,359 --> 00:25:18,520 Speaker 3: you can buy a meal any of half a dozen 438 00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:20,960 Speaker 3: places for five bucks. You can get an hour of 439 00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:23,000 Speaker 3: Wi Fi for a dollar, or charge your phone for 440 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:26,119 Speaker 3: at the same price. Cold drinks for a dollar as well. 441 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:28,080 Speaker 3: Are one of the many front rooms that have turned 442 00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:31,000 Speaker 3: into small kiosks. And that's where the migrants I have 443 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:32,760 Speaker 3: been sitting down with at the river went when they 444 00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:35,560 Speaker 3: arrived into town. I let them be for a while 445 00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:39,120 Speaker 3: I went off to interview more migrants. About a thousand 446 00:25:39,160 --> 00:25:42,360 Speaker 3: of them arrive in this village every day each year 447 00:25:42,359 --> 00:25:45,679 Speaker 3: since a pandemic has seen record numbers arrived, and the 448 00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:47,959 Speaker 3: little village on the side of a hill, surrounded by 449 00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:50,800 Speaker 3: palm trees and full of smiling children in their traditional 450 00:25:50,840 --> 00:25:54,760 Speaker 3: brightly colored pollumers chasing chickens and dogs, has welcomed every 451 00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:57,840 Speaker 3: single one of them. About a thousand of them arrive 452 00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:01,000 Speaker 3: in this town every day. Here they also take a 453 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:03,800 Speaker 3: boat from neck o'kley across the Golf of the Dabienne. 454 00:26:03,840 --> 00:26:07,040 Speaker 3: They crossed on small motor boats to Capolgana or Kandel. 455 00:26:07,760 --> 00:26:09,399 Speaker 3: Those are both towns on the western side of the 456 00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:12,560 Speaker 3: Gulf of the Darienne. From there they begin their walk. 457 00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:15,840 Speaker 3: Even though they're now north of the gulf, they're still 458 00:26:15,880 --> 00:26:18,600 Speaker 3: in Colombia and on the Colombian side of the border. 459 00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:21,439 Speaker 3: They're guided by guides, to whom they pay several hundred 460 00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:25,040 Speaker 3: dollars and in return received protection and a wristband that 461 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:28,960 Speaker 3: ensures they can walk without being robbed. Nobody I spoke 462 00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:32,200 Speaker 3: to had made it this far without paying a guide. 463 00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:34,760 Speaker 3: The area is largely under the control of the Golf Cartel, 464 00:26:35,240 --> 00:26:37,680 Speaker 3: several members of which were sanctioned by the USA. While 465 00:26:37,720 --> 00:26:40,040 Speaker 3: I was in the jungle. The marcus I spoke to 466 00:26:40,119 --> 00:26:41,920 Speaker 3: didn't really have much bad to say about this part 467 00:26:41,960 --> 00:26:45,399 Speaker 3: of their experience, but universally acknowledged that the next part 468 00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:48,040 Speaker 3: was where they really confronted their fears and nightmares about 469 00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:52,160 Speaker 3: the Daddy. Inne he is one Venezuelan migrant sharing his experience. 470 00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:58,240 Speaker 10: That's nothing compared to what comes from the border to hear, Yes, 471 00:26:58,280 --> 00:27:00,000 Speaker 10: the road is better, and I say that the dane 472 00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:02,639 Speaker 10: is less too, and they have everything you need there. 473 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:05,960 Speaker 10: You come prepared, you have, you come with water, and 474 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:09,119 Speaker 10: there are also many ravines where you can drink water. Well, 475 00:27:09,119 --> 00:27:11,520 Speaker 10: there are springs that come from the mountain, but from 476 00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:13,160 Speaker 10: the border on it's pretty ugly. 477 00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:18,320 Speaker 3: It's a stretch from the Colombian Panamanian border at a 478 00:27:18,359 --> 00:27:21,440 Speaker 3: place that they call Laspandabas which means to flags to 479 00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:26,440 Speaker 3: Bajo Chiquito, where migrants suffer the most. There they can't 480 00:27:26,480 --> 00:27:29,399 Speaker 3: drink from the river because a human waste and human 481 00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:33,560 Speaker 3: remains that constantly fill it like the water deadly. They 482 00:27:33,640 --> 00:27:37,040 Speaker 3: must walk on unmaintained trails. It often turns in deep mud. 483 00:27:38,119 --> 00:27:41,600 Speaker 3: They only have the supplies they carry, which often run out, 484 00:27:41,760 --> 00:27:44,200 Speaker 3: or they jettison to stave weight On the incredibly steep 485 00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:48,840 Speaker 3: mountain path they climb and descend those mountains across rivers, 486 00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:51,760 Speaker 3: often without eating or drinking for days at a time. 487 00:27:52,760 --> 00:27:55,360 Speaker 3: On the trail, they pass by the bodies of their fellow travelers. 488 00:27:55,359 --> 00:27:58,719 Speaker 3: It's a constant reminder of the risk they're taking. If 489 00:27:58,760 --> 00:28:01,439 Speaker 3: you ask people in Panamas, they'll tell you that Darian 490 00:28:01,560 --> 00:28:05,840 Speaker 3: is closed. Now, your president, nose Raoul Molino was elected 491 00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:08,399 Speaker 3: on a promise to shut down the gap and this 492 00:28:08,560 --> 00:28:12,639 Speaker 3: humanitarian crisis and deport more migrants with the US funding, 493 00:28:13,520 --> 00:28:15,880 Speaker 3: and that funding has certainly arrived, with more than six 494 00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:19,720 Speaker 3: million already spent since he took office in July. Since then, 495 00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:24,800 Speaker 3: Panama has deported more than eleven hundred people to Venezuela, Cuba, Colombia, 496 00:28:24,840 --> 00:28:30,359 Speaker 3: and India. Each of these has been funded by US taxpayers. Obviously, 497 00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:33,280 Speaker 3: the jungle isn't closed, and it can't really be closed, 498 00:28:34,119 --> 00:28:36,600 Speaker 3: but in an interview before he was elected, Molino said 499 00:28:36,640 --> 00:28:39,400 Speaker 3: that the border of the United States, instead of being 500 00:28:39,400 --> 00:28:43,680 Speaker 3: in Texas, has moved to Panama, and that is something 501 00:28:43,760 --> 00:28:47,280 Speaker 3: he can do with US support. I spoke to some 502 00:28:47,360 --> 00:28:49,280 Speaker 3: venezuel And ladies to help them carry their bag because 503 00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:50,880 Speaker 3: it's a steep hill, and they were saying that no 504 00:28:50,920 --> 00:28:52,760 Speaker 3: one has seen any barriers. I don't know anything about 505 00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:54,840 Speaker 3: any barriers or any fences in a Darian and that 506 00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:58,440 Speaker 3: like they hadn't heard it was closed. Evidently it's not 507 00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:00,200 Speaker 3: a standing in front of one hundred people who just 508 00:29:00,200 --> 00:29:06,160 Speaker 3: got off a boat from the day enn Hubris Aside, 509 00:29:06,440 --> 00:29:09,480 Speaker 3: the rhetoric of closing the Dati m signals are turn 510 00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:12,400 Speaker 3: not just in Panamanian politics, but in the way the 511 00:29:12,440 --> 00:29:16,480 Speaker 3: world sees and handles migration. The US has always sought 512 00:29:16,520 --> 00:29:20,200 Speaker 3: to externalize its borders, from US train border patrol officers 513 00:29:20,200 --> 00:29:23,600 Speaker 3: and Dominican Republic along the border is Haiti to DHS 514 00:29:23,640 --> 00:29:27,640 Speaker 3: agents deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan. As migration has become 515 00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:30,840 Speaker 3: more politicized, the US has sought to move its enforcement 516 00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:34,680 Speaker 3: away from prying eyes and from compassion, and instead brought 517 00:29:34,720 --> 00:29:37,320 Speaker 3: more trauma to a place that is already so hard. 518 00:29:38,560 --> 00:29:40,520 Speaker 3: I've spent much of the last decade of my life 519 00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:42,800 Speaker 3: watching the state try to bring the mountains and desert 520 00:29:42,920 --> 00:29:45,720 Speaker 3: close to where I live under its control. I've stood 521 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:49,800 Speaker 3: with Kumia people as the government dynamited their graveyards. I 522 00:29:49,880 --> 00:29:53,400 Speaker 3: found border wal contractors lost deep in the mountains. I've 523 00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:56,480 Speaker 3: driven the impossibly steep concrete roads that they built, worried 524 00:29:56,480 --> 00:29:59,840 Speaker 3: about my truck turning end on end. I've seen billions 525 00:29:59,840 --> 00:30:02,960 Speaker 3: of dollars thrown at these mountains, and I've seen people 526 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:05,840 Speaker 3: with twenty dollars angle grinders or ladders made of old 527 00:30:05,840 --> 00:30:09,719 Speaker 3: palettes defeat the wall in moments. Trying to close borders 528 00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:11,720 Speaker 3: doesn't work at home, and it won't work in the 529 00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:14,760 Speaker 3: Daddy and Gap either. Just building the roads to get 530 00:30:14,800 --> 00:30:17,640 Speaker 3: the construction equipment into the gap is a gargantuan task 531 00:30:18,360 --> 00:30:21,160 Speaker 3: in any attempt to create a barrier across sixty kilometer 532 00:30:21,240 --> 00:30:24,720 Speaker 3: wide wilderness area, or simply push migrants onto other more 533 00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:28,880 Speaker 3: dangerous routes into places where you can't build and the 534 00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:31,440 Speaker 3: places where nobody can rescue you if you fall down 535 00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:34,400 Speaker 3: or break your leg. That doesn't mean there's nothing the 536 00:30:34,560 --> 00:30:37,680 Speaker 3: US can do. I saw first hand the impact of 537 00:30:37,720 --> 00:30:41,040 Speaker 3: Americans spending here as migrants had a reception center carded 538 00:30:41,080 --> 00:30:44,640 Speaker 3: Lajas Blancas, had their families torn apart, and men, women 539 00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:47,560 Speaker 3: and children cried as their parents and partners were taken 540 00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:51,400 Speaker 3: away for a flight back to Columbia, Cuba, or Venezuela 541 00:30:51,520 --> 00:30:54,440 Speaker 3: that my taxes helped to pay for. I console, the 542 00:30:54,480 --> 00:30:57,280 Speaker 3: children with toys and stickers and something to eat as 543 00:30:57,320 --> 00:31:00,640 Speaker 3: their dads were loaded into a flatbed truck. A government 544 00:31:00,840 --> 00:31:04,000 Speaker 3: didn't send money to feed these children, but it seemed 545 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:07,480 Speaker 3: to have the funds to fund their parents' deportation. By 546 00:31:07,520 --> 00:31:10,440 Speaker 3: deporting people from Panama, the US effectively deprives them of 547 00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:12,760 Speaker 3: much of the due process they should, in theory, have 548 00:31:12,840 --> 00:31:15,720 Speaker 3: the right to in the United States, and the US 549 00:31:15,720 --> 00:31:18,600 Speaker 3: can easily deport them back to places like Cuba and Venezuela, 550 00:31:18,680 --> 00:31:22,160 Speaker 3: which it considers to be dictatorial regimes. The US does 551 00:31:22,200 --> 00:31:26,640 Speaker 3: not and cannot stop migration. People have always moved, and 552 00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:29,280 Speaker 3: people will always want a better future for their children. 553 00:31:30,280 --> 00:31:32,560 Speaker 3: What it can do is make it as painful and 554 00:31:32,680 --> 00:31:35,880 Speaker 3: dangerous as possible. But the rais of word barriers in 555 00:31:35,920 --> 00:31:39,000 Speaker 3: the daddy a gap which I've seen person on social media, 556 00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:42,280 Speaker 3: didn't exist for the hundreds of migrants I spoke to. 557 00:31:43,040 --> 00:31:45,360 Speaker 3: No one I asked had even seen them, but what 558 00:31:45,440 --> 00:31:47,320 Speaker 3: they had seen was far worse. 559 00:31:50,120 --> 00:31:52,520 Speaker 11: There are many rivers that you're forced into all the time, 560 00:31:53,240 --> 00:31:55,680 Speaker 11: you're putting your life and everything else on the line there. 561 00:31:56,280 --> 00:31:58,520 Speaker 11: I was worried that the indigenous people would come out 562 00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:01,560 Speaker 11: and do something to us in the nights. I was 563 00:32:01,600 --> 00:32:04,600 Speaker 11: worried that any of the children, God forbid, would have 564 00:32:04,600 --> 00:32:07,800 Speaker 11: an accident. The same for me. It's horrible to think 565 00:32:07,840 --> 00:32:08,680 Speaker 11: about it now. 566 00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:13,360 Speaker 3: This mother hood cruss with a five, six, and sixteen 567 00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:17,080 Speaker 3: year old child, the baby of six months. They'd all 568 00:32:17,080 --> 00:32:19,440 Speaker 3: made it in one piece, but the journey clearly had 569 00:32:19,440 --> 00:32:20,720 Speaker 3: its impact on the children. 570 00:32:22,760 --> 00:32:24,640 Speaker 11: There are many people who are left out there without 571 00:32:24,640 --> 00:32:27,240 Speaker 11: food and do not have anything to give to their children. 572 00:32:27,680 --> 00:32:31,320 Speaker 11: We had food until last night. Nothing left now, and 573 00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:34,120 Speaker 11: we had to each one had to just eat a 574 00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:36,920 Speaker 11: little bit because we had nothing else to give them. 575 00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:39,920 Speaker 11: You can't find anything there. It's in the middle of nowhere. 576 00:32:40,240 --> 00:32:42,840 Speaker 11: People died right now along with those who came with 577 00:32:42,920 --> 00:32:46,640 Speaker 11: us yesterday. How many died yesterday? Three? I think three 578 00:32:46,880 --> 00:32:51,320 Speaker 11: died yesterday. One drowned in the river. Yeah, it's really tough. 579 00:32:51,640 --> 00:32:51,800 Speaker 1: This. 580 00:32:52,320 --> 00:32:56,719 Speaker 11: No, no, nobody should do this. Nobody. We do this 581 00:32:56,760 --> 00:32:59,600 Speaker 11: out of pure physical necessity to look for a better 582 00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:02,360 Speaker 11: future for our kids. We can't stay in our country, 583 00:33:02,880 --> 00:33:04,480 Speaker 11: We couldn't stay any longer there. 584 00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:07,440 Speaker 3: Here are a couple of the kids I spoke to, 585 00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:09,920 Speaker 3: or in some cases, the kids who took my recorder 586 00:33:10,160 --> 00:33:11,680 Speaker 3: and conducted interviews with each other. 587 00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:17,840 Speaker 11: The mountains, I was so tired and I couldn't climb anymore, 588 00:33:18,280 --> 00:33:20,680 Speaker 11: and when I fell on the river, I was really scared. 589 00:33:22,640 --> 00:33:28,760 Speaker 3: Apparently the whole thing was like an adventure she'd seen 590 00:33:28,800 --> 00:33:31,840 Speaker 3: Pepper Pig having, which at once made me giggle and 591 00:33:31,880 --> 00:33:33,800 Speaker 3: also one reflection, it's one of the saddest things I've 592 00:33:33,840 --> 00:33:36,560 Speaker 3: ever had to record, I'm sure. Her mum told her 593 00:33:36,600 --> 00:33:38,560 Speaker 3: that to make it easier for her to pass through 594 00:33:38,600 --> 00:33:41,360 Speaker 3: a terrible place, but really sure to be at home 595 00:33:41,480 --> 00:33:44,680 Speaker 3: washing Peppa Pig and playing with her friends, not walking 596 00:33:44,720 --> 00:33:47,480 Speaker 3: past three dead bodies which are currently decomposing on the trail. 597 00:33:48,120 --> 00:33:51,520 Speaker 3: She seemed remarkably resilient. She said the long bus ride 598 00:33:51,560 --> 00:33:53,760 Speaker 3: she'd taken to get there one boring because she enjoyed 599 00:33:53,760 --> 00:33:56,240 Speaker 3: looking out the window, and the whole journey was well, 600 00:33:56,280 --> 00:33:58,880 Speaker 3: I'll let her say it em. 601 00:34:01,360 --> 00:34:07,800 Speaker 1: Her mum gave us a different account sah, I didn't 602 00:34:07,800 --> 00:34:09,640 Speaker 1: want to cry because I didn't want her to see 603 00:34:09,680 --> 00:34:13,360 Speaker 1: me crying. But sometimes I would explode because it's hard 604 00:34:13,440 --> 00:34:15,719 Speaker 1: for your child to ask you for water, to ask 605 00:34:15,760 --> 00:34:18,319 Speaker 1: you for food, and you don't have any to be 606 00:34:18,360 --> 00:34:20,239 Speaker 1: in a place where you walk you walk from five 607 00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:23,360 Speaker 1: in the morning, it's five in the afternoon. You're walking, 608 00:34:23,440 --> 00:34:25,600 Speaker 1: you don't know what to do, going through more than 609 00:34:25,600 --> 00:34:28,200 Speaker 1: one hundred rivers and asking God not to rain and 610 00:34:28,239 --> 00:34:31,680 Speaker 1: not wanting it to get worse. It rained, and the 611 00:34:31,719 --> 00:34:35,000 Speaker 1: girl got a fever. She got a fever. But well, 612 00:34:35,120 --> 00:34:38,960 Speaker 1: God is good that we pray a lot. I say 613 00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:40,680 Speaker 1: that we don't know God so much in the church 614 00:34:41,719 --> 00:34:43,759 Speaker 1: from the process and the process that we are in, 615 00:34:44,040 --> 00:34:46,600 Speaker 1: and we don't know we can be so strong until 616 00:34:46,600 --> 00:34:48,799 Speaker 1: we go through that storm and we see that He 617 00:34:48,880 --> 00:34:51,240 Speaker 1: protext us. He knows that He was always there watching 618 00:34:51,280 --> 00:34:53,440 Speaker 1: over us, taking care of us at all times. 619 00:34:55,280 --> 00:34:58,160 Speaker 3: Parents being amazed at their children and drawing shrink from 620 00:34:58,200 --> 00:35:00,960 Speaker 3: them and their faith. It was a common message I 621 00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:04,880 Speaker 3: heard from migrants. He's a migrant from Zimbabwe telling me 622 00:35:04,920 --> 00:35:07,160 Speaker 3: how her daughter inspired her to keep going, but she 623 00:35:07,160 --> 00:35:08,719 Speaker 3: felt like she couldn't walk anymore. 624 00:35:09,280 --> 00:35:12,279 Speaker 12: My daughter, she was strong, she was strong, but she 625 00:35:12,840 --> 00:35:15,600 Speaker 12: was crying also, but she has got wounds all over 626 00:35:15,640 --> 00:35:18,560 Speaker 12: the body. Even me, I was crying myself. I was like, 627 00:35:18,640 --> 00:35:21,879 Speaker 12: I want to just put myself in the water, then 628 00:35:21,920 --> 00:35:25,560 Speaker 12: I can just go both. The gene was tough, really 629 00:35:25,640 --> 00:35:29,560 Speaker 12: really tough. The mountain, the stones, the river. It's not 630 00:35:29,760 --> 00:35:34,560 Speaker 12: easy at all. It's not very I don't even recommended 631 00:35:34,600 --> 00:35:37,719 Speaker 12: someone to say you used that and gave no And 632 00:35:37,760 --> 00:35:42,000 Speaker 12: even myself I did know about it. I was regretting myself. 633 00:35:42,040 --> 00:35:42,840 Speaker 9: I was crying. 634 00:35:42,880 --> 00:35:46,680 Speaker 12: I was like, God, I don't know my family and 635 00:35:46,760 --> 00:35:49,320 Speaker 12: my family they don't know where I am right now. 636 00:35:50,840 --> 00:35:53,719 Speaker 3: But like so many other migrants, when the government of 637 00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:56,400 Speaker 3: the world abandoned her, she found strength in the strangers 638 00:35:56,400 --> 00:35:58,319 Speaker 3: along the road who wouldn't abandon her. 639 00:35:58,680 --> 00:36:02,120 Speaker 12: We didn't even eat any thing, were just asking people, 640 00:36:02,120 --> 00:36:04,680 Speaker 12: can I have a piece of biscuit? They just help us. 641 00:36:05,040 --> 00:36:07,160 Speaker 3: That's nice. The other migrants helped you. 642 00:36:07,080 --> 00:36:08,120 Speaker 12: Yeah, the others. 643 00:36:08,440 --> 00:36:11,560 Speaker 3: Yeah. Do you think that they treat African people differently? 644 00:36:13,320 --> 00:36:16,960 Speaker 12: Very nice? The especially these Spanish people, they are very nice. 645 00:36:17,080 --> 00:36:19,760 Speaker 12: I don't want to lie because if you need help, 646 00:36:19,800 --> 00:36:22,400 Speaker 12: you call them for your Look. The other ones they 647 00:36:22,520 --> 00:36:25,719 Speaker 12: might run away, but the other ones, they just come 648 00:36:25,840 --> 00:36:29,759 Speaker 12: for help. They even give us tablets on the road, 649 00:36:30,480 --> 00:36:34,480 Speaker 12: give us energy, drinks, give my daughter a sweets for energy. 650 00:36:35,320 --> 00:36:37,840 Speaker 12: They push us like let's go, guys, let's call let's go. 651 00:36:37,960 --> 00:36:41,600 Speaker 12: You make it, and we really make it. 652 00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:09,560 Speaker 3: The journey over the mountains to Banama has become more 653 00:37:09,560 --> 00:37:12,239 Speaker 3: and more popular in recent years as other routes have 654 00:37:12,320 --> 00:37:15,800 Speaker 3: become more dangerous or closed themselves off to migrants entirely. 655 00:37:16,719 --> 00:37:19,640 Speaker 3: It's a route the Embira tell me that started with 656 00:37:19,760 --> 00:37:23,360 Speaker 3: people leaving India and then Haiti. It grew as conditions 657 00:37:23,360 --> 00:37:26,759 Speaker 3: in Venezuela became more unsustainable and people found themselves too 658 00:37:26,800 --> 00:37:29,439 Speaker 3: poor to stay home and too poor to travel north 659 00:37:29,480 --> 00:37:32,520 Speaker 3: by any other means, and so they chose a deadly 660 00:37:32,640 --> 00:37:34,759 Speaker 3: jungle over a future in a country where their votes 661 00:37:34,800 --> 00:37:38,960 Speaker 3: don't matter. Last year, as many as half a million 662 00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:42,080 Speaker 3: people cross the jungle. This year we might see more 663 00:37:42,920 --> 00:37:45,640 Speaker 3: migrants arriving about Jiguito spend the day in the village 664 00:37:45,719 --> 00:37:48,080 Speaker 3: before taking off in a piagua of their own up 665 00:37:48,120 --> 00:37:51,080 Speaker 3: to Lahas Blancas, the migrant reception center I mentioned earlier. 666 00:37:51,800 --> 00:37:54,920 Speaker 3: They registered with Panamanian Board Patrol known by the acronym 667 00:37:55,000 --> 00:37:58,200 Speaker 3: Cena Front, and they call their families to say they survived. 668 00:37:59,160 --> 00:38:02,120 Speaker 3: Then they try at their blistered feet, enjoy the cooking 669 00:38:02,160 --> 00:38:04,160 Speaker 3: of several of the families who have turned their homes 670 00:38:04,200 --> 00:38:08,160 Speaker 3: into sort of ersad's restaurants. They sleep on the floors 671 00:38:08,160 --> 00:38:11,239 Speaker 3: of the houses or underneath them charge their phones for 672 00:38:11,280 --> 00:38:14,600 Speaker 3: a dollar a time. Certainly migration has changed its town, 673 00:38:15,160 --> 00:38:17,680 Speaker 3: and I want to talk about that more in tomorrow's episode. 674 00:38:18,200 --> 00:38:21,400 Speaker 3: But despite more than a million people passing through this route, 675 00:38:21,560 --> 00:38:26,160 Speaker 3: you don't find anti migrant sentiment here. Right now, despite 676 00:38:26,160 --> 00:38:28,680 Speaker 3: the gap being a deadly de terrent, numbers are expected 677 00:38:28,719 --> 00:38:32,440 Speaker 3: to reach to Equil again this year, maybe seven hundred 678 00:38:32,520 --> 00:38:35,520 Speaker 3: thousand people will walk the gap. But despite these numbers, 679 00:38:35,800 --> 00:38:38,879 Speaker 3: which may seem high for a small country, I didn't 680 00:38:38,920 --> 00:38:41,600 Speaker 3: really find much anti migroant sentiment in Panama as a whole. 681 00:38:42,520 --> 00:38:44,839 Speaker 3: There's plenty of it in the US, though, and as 682 00:38:44,880 --> 00:38:47,520 Speaker 3: the United States winds down its war and terror, it 683 00:38:47,560 --> 00:38:50,680 Speaker 3: needs a new nebulous enemy to justify its military spending 684 00:38:50,760 --> 00:38:53,560 Speaker 3: and to keep the security in surveillance companies donate into 685 00:38:53,600 --> 00:38:57,840 Speaker 3: politicians in their millions. In part it is found that 686 00:38:58,120 --> 00:39:01,879 Speaker 3: by simply opening a floggate of weapons and funding, they 687 00:39:01,880 --> 00:39:05,560 Speaker 3: can spew forth genocide and death in Palestine and keep 688 00:39:05,640 --> 00:39:08,560 Speaker 3: some of its income streams. But it needs a more 689 00:39:08,719 --> 00:39:12,240 Speaker 3: long term solution. There are only so many Palestinian babies 690 00:39:12,239 --> 00:39:14,319 Speaker 3: that can balm, and we'll run out of Palestinians long 691 00:39:14,360 --> 00:39:17,319 Speaker 3: before we run out of bombs. The USA is new 692 00:39:17,440 --> 00:39:20,040 Speaker 3: enemy when it must seek out all over the world. 693 00:39:20,200 --> 00:39:23,239 Speaker 3: It's a migrant. It's a woman I met carrying her 694 00:39:23,320 --> 00:39:27,400 Speaker 3: child across the mountains. The little Venezuelan girl throwing bottle 695 00:39:27,440 --> 00:39:29,360 Speaker 3: caps into a cinder block with me to pass the 696 00:39:29,480 --> 00:39:33,000 Speaker 3: time as she asked me questions about America. It's a 697 00:39:33,040 --> 00:39:35,600 Speaker 3: twenty one year old man whose remains my friends found 698 00:39:35,640 --> 00:39:38,279 Speaker 3: in the border on a hot day this September. The 699 00:39:38,480 --> 00:39:41,440 Speaker 3: US will stop at nothing and fining and destroying the migrant, 700 00:39:41,920 --> 00:39:43,680 Speaker 3: and just as it did in the War on Terror, 701 00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:46,760 Speaker 3: it will find fast friends in states desperate to avail 702 00:39:46,800 --> 00:39:50,320 Speaker 3: themselves the seemingly unlimited flow of resources the US dedicates 703 00:39:50,760 --> 00:39:53,200 Speaker 3: to keeping its conflicts out of the sights and the 704 00:39:53,280 --> 00:40:06,920 Speaker 3: mines of its citizens. The USA's open hostility to migrants 705 00:40:06,960 --> 00:40:10,440 Speaker 3: isn't something that's unknown here. Everyone I met knew about it. 706 00:40:11,040 --> 00:40:13,640 Speaker 3: Several of them had watched with horror as Kamala Harris 707 00:40:13,640 --> 00:40:16,480 Speaker 3: and Donald Trump argued not about how to treat migrants 708 00:40:16,920 --> 00:40:18,719 Speaker 3: but about who could turn more of them away in 709 00:40:18,760 --> 00:40:22,600 Speaker 3: a recent presidential debate. Every migrant I met had questioned 710 00:40:22,640 --> 00:40:26,759 Speaker 3: about CBP, one about US asylum policy, and about how 711 00:40:26,760 --> 00:40:29,480 Speaker 3: they could get to the US before a second Trump administration. 712 00:40:30,520 --> 00:40:32,920 Speaker 3: Despite this, they all clung to their versions of the 713 00:40:32,960 --> 00:40:35,880 Speaker 3: American dream. They wanted to work and be paid a 714 00:40:35,920 --> 00:40:38,520 Speaker 3: fair wage, to send their kids to school and maybe 715 00:40:38,520 --> 00:40:41,239 Speaker 3: to college, to feel safe in their homes, and to 716 00:40:41,280 --> 00:40:43,400 Speaker 3: be able to speak and dress as they wished without 717 00:40:43,480 --> 00:40:47,239 Speaker 3: fearing consequences. All of those things are in periling this 718 00:40:47,320 --> 00:40:50,319 Speaker 3: country too, and they know that, but they still feel 719 00:40:50,360 --> 00:40:54,200 Speaker 3: their dreams are worth the journey. For Noami, the little 720 00:40:54,239 --> 00:40:57,280 Speaker 3: girl who took the daddy and in her stride, the American 721 00:40:57,360 --> 00:41:00,960 Speaker 3: dream was pretty simple. She wanted two things. To see 722 00:41:01,000 --> 00:41:04,360 Speaker 3: Minnie Mouse and to see her around. Why am I 723 00:41:06,760 --> 00:41:43,960 Speaker 3: gros estudia anymore? As to deer a deer? Every day 724 00:41:44,040 --> 00:41:46,680 Speaker 3: for the past two years, the population of Bajo Chikito 725 00:41:46,800 --> 00:41:50,520 Speaker 3: has more than tripled. At six in the morning, piraka 726 00:41:50,520 --> 00:41:53,720 Speaker 3: has come from other Embra villages along the river, dozens 727 00:41:53,719 --> 00:41:57,919 Speaker 3: of them, all filled with orange life jackets. Migrants form 728 00:41:57,920 --> 00:42:00,120 Speaker 3: a line so long that it stretches from the beach 729 00:42:00,239 --> 00:42:02,799 Speaker 3: north of town all the way through the village and 730 00:42:02,800 --> 00:42:06,080 Speaker 3: at the other side, and in groups of fifteen, they 731 00:42:06,080 --> 00:42:08,839 Speaker 3: hand over their twenty five dollars each and get onto 732 00:42:08,880 --> 00:42:12,800 Speaker 3: the piraguas. Each one puts on their bright orange life jacket, 733 00:42:13,400 --> 00:42:16,040 Speaker 3: sits with their legs around the person in front, and 734 00:42:16,080 --> 00:42:18,600 Speaker 3: they take off at the first official migrant reception center 735 00:42:18,760 --> 00:42:22,960 Speaker 3: in last blankets. As the last boat leaves, those who 736 00:42:22,960 --> 00:42:25,239 Speaker 3: can't afford the trip begin a walk which could take 737 00:42:25,280 --> 00:42:28,439 Speaker 3: eight hours. I couldn't walk with them, but I handed 738 00:42:28,480 --> 00:42:30,400 Speaker 3: to group my water filter in one of those overbright 739 00:42:30,520 --> 00:42:33,280 Speaker 3: energy bars that are basically trail mix in a rectangular format, 740 00:42:33,680 --> 00:42:36,879 Speaker 3: and wish them the best of luck as they force 741 00:42:36,920 --> 00:42:39,120 Speaker 3: their tired legs and sore feet to walk again. The 742 00:42:39,160 --> 00:42:41,840 Speaker 3: population of Barjaquito dropped back to five hundred or so 743 00:42:41,920 --> 00:42:45,400 Speaker 3: indigenous people who live here, and the usual background noise 744 00:42:45,440 --> 00:42:48,560 Speaker 3: of chattering dozens of languages gave way to crowing chickens 745 00:42:48,560 --> 00:42:52,399 Speaker 3: and barking dogs. By the next morning, as migrants came 746 00:42:52,400 --> 00:42:54,640 Speaker 3: walking in from the south, it would grow again to 747 00:42:54,680 --> 00:42:58,880 Speaker 3: fifteen hundred. For the last ten years or so, fewer 748 00:42:58,880 --> 00:43:01,960 Speaker 3: than two thousand people crossed in a year, but numbers 749 00:43:01,960 --> 00:43:05,439 Speaker 3: have been steadily increasing, and now the resident of Bajo 750 00:43:05,520 --> 00:43:07,359 Speaker 3: Jiquito see the numbers that they saw in a year. 751 00:43:07,400 --> 00:43:10,480 Speaker 3: In a single weekend while you listen to this series, 752 00:43:10,840 --> 00:43:13,240 Speaker 3: thousands of people will take their lives into their hands 753 00:43:13,239 --> 00:43:16,960 Speaker 3: as they leap into mudcolored rivers, ascend towering mountains in 754 00:43:17,040 --> 00:43:19,919 Speaker 3: the pouring rain, and desperately fight the urge to drink 755 00:43:19,960 --> 00:43:22,880 Speaker 3: from a river polluted with human waste to decaying corpses. 756 00:43:23,640 --> 00:43:26,320 Speaker 3: All of those who survive will walk out of that jungle, 757 00:43:26,800 --> 00:43:29,640 Speaker 3: up the river bank, along a muddy path, and into 758 00:43:29,640 --> 00:43:32,960 Speaker 3: Bajo Chiquito, where they'll buy themselves a cold drink and 759 00:43:33,080 --> 00:43:35,640 Speaker 3: enjoy the hospitality of the locals for a night before 760 00:43:35,719 --> 00:43:39,080 Speaker 3: leaving to head north. At first, the locals told me 761 00:43:39,120 --> 00:43:41,759 Speaker 3: didn't charge people at all. They were shocked to see 762 00:43:41,760 --> 00:43:44,879 Speaker 3: the migrants and wanted to help them, But as numbers grew, 763 00:43:44,960 --> 00:43:46,880 Speaker 3: they had to start asking for money as they couldn't 764 00:43:46,880 --> 00:43:50,640 Speaker 3: afford to feed and house all the migrants arriving. Over time, 765 00:43:50,760 --> 00:43:53,799 Speaker 3: they said, the costs rose, and now a bed costs 766 00:43:53,840 --> 00:43:55,839 Speaker 3: about five dollars for a night, and a meal's about 767 00:43:55,840 --> 00:43:58,799 Speaker 3: the same. As they pointed out, that's less than half 768 00:43:58,840 --> 00:44:01,920 Speaker 3: what I paid in Meta Tea, the nearest town a metait. 769 00:44:01,960 --> 00:44:03,799 Speaker 3: He doesn't have to haul its supplies up the river 770 00:44:03,840 --> 00:44:07,759 Speaker 3: in a canoe using seven dollars per gallon fuel in Bahjigito. 771 00:44:07,920 --> 00:44:09,840 Speaker 3: I sat down with oder man whose front room I 772 00:44:09,920 --> 00:44:12,080 Speaker 3: just had luncheon. I wanted to get a sent to 773 00:44:12,120 --> 00:44:14,640 Speaker 3: the change he'd seen over his lifetime in his community 774 00:44:14,719 --> 00:44:16,000 Speaker 3: and how he felt about it. 775 00:44:25,400 --> 00:44:29,799 Speaker 13: We saw how they arrived injured, sick, with vomiting diarrhea. 776 00:44:30,600 --> 00:44:33,440 Speaker 13: Then there was no healthcare here. What did we do? 777 00:44:34,719 --> 00:44:37,360 Speaker 13: We had to speak for the government. It wasn't easy. 778 00:44:37,440 --> 00:44:40,920 Speaker 13: It was not easy. We told him that we needed 779 00:44:40,920 --> 00:44:44,160 Speaker 13: a doctor, and finally, now, thank god, we have doctors here. 780 00:44:45,840 --> 00:44:49,480 Speaker 3: The community, which has long been socially and economically marginalized 781 00:44:49,480 --> 00:44:53,120 Speaker 3: and acutely underprovided with government services, had built a house 782 00:44:53,160 --> 00:44:56,480 Speaker 3: themselves for the doctors and another house for migration officials. 783 00:44:57,200 --> 00:44:59,759 Speaker 3: It was the only way to help migrants access services, 784 00:45:00,120 --> 00:45:01,799 Speaker 3: which in turn allowed them to move on with their 785 00:45:01,840 --> 00:45:06,520 Speaker 3: journeys quicker, he said. However, like almost every other ember 786 00:45:06,520 --> 00:45:09,160 Speaker 3: our person I spoke with, he felt that the government 787 00:45:09,200 --> 00:45:12,840 Speaker 3: should be doing more here. Even after all these years 788 00:45:12,880 --> 00:45:15,720 Speaker 3: serving as the first Panamanian village, many thousands of people 789 00:45:15,800 --> 00:45:19,040 Speaker 3: enter every year, they still don't have electricity or a 790 00:45:19,160 --> 00:45:22,480 Speaker 3: road that's successible year round, both of which would make 791 00:45:22,520 --> 00:45:25,120 Speaker 3: their lives and the transit of the migrants much safer. 792 00:45:25,920 --> 00:45:28,560 Speaker 3: But that doesn't mean the state's totally absent here. It 793 00:45:28,640 --> 00:45:30,600 Speaker 3: used to be possible for migrants to take a paragua 794 00:45:30,640 --> 00:45:33,960 Speaker 3: from come Galina little further south up river and avoid 795 00:45:34,000 --> 00:45:37,360 Speaker 3: some of the most dangerous river crossings. Bonio told me 796 00:45:37,360 --> 00:45:39,719 Speaker 3: that authorities in the Cormarca, which is like a state 797 00:45:39,719 --> 00:45:42,839 Speaker 3: in the USA, have prohibited this. I wanted to see 798 00:45:42,840 --> 00:45:44,560 Speaker 3: more of what was going on further south and what 799 00:45:44,600 --> 00:45:46,839 Speaker 3: made it so dangerous, but I wasn't permitted to join 800 00:45:46,840 --> 00:45:49,480 Speaker 3: a center front patrol going out that way despite my request. 801 00:45:50,000 --> 00:45:53,000 Speaker 3: I asked Bonnio what made things more dangerous than that 802 00:45:53,000 --> 00:45:55,719 Speaker 3: part of the river. First, he explained that the wide 803 00:45:55,760 --> 00:45:58,000 Speaker 3: and low lying beaches often seemed like good points for 804 00:45:58,080 --> 00:46:00,880 Speaker 3: migrants to sleep, but that any rain in the mountains above, 805 00:46:00,920 --> 00:46:03,040 Speaker 3: which result in a rapid increase for the water level, 806 00:46:03,440 --> 00:46:06,680 Speaker 3: turning those beaches into rapids in minutes, he told me, 807 00:46:07,040 --> 00:46:09,359 Speaker 3: looking down at the table. But not so long ago, 808 00:46:09,400 --> 00:46:12,880 Speaker 3: a storm had washed away sleeping migrants, drowning them in 809 00:46:12,880 --> 00:46:16,239 Speaker 3: their sleep and washing their remains towards his village. But 810 00:46:16,960 --> 00:46:19,040 Speaker 3: terrible as it is, that isn't the only risk. 811 00:46:20,040 --> 00:46:24,240 Speaker 9: What they say. 812 00:46:25,400 --> 00:46:27,680 Speaker 13: You know very well that there's not a single country 813 00:46:27,800 --> 00:46:31,960 Speaker 13: that does not have criminals. In every country, there are criminals. Yeah, 814 00:46:32,080 --> 00:46:35,120 Speaker 13: so what happens at that point in the river, as 815 00:46:35,160 --> 00:46:37,719 Speaker 13: I was saying, at that point, and clearly it is 816 00:46:37,760 --> 00:46:40,120 Speaker 13: not everyone, but there are some certain young men who 817 00:46:40,160 --> 00:46:43,400 Speaker 13: engage in robbery and even rape. So that's why in 818 00:46:43,400 --> 00:46:47,440 Speaker 13: this community, in this village, in coordination with the community 819 00:46:47,560 --> 00:46:51,840 Speaker 13: and the leaders, we will The leader spoke to the 820 00:46:51,920 --> 00:46:55,120 Speaker 13: national government to ask for a chance to transport people 821 00:46:55,120 --> 00:46:59,080 Speaker 13: from came Gaya so that nothing would happen to them. 822 00:46:59,760 --> 00:47:01,799 Speaker 13: The government talked and talked, and for a while it 823 00:47:01,880 --> 00:47:04,120 Speaker 13: was possible and it was safe, and nobody died and 824 00:47:04,160 --> 00:47:09,000 Speaker 13: nobody robbed. It was all going well. But what happened. 825 00:47:09,960 --> 00:47:12,480 Speaker 13: We have a leader at Casika. I don't know if 826 00:47:12,480 --> 00:47:15,600 Speaker 13: you've heard about it, but the regional leader he put 827 00:47:15,600 --> 00:47:16,960 Speaker 13: a barrier, he stopped it. 828 00:47:19,080 --> 00:47:19,120 Speaker 12: No. 829 00:47:23,600 --> 00:47:27,680 Speaker 13: Look, to be honest, these people with their degrees in 830 00:47:27,920 --> 00:47:30,840 Speaker 13: this classic person, they're not humanitarians. 831 00:47:32,600 --> 00:47:35,280 Speaker 3: Despite the struggles and the relative absence of the government 832 00:47:35,800 --> 00:47:37,640 Speaker 3: of rule, he felt that the migration had been a 833 00:47:37,640 --> 00:47:40,920 Speaker 3: positive for his community. He'd learned a lot from the migrants. 834 00:47:40,920 --> 00:47:43,960 Speaker 3: He said, and enjoyed learning about their cuisines. In particular, 835 00:47:44,920 --> 00:47:47,480 Speaker 3: there's a common narrative in media that mentions Boito that 836 00:47:47,520 --> 00:47:49,600 Speaker 3: this village has been somehow stripped of its culture or 837 00:47:49,719 --> 00:47:52,440 Speaker 3: ruined by migration, but the locals don't seem to agree 838 00:47:52,480 --> 00:48:01,440 Speaker 3: with this. I also speke to is leader. She's the 839 00:48:01,440 --> 00:48:03,319 Speaker 3: first woman in the whole con marker to hold such 840 00:48:03,320 --> 00:48:03,760 Speaker 3: a position. 841 00:48:05,800 --> 00:48:09,280 Speaker 1: I'm chief of the community police and leader of the community. 842 00:48:09,920 --> 00:48:12,319 Speaker 3: She explained to me that Balji Guito was just one 843 00:48:12,360 --> 00:48:15,120 Speaker 3: of several communities along the river, each with its own leader. 844 00:48:15,280 --> 00:48:17,880 Speaker 3: Those leaders meet in the council, an answer to the 845 00:48:17,920 --> 00:48:26,880 Speaker 3: Comarca Mara anti di yact in over here. She also 846 00:48:26,920 --> 00:48:29,359 Speaker 3: explained that as the first woman in the position, she'd 847 00:48:29,400 --> 00:48:32,840 Speaker 3: made sure to advance the cause of women in her community. 848 00:48:34,800 --> 00:48:37,879 Speaker 1: So I've had my administration, which has been seven months 849 00:48:37,880 --> 00:48:41,040 Speaker 1: asnoko or leader, I have put some women to work. 850 00:48:41,440 --> 00:48:42,760 Speaker 1: They were waiting for the migrants. 851 00:48:42,760 --> 00:48:46,120 Speaker 3: There After that, I asked her to explain to listeners 852 00:48:46,120 --> 00:48:48,640 Speaker 3: what exactly a migrant encounters when they first set foot 853 00:48:48,640 --> 00:48:51,160 Speaker 3: in her village and the various steps that they might 854 00:48:51,200 --> 00:48:53,160 Speaker 3: go through before leaving the next morning. 855 00:48:54,600 --> 00:48:59,759 Speaker 1: Is there is a check in at first verification of 856 00:48:59,800 --> 00:49:03,320 Speaker 1: whether they have a crime in their country. From there 857 00:49:03,480 --> 00:49:06,600 Speaker 1: they got immigration, their documents are checked and then they 858 00:49:06,600 --> 00:49:08,759 Speaker 1: are free to choose where they're going to wait and 859 00:49:08,800 --> 00:49:11,920 Speaker 1: rest for the next part of their journey. On behalf 860 00:49:11,960 --> 00:49:15,160 Speaker 1: of UNISEF we have free toilets from the community. We 861 00:49:15,239 --> 00:49:17,840 Speaker 1: also have a free place where they can camp or rest. 862 00:49:18,160 --> 00:49:22,600 Speaker 1: That's theirs now. If they want better things better rest, 863 00:49:22,760 --> 00:49:26,040 Speaker 1: they can find accommodation available in almost every house here. 864 00:49:27,239 --> 00:49:29,600 Speaker 1: The next day we prepare everything at together with the 865 00:49:29,640 --> 00:49:30,719 Speaker 1: Center front security. 866 00:49:31,360 --> 00:49:32,000 Speaker 14: We go to the. 867 00:49:31,920 --> 00:49:35,880 Speaker 1: Beach there and at the beach we also coordinate with 868 00:49:35,920 --> 00:49:39,719 Speaker 1: a coordinator from each village. I also want to make 869 00:49:39,719 --> 00:49:41,719 Speaker 1: it clear as well that the boat driver must have 870 00:49:41,760 --> 00:49:44,680 Speaker 1: their idea and be of legal age. 871 00:49:45,000 --> 00:49:47,759 Speaker 3: From there, the migrants pay twenty five dollars ahead and 872 00:49:47,840 --> 00:49:51,080 Speaker 3: take the five hour boat trip north to Lahasblancas, which 873 00:49:51,120 --> 00:49:53,200 Speaker 3: is the UN and government run camp and the first 874 00:49:53,239 --> 00:49:57,239 Speaker 3: official migrant welcome center outside the dai N. Having boat 875 00:49:57,280 --> 00:50:00,840 Speaker 3: drivers who are of age is important. Can't swim trust 876 00:50:00,840 --> 00:50:04,080 Speaker 3: their lives to these boat drivers in high water. Once 877 00:50:04,120 --> 00:50:06,480 Speaker 3: they're at last Blankers, they're close to the Pan American 878 00:50:06,560 --> 00:50:09,880 Speaker 3: Highway and the beginning of the rest of their journey north. 879 00:50:10,480 --> 00:50:13,040 Speaker 3: They don't have to walk any further unless they run 880 00:50:13,080 --> 00:50:15,640 Speaker 3: out of money for buses. I asked what happened when 881 00:50:15,640 --> 00:50:17,760 Speaker 3: someone couldn't afford the right to last blankers? 882 00:50:18,000 --> 00:50:21,279 Speaker 15: Yes, then. 883 00:50:21,760 --> 00:50:25,319 Speaker 1: What does the community do? The community takes responsibility presending them, 884 00:50:25,360 --> 00:50:29,759 Speaker 1: not the state, the state migration center front. They don't 885 00:50:29,800 --> 00:50:32,920 Speaker 1: pay for the fuel or the transport of these people. 886 00:50:34,960 --> 00:50:38,040 Speaker 3: Specifically, she told me the community sends three free boats 887 00:50:38,040 --> 00:50:40,640 Speaker 3: to day. Most of these are filled of women and children, 888 00:50:40,840 --> 00:50:42,480 Speaker 3: and in my time there, it seemed that these people 889 00:50:42,560 --> 00:50:46,840 Speaker 3: paid whatever they could those leftover, usually men would have 890 00:50:46,880 --> 00:50:48,960 Speaker 3: to make the walk on their blistered feet and tired 891 00:50:49,040 --> 00:50:53,200 Speaker 3: legs and risk further sickness, robbery, and heat exhaustion. I 892 00:50:53,239 --> 00:50:55,040 Speaker 3: also wanted to ask a leader about the problems with 893 00:50:55,120 --> 00:50:57,480 Speaker 3: theft and sexual assault that the migrants encountered on their 894 00:50:57,480 --> 00:51:00,120 Speaker 3: walk into Bajo Jiquito, and she was pretty forthright this 895 00:51:00,239 --> 00:51:02,640 Speaker 3: was an issue for the state, not for her community 896 00:51:02,640 --> 00:51:03,040 Speaker 3: to fix. 897 00:51:05,640 --> 00:51:08,880 Speaker 1: Then where is Senafron. Aren't Centafrat supposed to be on 898 00:51:08,920 --> 00:51:11,160 Speaker 1: all the banks of the river, Yes, so where are 899 00:51:11,160 --> 00:51:11,800 Speaker 1: those staffs? 900 00:51:12,560 --> 00:51:15,080 Speaker 3: Despite being able to prevent the Embira from using their 901 00:51:15,080 --> 00:51:18,319 Speaker 3: boats on their river to transport migrants. The government at 902 00:51:18,360 --> 00:51:23,280 Speaker 3: any level above the village isn't really present in Bahjigitofront, 903 00:51:23,719 --> 00:51:27,160 Speaker 3: Panama's combined Border Patrol and military received migrants and register 904 00:51:27,239 --> 00:51:30,040 Speaker 3: them there, but all the services provided to the migrants 905 00:51:30,120 --> 00:51:33,440 Speaker 3: come either from the Emperor or from non governmental organizations. 906 00:51:34,040 --> 00:51:36,640 Speaker 3: This pattern of the state failing to provide basic services, 907 00:51:36,719 --> 00:51:38,880 Speaker 3: when Neil told me, is one that goes back a 908 00:51:38,920 --> 00:51:44,920 Speaker 3: long time before the migrants began arriving here. 909 00:51:45,400 --> 00:51:48,719 Speaker 13: So now, before the migrants began arriving here, we had 910 00:51:49,120 --> 00:51:52,719 Speaker 13: a town, a town that the government is supposed to 911 00:51:52,760 --> 00:51:56,279 Speaker 13: give what it has to give us as Panamanians, but 912 00:51:56,400 --> 00:52:00,960 Speaker 13: it doesn't. It was a town without anything. All we 913 00:52:01,000 --> 00:52:03,879 Speaker 13: did was sell our products and sell stuff here for us. 914 00:52:04,080 --> 00:52:09,600 Speaker 13: We grow rice, corn plantains, everything. Well, it was a lot, 915 00:52:10,120 --> 00:52:14,160 Speaker 13: but products that we grow are not enough to get by. 916 00:52:13,920 --> 00:52:16,839 Speaker 3: Even today in late twenty twenty four, the village doesn't 917 00:52:16,880 --> 00:52:19,480 Speaker 3: have mains electricity, nor does it have a connection to 918 00:52:19,480 --> 00:52:22,359 Speaker 3: telephone networks or a road that it can take year 919 00:52:22,480 --> 00:52:24,560 Speaker 3: round to connect it to the rest of the country. 920 00:52:25,040 --> 00:52:27,000 Speaker 3: And a few clean water taps in the town come 921 00:52:27,000 --> 00:52:31,680 Speaker 3: from UNICEF, not Panama City. Doctors here come from European NGOs, 922 00:52:31,880 --> 00:52:34,239 Speaker 3: and even the policing of the community is largely done 923 00:52:34,320 --> 00:52:38,640 Speaker 3: by the community, by a group called the Zara. And 924 00:52:38,760 --> 00:52:41,759 Speaker 3: never to better understand there but our communities, both with 925 00:52:41,880 --> 00:52:45,040 Speaker 3: and without migrants. I wanted to visit another Embero village 926 00:52:45,200 --> 00:53:07,359 Speaker 3: and after the break, we'll hear about that ring, all right. 927 00:53:07,600 --> 00:53:09,759 Speaker 3: So I'm just in my hammock now kind of the 928 00:53:09,800 --> 00:53:14,680 Speaker 3: end of the day. We were staying in another in 929 00:53:15,440 --> 00:53:19,080 Speaker 3: village today just probably, I mean, but it's a kilometer 930 00:53:19,320 --> 00:53:24,000 Speaker 3: two kilometers away, you know, probably a decent walk, but 931 00:53:24,160 --> 00:53:27,640 Speaker 3: it was pretty fast in the Agua. Just it's a 932 00:53:27,680 --> 00:53:32,480 Speaker 3: little more peaceful here. And a boat driver passed us 933 00:53:32,520 --> 00:53:36,719 Speaker 3: to stay his house. We said we would. You can 934 00:53:36,760 --> 00:53:40,600 Speaker 3: probably hear like, I don't know how much of this 935 00:53:40,800 --> 00:53:50,960 Speaker 3: is getting picked up. It's a nice little village, you know. 936 00:53:51,080 --> 00:53:55,160 Speaker 3: The fucking way to the dogs have stopped. I guess 937 00:53:57,480 --> 00:54:00,560 Speaker 3: when I wasn't in, I took a boat every evening 938 00:54:00,560 --> 00:54:04,040 Speaker 3: to Maraganti. Maraganti is only a couple of kilometers away 939 00:54:04,040 --> 00:54:06,040 Speaker 3: on a different branch of the river, but the walk 940 00:54:06,120 --> 00:54:09,640 Speaker 3: might take hours through a thick jungle. A Perraguero had 941 00:54:09,680 --> 00:54:12,040 Speaker 3: invited us to stay with his family and to see 942 00:54:12,040 --> 00:54:15,960 Speaker 3: another Inmbara village. I'm always down to sleep outside, so 943 00:54:16,040 --> 00:54:19,800 Speaker 3: I gladly accepted his invitation and slung my hammock across 944 00:54:19,840 --> 00:54:22,520 Speaker 3: his front porch after a long discussion on whether the 945 00:54:22,560 --> 00:54:24,839 Speaker 3: dynamic cordage I was using would actually hold my weight, 946 00:54:24,960 --> 00:54:27,400 Speaker 3: and on my part of probably ill advised free solo 947 00:54:27,440 --> 00:54:29,319 Speaker 3: onto the roof of his house to find a good 948 00:54:29,360 --> 00:54:32,719 Speaker 3: anchor point for my hammock. In my time in Maraganti, 949 00:54:33,160 --> 00:54:35,840 Speaker 3: I found myself growing fonder and fond of his little community. 950 00:54:36,640 --> 00:54:40,239 Speaker 3: Everyone's doors were open and the village's children enjoyed unsupervised 951 00:54:40,239 --> 00:54:43,439 Speaker 3: playtime everywhere. There was never not a pick up game 952 00:54:43,480 --> 00:54:46,239 Speaker 3: going on at the concrete football and basketball court, and 953 00:54:46,280 --> 00:54:48,600 Speaker 3: despite the fact that they were on average several feet 954 00:54:48,600 --> 00:54:51,479 Speaker 3: short than me and playing on concrete without shoes, local 955 00:54:51,560 --> 00:54:55,120 Speaker 3: kids humiliated me at a wide variety of sports with 956 00:54:55,239 --> 00:54:58,200 Speaker 3: no electricity of them generators, one Wi Fi connection in 957 00:54:58,200 --> 00:55:00,160 Speaker 3: the whole village as far as I can tell, and 958 00:55:00,239 --> 00:55:02,720 Speaker 3: a few hours to myself. In the evening, I happily 959 00:55:02,719 --> 00:55:05,120 Speaker 3: settled into a routine of washing in a river along 960 00:55:05,160 --> 00:55:08,080 Speaker 3: with everyone else in the hour before sunset, walking around 961 00:55:08,120 --> 00:55:11,080 Speaker 3: town chatting with the inhabitants, who seemed surprised but happy 962 00:55:11,120 --> 00:55:13,440 Speaker 3: to see a gangly British man ambling around their neighborhood 963 00:55:13,440 --> 00:55:16,480 Speaker 3: and petting their dogs. Once it got dark, I'd spend 964 00:55:16,480 --> 00:55:18,520 Speaker 3: my evening sitting in my hammer, because the grandchildren of 965 00:55:18,520 --> 00:55:20,960 Speaker 3: our host asked me how to say various things in English. 966 00:55:21,360 --> 00:55:23,359 Speaker 3: I played with the little toys I always bring along 967 00:55:23,360 --> 00:55:25,520 Speaker 3: in case I run into children on my work trips. 968 00:55:26,120 --> 00:55:28,160 Speaker 3: Being in Maragantine made me think a lot about my 969 00:55:28,160 --> 00:55:30,920 Speaker 3: own life and the US in general. I certainly have 970 00:55:30,960 --> 00:55:33,120 Speaker 3: a lot more possessions here, but my neighbors don't let 971 00:55:33,160 --> 00:55:35,560 Speaker 3: their kids run around in the streets, and cars would 972 00:55:35,640 --> 00:55:38,239 Speaker 3: hit them if they did. People in my community, if 973 00:55:38,320 --> 00:55:40,719 Speaker 3: the next door Wrapp is anything to go by, spend 974 00:55:40,760 --> 00:55:43,279 Speaker 3: seeing mely countless hours bitching about the unhoused in other 975 00:55:43,280 --> 00:55:46,160 Speaker 3: people's children. But here everyone had a roof over their heads, 976 00:55:46,200 --> 00:55:48,239 Speaker 3: and other people's children ran in and out my host's 977 00:55:48,280 --> 00:55:51,560 Speaker 3: kitchen without anyone batting an eyelid. Aside from laughing at 978 00:55:51,560 --> 00:55:54,120 Speaker 3: my paleness when I was washing in the river, nobody 979 00:55:54,120 --> 00:55:56,920 Speaker 3: here seemed that concerned that I was different. They let 980 00:55:56,960 --> 00:55:59,560 Speaker 3: me hold their babies while they cooked. They didn't overcharge 981 00:55:59,560 --> 00:56:01,120 Speaker 3: me for the It was a water of snacks that 982 00:56:01,160 --> 00:56:04,000 Speaker 3: I brought from their front room convenience stores. What seemed 983 00:56:04,000 --> 00:56:06,360 Speaker 3: that bothered about sharing their meals and their homes with me. 984 00:56:07,320 --> 00:56:10,160 Speaker 3: At night, we sat on tiny plastic chairs and talked 985 00:56:10,160 --> 00:56:13,160 Speaker 3: about our shared interest in woodwork and what they wanted 986 00:56:13,160 --> 00:56:15,640 Speaker 3: for their children. We talked about their boats and the river, 987 00:56:15,719 --> 00:56:18,360 Speaker 3: and about how terrible things must be for migrants to 988 00:56:18,440 --> 00:56:20,920 Speaker 3: risk their lives and abandon their homes making the journey 989 00:56:20,920 --> 00:56:24,080 Speaker 3: across these mountains that the Embrara and their Kuna neighbors 990 00:56:24,200 --> 00:56:27,400 Speaker 3: call home. Ever since I left their village, I've been 991 00:56:27,440 --> 00:56:29,279 Speaker 3: thinking a lot about the part of The Dawn of 992 00:56:29,320 --> 00:56:33,360 Speaker 3: Everything in which Grab and Wengrove detail how many indigenous 993 00:56:33,360 --> 00:56:36,840 Speaker 3: people were adopted into colonial society but chose to return 994 00:56:36,880 --> 00:56:40,479 Speaker 3: to their communities. How by settlers in indigenous communities often 995 00:56:40,560 --> 00:56:43,760 Speaker 3: chose to remain among the indigenous communities. I don't wish 996 00:56:43,760 --> 00:56:46,440 Speaker 3: to romanticize the very real struggles the Mbra have with 997 00:56:46,480 --> 00:56:49,680 Speaker 3: their economic marginalization and lack of access to basic services 998 00:56:49,680 --> 00:56:52,760 Speaker 3: compared to other Panamanians, But I just want to reflect 999 00:56:52,800 --> 00:56:54,640 Speaker 3: on the fact that there was something really special about 1000 00:56:54,640 --> 00:56:57,080 Speaker 3: the little river community, where dogs and chickens and ducks 1001 00:56:57,120 --> 00:56:59,640 Speaker 3: woke me up in the morning, little children welcome me 1002 00:56:59,680 --> 00:57:02,360 Speaker 3: back evening. They told me what they did at school, 1003 00:57:02,440 --> 00:57:05,040 Speaker 3: or just a little ball back and forth, and seemed 1004 00:57:05,200 --> 00:57:08,000 Speaker 3: entirely comfortable chatting to an adult from across the world. 1005 00:57:08,520 --> 00:57:11,160 Speaker 3: The people a Baho Jiqito have shown that same hospitality 1006 00:57:11,200 --> 00:57:13,759 Speaker 3: to migrants and indeed to me, and so I wanted 1007 00:57:13,760 --> 00:57:16,760 Speaker 3: to ask the village leader how migration had changed her community. 1008 00:57:17,800 --> 00:57:20,080 Speaker 3: Like everyone else I spoke to, she insisted that they 1009 00:57:20,080 --> 00:57:22,680 Speaker 3: had held on to important parts of their culture, which 1010 00:57:22,680 --> 00:57:24,560 Speaker 3: he illustrated by giving me a history lesson. 1011 00:57:24,800 --> 00:57:30,160 Speaker 1: Well, the town of Bajo Chikito was founded in nineteen 1012 00:57:30,200 --> 00:57:35,800 Speaker 1: sixty five. At first there were three families, the Vaparizo, 1013 00:57:36,120 --> 00:57:41,400 Speaker 1: the Rosales, the Chagos. They came here for education reasons. 1014 00:57:41,960 --> 00:57:45,480 Speaker 1: Before everyone lived on their own, the education came and 1015 00:57:45,520 --> 00:57:46,760 Speaker 1: that is why we grew this town. 1016 00:57:49,120 --> 00:57:51,680 Speaker 3: It was the education, she said, that had changed town, 1017 00:57:51,880 --> 00:57:55,320 Speaker 3: not the migrants. They have night school now for adults 1018 00:57:55,360 --> 00:57:57,360 Speaker 3: and a school for all the children with seven teachers. 1019 00:57:58,080 --> 00:58:00,960 Speaker 3: The children speak Emberbra and Spanish and have a chance 1020 00:58:01,040 --> 00:58:04,920 Speaker 3: to get more education in Metaiti or even in Panama City. 1021 00:58:05,720 --> 00:58:09,280 Speaker 1: Yes, it's dudo education, not because the migrants travel through here. 1022 00:58:09,520 --> 00:58:11,800 Speaker 1: Let this be clear, that is not because the migrants 1023 00:58:11,840 --> 00:58:12,280 Speaker 1: came here. 1024 00:58:13,640 --> 00:58:17,240 Speaker 3: Cly though, the perception of changing their community is a concern. 1025 00:58:17,880 --> 00:58:19,840 Speaker 3: She told me that a local woman marries what she 1026 00:58:19,880 --> 00:58:22,880 Speaker 3: called a Latino man, they can't live together in the village, 1027 00:58:23,240 --> 00:58:24,640 Speaker 3: and she wanted to make sure I knew that the 1028 00:58:24,680 --> 00:58:28,040 Speaker 3: children learn in Emberra as well as Spanish. They also 1029 00:58:28,080 --> 00:58:30,920 Speaker 3: still knew dances and ceremonies, Bloniolla told me. But some 1030 00:58:30,960 --> 00:58:34,560 Speaker 3: of the changes, she said, were positive, including one in 1031 00:58:34,600 --> 00:58:35,320 Speaker 3: gender relationship. 1032 00:58:38,240 --> 00:58:41,160 Speaker 1: That's an ongoing struggle. I'll say that to show that 1033 00:58:41,200 --> 00:58:44,640 Speaker 1: we women have the same capacity for thought creativity as men. 1034 00:58:45,720 --> 00:58:48,040 Speaker 1: We are fighting every day, and as you will see, 1035 00:58:48,040 --> 00:58:48,680 Speaker 1: it's not easy. 1036 00:58:49,960 --> 00:58:52,280 Speaker 3: One thing that surprised me was that the Emberra would 1037 00:58:52,320 --> 00:58:55,880 Speaker 3: always remind me that they themselves have been migrants. They 1038 00:58:55,920 --> 00:58:58,640 Speaker 3: migrated to Panama City sometimes, they said, and they have 1039 00:58:58,640 --> 00:59:00,760 Speaker 3: a little choice if they want postsec and education or 1040 00:59:00,840 --> 00:59:03,880 Speaker 3: higher level medical attention. Some of their kids even make 1041 00:59:03,880 --> 00:59:05,880 Speaker 3: the journey to the USA to study. What kind of 1042 00:59:05,960 --> 00:59:08,400 Speaker 3: hypocrites would they be, they said, if they look down 1043 00:59:08,440 --> 00:59:13,200 Speaker 3: on people making the same journey. 1044 00:59:13,240 --> 00:59:15,760 Speaker 13: I'm going to tell you that before the immigrants arrived here, 1045 00:59:15,800 --> 00:59:19,640 Speaker 13: within this community, we lived in the same way. I mean, 1046 00:59:19,680 --> 00:59:22,920 Speaker 13: we came from the countryside, we worked in agriculture, and 1047 00:59:22,960 --> 00:59:27,040 Speaker 13: we still continue working in the agriculture stuff, fishing, hunting 1048 00:59:27,040 --> 00:59:27,520 Speaker 13: and so on. 1049 00:59:28,560 --> 00:59:30,120 Speaker 3: We liked it a lot. 1050 00:59:30,920 --> 00:59:33,280 Speaker 13: Now after the immigrants started to come, we are still 1051 00:59:33,320 --> 00:59:36,600 Speaker 13: the same and it doesn't affect us having them within 1052 00:59:36,640 --> 00:59:42,920 Speaker 13: our community because they are they're people, they're humans. The 1053 00:59:43,000 --> 00:59:45,560 Speaker 13: journey that the immigrants make is out of need. It 1054 00:59:45,680 --> 00:59:50,680 Speaker 13: is in need. So really we too, for example, if 1055 00:59:50,720 --> 00:59:54,080 Speaker 13: we were to deal with problems like them, since we 1056 00:59:54,120 --> 00:59:56,320 Speaker 13: are just like them, we also have the right to 1057 00:59:56,320 --> 00:59:57,120 Speaker 13: emigrate as well. 1058 00:59:59,480 --> 01:00:02,000 Speaker 3: This is not the first influx of migration into Embra 1059 01:00:02,160 --> 01:00:05,240 Speaker 3: and Guna land. In fifteen oh one, a wave of 1060 01:00:05,320 --> 01:00:08,640 Speaker 3: undocumented immigration from Spain in the form of settler colonia 1061 01:00:08,760 --> 01:00:12,320 Speaker 3: like Francisco Balboa, arrived in the Guna and Embera territories. 1062 01:00:12,640 --> 01:00:15,240 Speaker 3: Ever since his Europeans first saw for themselves what the 1063 01:00:15,280 --> 01:00:18,080 Speaker 3: Embra already knew that this area was part of a 1064 01:00:18,160 --> 01:00:21,520 Speaker 3: narrow strip of land between two Great Oceans. People from 1065 01:00:21,520 --> 01:00:23,400 Speaker 3: around the world have been coming to what is now 1066 01:00:23,440 --> 01:00:26,200 Speaker 3: Panama as part of their journeys from north to south 1067 01:00:26,280 --> 01:00:28,880 Speaker 3: or east to west. The thin strip of land that 1068 01:00:29,000 --> 01:00:31,640 Speaker 3: joins the two American continents has been at the crossroads 1069 01:00:31,640 --> 01:00:35,080 Speaker 3: of the world for half a millennium. Archaeological digs in 1070 01:00:35,080 --> 01:00:37,720 Speaker 3: a region show that there were once roads, and that 1071 01:00:37,800 --> 01:00:41,320 Speaker 3: gold and jade came here from Afar. This ritinalization is 1072 01:00:41,320 --> 01:00:44,440 Speaker 3: one that Vasco Nunies de Balboa first encountered, and it 1073 01:00:44,480 --> 01:00:46,160 Speaker 3: was they who first told him that their land lay 1074 01:00:46,200 --> 01:00:49,000 Speaker 3: between two oceans. It was somewhere just to the south 1075 01:00:49,000 --> 01:00:52,120 Speaker 3: of where I was staying that exactly five hundred eleven 1076 01:00:52,160 --> 01:00:55,000 Speaker 3: years ago to the day, Barboa became the first European 1077 01:00:55,040 --> 01:00:58,920 Speaker 3: to set eyes upon the Pacific. Since Barbara, many other 1078 01:00:58,960 --> 01:01:01,880 Speaker 3: colonizers have come to Dabienne to pit their notions of 1079 01:01:01,920 --> 01:01:06,280 Speaker 3: superiority against the might of the rainforest. The Kingdom of 1080 01:01:06,320 --> 01:01:09,040 Speaker 3: Scotland sent a group of settlers here in the seventeenth century, 1081 01:01:09,680 --> 01:01:12,480 Speaker 3: mounted the side. This isn't a place with any similarity 1082 01:01:12,520 --> 01:01:14,680 Speaker 3: to Scotland, and it's easy enough to see why the 1083 01:01:14,720 --> 01:01:18,520 Speaker 3: plan failed, killed three out of four colonists and essentially 1084 01:01:18,600 --> 01:01:21,880 Speaker 3: bankrupted an entire nation in two years, forcing it into 1085 01:01:21,880 --> 01:01:23,840 Speaker 3: a colonial relationship with its own with its neighbor to 1086 01:01:23,880 --> 01:01:27,960 Speaker 3: the south. After the Scots left, having failed to create 1087 01:01:28,000 --> 01:01:30,680 Speaker 3: what they'd hoped would be a quote Scottish Amsterdam of 1088 01:01:30,720 --> 01:01:33,360 Speaker 3: the Indies and a Spanish found a flatter and easier 1089 01:01:33,360 --> 01:01:36,920 Speaker 3: connection between the Pacific and Caribbean. The Dadian region returned 1090 01:01:36,920 --> 01:01:40,439 Speaker 3: to its indigenous people, whose home it remains, but over 1091 01:01:40,480 --> 01:01:43,520 Speaker 3: the course of several hundred years, many empires have come 1092 01:01:43,720 --> 01:01:46,640 Speaker 3: to the dai En to die. The French tried to 1093 01:01:46,640 --> 01:01:48,760 Speaker 3: build a sea level callout not so far from here, 1094 01:01:48,880 --> 01:01:52,520 Speaker 3: the canal without locks, but they ultimately failed. The US 1095 01:01:52,600 --> 01:01:54,720 Speaker 3: tried in the eighteen fifties and eighteen seventies to forge 1096 01:01:54,720 --> 01:01:56,480 Speaker 3: a route to build a canal to get east coast 1097 01:01:56,520 --> 01:01:59,720 Speaker 3: Banks Acces to west coast Gold, before eventually finding an 1098 01:01:59,760 --> 01:02:03,160 Speaker 3: easy route further north. A century later, the US and 1099 01:02:03,160 --> 01:02:06,240 Speaker 3: Panama openly discussed dropping nuclear bombs on the jungle to 1100 01:02:06,240 --> 01:02:08,840 Speaker 3: make it passable and to allow the construction of a road. 1101 01:02:09,320 --> 01:02:11,360 Speaker 3: The US offered to shoulder two thirds at a cost 1102 01:02:11,360 --> 01:02:13,400 Speaker 3: of building such a road, and hoped to have the 1103 01:02:13,440 --> 01:02:16,200 Speaker 3: Pan American Highway completed in time for its nineteen seventy 1104 01:02:16,200 --> 01:02:19,560 Speaker 3: six by centennial, but the GAP's hostility in the growing 1105 01:02:19,640 --> 01:02:22,440 Speaker 3: environmental movement, as well as a desire to protect US 1106 01:02:22,520 --> 01:02:24,640 Speaker 3: livestock from a foot of mouth disease it's endemic in 1107 01:02:24,680 --> 01:02:27,560 Speaker 3: South America. One the day, the gap remained a gap 1108 01:02:28,000 --> 01:02:32,040 Speaker 3: latly without the influence of the state. In the nineteen seventies, 1109 01:02:32,040 --> 01:02:35,120 Speaker 3: a British Army expedition traversed to Dadien in two range rovers. 1110 01:02:35,200 --> 01:02:39,040 Speaker 3: Assisted by horses, parachute drop resupplies and a team of engineers, 1111 01:02:39,360 --> 01:02:42,080 Speaker 3: they crossed the jungle in ninety six days. They had 1112 01:02:42,120 --> 01:02:44,000 Speaker 3: to make their own bugnets for their horses out of 1113 01:02:44,040 --> 01:02:45,960 Speaker 3: the parachutes, so were used to drop corn cobs to 1114 01:02:46,000 --> 01:02:49,280 Speaker 3: the animals and rice for the humans. Expedition leader and 1115 01:02:49,400 --> 01:02:51,960 Speaker 3: seasons explorer, as well as possibly the most British Man 1116 01:02:52,000 --> 01:02:56,919 Speaker 3: in history, Lieutenant Colonel John Blashford Snell wrote, without doubt 1117 01:02:56,960 --> 01:02:58,800 Speaker 3: it was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. 1118 01:02:59,000 --> 01:03:02,920 Speaker 3: Calling the daddi Enne a god forsaken place, the daddy 1119 01:03:02,960 --> 01:03:04,960 Speaker 3: Inn is one of the wettest places on the planet. 1120 01:03:05,360 --> 01:03:08,120 Speaker 3: A particularly cruel twist for that would be colonizers from Scotland. 1121 01:03:08,680 --> 01:03:10,600 Speaker 3: In the months before I came here, I spent hours 1122 01:03:10,640 --> 01:03:12,960 Speaker 3: trying to work out how to water proof my podcast equipment, 1123 01:03:13,280 --> 01:03:15,360 Speaker 3: and most of what you're hearing is recorded on a 1124 01:03:15,440 --> 01:03:18,600 Speaker 3: voice recorder that I sealed up with gasket maker, shoved 1125 01:03:18,600 --> 01:03:21,800 Speaker 3: inside a condom, inside a dry bag, inside a pelican case. 1126 01:03:22,440 --> 01:03:25,720 Speaker 3: This rain causes flash flooding, the kind which sweeps whole 1127 01:03:25,800 --> 01:03:28,640 Speaker 3: villages away. The rivers in the Gap onont Bridge largely 1128 01:03:28,680 --> 01:03:31,640 Speaker 3: because they simply wash away bridges after a storm. On 1129 01:03:31,680 --> 01:03:34,400 Speaker 3: our journey to Bahojigito, I saw the remains of bridges 1130 01:03:34,440 --> 01:03:37,360 Speaker 3: that had dared to try. That's why my hosts built 1131 01:03:37,360 --> 01:03:39,760 Speaker 3: their houses on stilts, and it's on those stilts that 1132 01:03:39,800 --> 01:03:43,280 Speaker 3: I slung my hammock in Maraganti. Ever since the failed 1133 01:03:43,320 --> 01:03:46,080 Speaker 3: Daddian scheme, the Gap has been constructed in the Western 1134 01:03:46,080 --> 01:03:49,520 Speaker 3: imagination as the deepest and darkest jungle. The Gap today 1135 01:03:49,560 --> 01:03:52,280 Speaker 3: is home to every type of malaria and numerous others diseases. 1136 01:03:52,560 --> 01:03:56,160 Speaker 3: There are deadly vipers, deadly spiders, big cats, and as 1137 01:03:56,160 --> 01:03:58,680 Speaker 3: if the natural threats were not enough, the US dropped 1138 01:03:58,720 --> 01:04:01,120 Speaker 3: bombs here in the Cold Wars test this destructive might 1139 01:04:01,160 --> 01:04:02,840 Speaker 3: against one of the few areas of the planet that 1140 01:04:02,880 --> 01:04:05,840 Speaker 3: hadn't been made amenable to capitalism. Many of them remain 1141 01:04:05,920 --> 01:04:10,040 Speaker 3: unexploded in the mountains. Certainly the physical geography of the 1142 01:04:10,080 --> 01:04:12,600 Speaker 3: Dallienne posted a challenge, but I would argue that the 1143 01:04:12,640 --> 01:04:15,400 Speaker 3: imaginative geography of the gap which is a greater impediment 1144 01:04:15,400 --> 01:04:18,280 Speaker 3: to travelers. In Spanish they call it the top on 1145 01:04:18,720 --> 01:04:21,920 Speaker 3: the Stopper. Local legend has it that the Spanish conquistado, 1146 01:04:22,480 --> 01:04:24,200 Speaker 3: one of the first to take his last breaths in 1147 01:04:24,240 --> 01:04:27,680 Speaker 3: the waters of Dallienne. Rivers carved to phrase into the rock, 1148 01:04:27,720 --> 01:04:30,960 Speaker 3: which is endured long after he expired. When you go 1149 01:04:31,040 --> 01:04:33,560 Speaker 3: to the dalli Ennes and trust yourself to Mary, for 1150 01:04:33,640 --> 01:04:36,040 Speaker 3: in her hands of the entrance and he gods the exit, 1151 01:04:36,960 --> 01:04:38,760 Speaker 3: it doesn't sound that different to the things I heard 1152 01:04:38,800 --> 01:04:40,600 Speaker 3: from migrants and in the modern day they'll tell you 1153 01:04:40,640 --> 01:04:43,400 Speaker 3: about the horrific tiktoks they saw before they enter the gap, 1154 01:04:43,920 --> 01:04:46,520 Speaker 3: and the decaying remains fellow travelers they saw as they 1155 01:04:46,520 --> 01:04:49,640 Speaker 3: passed through. Media reports in a Gap consistently referred to 1156 01:04:49,680 --> 01:04:52,120 Speaker 3: it as a nomad's land, but of course it's very 1157 01:04:52,200 --> 01:04:55,240 Speaker 3: much someone's land, the land of the indigenous people who 1158 01:04:55,280 --> 01:04:58,520 Speaker 3: have been here long before countries, borders or reporters. While 1159 01:04:58,560 --> 01:05:01,040 Speaker 3: it may have remained hostile to appolism in the state, 1160 01:05:01,320 --> 01:05:04,200 Speaker 3: and it can be deadly for unexperienced travelers. It's supported 1161 01:05:04,280 --> 01:05:07,720 Speaker 3: life for thousands of years. And a way to Bahjigito, 1162 01:05:07,880 --> 01:05:09,960 Speaker 3: I was reminded of just how comfortable my hosts were 1163 01:05:10,040 --> 01:05:11,720 Speaker 3: in a place where I felt so out of place. 1164 01:05:12,280 --> 01:05:14,320 Speaker 3: So as we were coming, we got caught in a 1165 01:05:14,440 --> 01:05:17,520 Speaker 3: huge range storm, just absolutely bucketing it down suddenly and 1166 01:05:18,760 --> 01:05:21,360 Speaker 3: pulled in to a little sort of or just a 1167 01:05:21,400 --> 01:05:24,560 Speaker 3: flat area of might really. I helped out to the 1168 01:05:24,600 --> 01:05:28,360 Speaker 3: boat and next thing I know, our boat guide ran 1169 01:05:28,440 --> 01:05:31,240 Speaker 3: into jungle, chopped some huge palm leaves down and brought 1170 01:05:31,240 --> 01:05:52,520 Speaker 3: them back to me to cover me in my bag. Well, 1171 01:05:52,600 --> 01:05:56,480 Speaker 3: the umber might have preserved their comfort and culture. It's 1172 01:05:56,520 --> 01:05:59,120 Speaker 3: undeniable that migrat should have made a huge economic impact. 1173 01:06:00,120 --> 01:06:02,080 Speaker 3: And fifty nine migrants left on one of the days 1174 01:06:02,080 --> 01:06:04,720 Speaker 3: I was able to get numbers from Senaflunt. Each of 1175 01:06:04,760 --> 01:06:07,760 Speaker 3: them paid twenty five dollars for pedagua, about ten dollars 1176 01:06:07,760 --> 01:06:10,160 Speaker 3: for food and lodging, and maybe Wi Fi and pread 1177 01:06:10,240 --> 01:06:12,200 Speaker 3: a few bucks more for clean clothes or a pair 1178 01:06:12,200 --> 01:06:14,240 Speaker 3: of off bran crops to let their feet heel from 1179 01:06:14,280 --> 01:06:18,480 Speaker 3: three days have been constantly wet. At a conservative estimate, 1180 01:06:18,600 --> 01:06:20,720 Speaker 3: that's a little more than thirty three thousand per day 1181 01:06:21,280 --> 01:06:24,520 Speaker 3: raughly the GDP per capita of Panama. That's a lot 1182 01:06:24,520 --> 01:06:27,000 Speaker 3: of money down here, especially for community which has been 1183 01:06:27,040 --> 01:06:31,480 Speaker 3: alienated and exploited for solo. Using this money, people have 1184 01:06:31,480 --> 01:06:33,800 Speaker 3: been closed the bottom floors of their homes to provide 1185 01:06:33,800 --> 01:06:36,760 Speaker 3: more space to house migrants. All around the village, they're 1186 01:06:36,760 --> 01:06:39,840 Speaker 3: building better homes. Some of them have satellite internet now 1187 01:06:39,920 --> 01:06:44,200 Speaker 3: or Starlink or bigger and more reliable generators. This money 1188 01:06:44,240 --> 01:06:46,400 Speaker 3: has been spread around the Amberak communities in the area, 1189 01:06:46,480 --> 01:06:48,960 Speaker 3: and every morning each of them sent pedaguas to transport 1190 01:06:49,040 --> 01:06:52,240 Speaker 3: the migrants, as almost sixty a needed every day. Rolling 1191 01:06:52,280 --> 01:06:55,000 Speaker 3: out of Madaganti at five in the morning as almost 1192 01:06:55,000 --> 01:06:57,560 Speaker 3: the entire adult male population of the village joined us 1193 01:06:57,560 --> 01:07:00,880 Speaker 3: in a huge flatilla of two stroke smoke dugout canoes 1194 01:07:01,520 --> 01:07:03,360 Speaker 3: and the morning mists still sat in the river was 1195 01:07:03,360 --> 01:07:06,360 Speaker 3: an incredible experience and this is doubtless an industry for 1196 01:07:06,360 --> 01:07:06,960 Speaker 3: the whole area. 1197 01:07:07,040 --> 01:07:07,280 Speaker 16: Now. 1198 01:07:07,960 --> 01:07:11,840 Speaker 3: If Molino Majorcas ever successfully stops migration here, it will 1199 01:07:11,880 --> 01:07:14,840 Speaker 3: be a massive economic detriment to the people, already marginalized 1200 01:07:14,880 --> 01:07:18,720 Speaker 3: for centuries. But despite the economic benefits, the people of 1201 01:07:18,760 --> 01:07:21,680 Speaker 3: Maragante doesn't seem to want to become like Bahajiguito. On 1202 01:07:21,760 --> 01:07:23,800 Speaker 3: our last day there, as we set off back towards 1203 01:07:23,840 --> 01:07:25,800 Speaker 3: the dirt road to the borders, here we saw that 1204 01:07:25,800 --> 01:07:29,360 Speaker 3: they were building little cabins outside of town. These they 1205 01:07:29,400 --> 01:07:32,440 Speaker 3: said were for the migrants. They wanted the migrants to 1206 01:07:32,480 --> 01:07:35,520 Speaker 3: be safe and their community to stay the same. They 1207 01:07:35,560 --> 01:07:37,280 Speaker 3: might not be able to sell meals to the migrants 1208 01:07:37,320 --> 01:07:39,400 Speaker 3: this way, or charge and for Wi Fi or phone charging, 1209 01:07:39,680 --> 01:07:42,400 Speaker 3: but they will be able to live a little more peacefully. 1210 01:07:42,600 --> 01:07:45,080 Speaker 3: Yamba have gone out of their way to ensure migrant safety. 1211 01:07:45,520 --> 01:07:47,880 Speaker 3: They're the ones who mandate life jackets, and the ones 1212 01:07:47,880 --> 01:07:50,280 Speaker 3: who build a house for doctors, and they're the ones 1213 01:07:50,280 --> 01:07:53,080 Speaker 3: who send free boats for women and children. Of course 1214 01:07:53,120 --> 01:07:55,560 Speaker 3: they have an economic incentive to do this, but there 1215 01:07:55,560 --> 01:07:57,160 Speaker 3: nearly a week living with them, I didn't hear them 1216 01:07:57,160 --> 01:07:59,240 Speaker 3: bad mouth for migrants, and nor did I hear the 1217 01:07:59,320 --> 01:08:01,160 Speaker 3: migrants complain about the way they were treated in the 1218 01:08:01,200 --> 01:08:04,000 Speaker 3: village of barj Juquito. But before they get to the 1219 01:08:04,040 --> 01:08:07,400 Speaker 3: village of Barjuquito, migrants aren't safe, and if you ask them, 1220 01:08:07,640 --> 01:08:09,640 Speaker 3: they'll tell you it's indigenous people who are robbing and 1221 01:08:09,680 --> 01:08:14,080 Speaker 3: threatening them. Deeper into the jungle. Undoubtedly, robbery, sexual assault 1222 01:08:14,080 --> 01:08:16,680 Speaker 3: a murderer not uncommon. In the Daddy and Gap. You 1223 01:08:16,680 --> 01:08:18,920 Speaker 3: can hear anecdotes of these on a daily basis in 1224 01:08:18,960 --> 01:08:21,640 Speaker 3: ba Juquito, and some of the stories I heard and 1225 01:08:21,680 --> 01:08:24,479 Speaker 3: things I saw are among the most horrific experiences I've 1226 01:08:24,479 --> 01:08:27,360 Speaker 3: had in years of reporting on pretty terrible things. I 1227 01:08:27,400 --> 01:08:29,160 Speaker 3: haven't included a great many of them here because I 1228 01:08:29,160 --> 01:08:31,240 Speaker 3: think it's hard for people to meaningfully consent in those 1229 01:08:31,320 --> 01:08:34,679 Speaker 3: kinds of circumstances. But yesterday you heard about the human 1230 01:08:34,720 --> 01:08:37,320 Speaker 3: remains that almost everyone featured in this series had to 1231 01:08:37,360 --> 01:08:41,280 Speaker 3: walk past. This is a problem that's getting worse, not better. 1232 01:08:42,160 --> 01:08:45,920 Speaker 3: In just one week in February, medisanten Fontierre, the NGO 1233 01:08:45,960 --> 01:08:48,920 Speaker 3: that Americans called Doctors without Borders, treated one hundred and 1234 01:08:49,000 --> 01:08:52,120 Speaker 3: thirteen people, including nine children, after they were sexually assaulted 1235 01:08:52,120 --> 01:08:54,960 Speaker 3: by criminal groups in a Darienne. This number is close 1236 01:08:55,000 --> 01:08:57,040 Speaker 3: to one hundred and twenty people treated during the whole 1237 01:08:57,040 --> 01:08:59,960 Speaker 3: of January. These figures are double the monthly average tree 1238 01:09:00,200 --> 01:09:02,519 Speaker 3: in twenty twenty three, when six hundred and seventy six 1239 01:09:02,520 --> 01:09:05,639 Speaker 3: people were treated for the whole year. As you heard before, 1240 01:09:06,240 --> 01:09:09,080 Speaker 3: this is a problem that people in the community sometimes acknowledge, 1241 01:09:09,439 --> 01:09:11,760 Speaker 3: and as a village leader mentioned, it's one that could 1242 01:09:11,760 --> 01:09:13,360 Speaker 3: be solved as the state would live up to its 1243 01:09:13,360 --> 01:09:16,599 Speaker 3: obligation to protect migrants within its borders. The leader also 1244 01:09:16,600 --> 01:09:22,240 Speaker 3: shares me that the community has its own punishment mechanisms. 1245 01:09:22,720 --> 01:09:25,599 Speaker 1: The place of punishment is the stocks. Three days ago, 1246 01:09:25,720 --> 01:09:28,280 Speaker 1: someone behaved very badly and we had to put them 1247 01:09:28,400 --> 01:09:31,840 Speaker 1: in the stocks. The man who mistreats women, we also 1248 01:09:31,880 --> 01:09:34,240 Speaker 1: put in the stocks. The woman who gossips, we also 1249 01:09:34,280 --> 01:09:35,400 Speaker 1: put her in the stocks. 1250 01:09:36,080 --> 01:09:37,880 Speaker 3: What she's talking about here is stocks in the old 1251 01:09:37,880 --> 01:09:41,120 Speaker 3: fashioned sense, not in the Wall Street bet sense. We 1252 01:09:41,160 --> 01:09:43,320 Speaker 3: actually saw someone chatting them one day with their ankles 1253 01:09:43,320 --> 01:09:45,960 Speaker 3: locked in place. We didn't ask what they did, how 1254 01:09:46,000 --> 01:09:48,160 Speaker 3: long they were there, as it seems difficult again to 1255 01:09:48,200 --> 01:09:50,800 Speaker 3: consent to an interview when you're literally pinned in place. 1256 01:09:51,680 --> 01:09:54,080 Speaker 3: But this kind of punishment comes from the community, not 1257 01:09:54,160 --> 01:09:57,400 Speaker 3: the stick. Aside from these punishments, the community hasn't done 1258 01:09:57,439 --> 01:09:59,479 Speaker 3: much to stop things happening in the jungle, and I'm 1259 01:09:59,520 --> 01:10:02,720 Speaker 3: not sure if it's really able to. They're Panamanian, they say, 1260 01:10:02,720 --> 01:10:05,080 Speaker 3: in the States responsible for the safety of migrants when 1261 01:10:05,120 --> 01:10:07,719 Speaker 3: it's borders, and while it does send center front patrols 1262 01:10:07,720 --> 01:10:10,160 Speaker 3: into jungle. The state doesn't appear to be doing much 1263 01:10:10,280 --> 01:10:14,200 Speaker 3: protect migrants of sexual assault, robbery or murder. Early this year, 1264 01:10:14,240 --> 01:10:16,599 Speaker 3: the state did take decisive action to eject Made Saint 1265 01:10:16,600 --> 01:10:19,680 Speaker 3: san Fentier after not reviewing their permission to work in 1266 01:10:19,720 --> 01:10:22,519 Speaker 3: the Darienne. This is quite a challenging permission to obtain, 1267 01:10:22,840 --> 01:10:25,160 Speaker 3: even as a solo journalist. It took months for me 1268 01:10:25,240 --> 01:10:28,240 Speaker 3: to get mine, forcing me to rebook my flight several times. 1269 01:10:28,920 --> 01:10:31,639 Speaker 3: I had various explanations for why MSF were not allowed 1270 01:10:31,680 --> 01:10:34,080 Speaker 3: to keep working. I couldn't get an official response, but 1271 01:10:34,080 --> 01:10:36,880 Speaker 3: it's probably worth noting that they published a report headlined 1272 01:10:37,360 --> 01:10:39,960 Speaker 3: lack of action, she's sharp rise in sexual violence on 1273 01:10:40,000 --> 01:10:42,439 Speaker 3: people transiting the dari Enne Gap on the twenty ninth 1274 01:10:42,479 --> 01:10:45,000 Speaker 3: of February, and they refused permission to remain in the 1275 01:10:45,040 --> 01:10:47,880 Speaker 3: region in the first week of March. MSF was allowed 1276 01:10:47,920 --> 01:10:50,679 Speaker 3: to return in October of this year and wouldn't comment 1277 01:10:50,760 --> 01:10:52,760 Speaker 3: further than the following statement, which they emailed me in 1278 01:10:52,760 --> 01:10:56,160 Speaker 3: mid October. In October of twenty twenty four, MSF resumed 1279 01:10:56,200 --> 01:10:59,840 Speaker 3: medical and humanitarian activities at Lahas Blanca's migration Reception center, 1280 01:11:00,360 --> 01:11:02,599 Speaker 3: located at the edge of the dai in jungle. After 1281 01:11:02,640 --> 01:11:07,080 Speaker 3: Panamanian authorities approved a three month medical intervention. MSF welcomes 1282 01:11:07,120 --> 01:11:11,000 Speaker 3: its decision and advocates to collaborate closely with Panama's Ministry 1283 01:11:11,000 --> 01:11:13,839 Speaker 3: of Health to provide comprehensive medical care to migrants crossing 1284 01:11:13,840 --> 01:11:16,240 Speaker 3: this route, as well as to the local population of 1285 01:11:16,240 --> 01:11:20,680 Speaker 3: the area. Right now, UNICEF med Saint Dumont Corporate and 1286 01:11:20,800 --> 01:11:24,120 Speaker 3: Espanola and the Red Cross are helping migrants in Bauciquito. 1287 01:11:24,760 --> 01:11:28,400 Speaker 3: UNICEF in salt showers and toilets, Global Brigades in unifests 1288 01:11:28,439 --> 01:11:32,400 Speaker 3: provided taps and drinking water, and the medical endeos provide healthcare, 1289 01:11:32,479 --> 01:11:35,360 Speaker 3: which is fighting saving lives and providing survivors of sexual 1290 01:11:35,360 --> 01:11:37,759 Speaker 3: assault with medical care in a seventy two hour window 1291 01:11:37,960 --> 01:11:40,720 Speaker 3: where it can be most beneficial. It's worth noting that 1292 01:11:40,760 --> 01:11:43,639 Speaker 3: most migrants too are sexually assaulted won't stay depressed charges. 1293 01:11:44,240 --> 01:11:46,000 Speaker 3: I know of one case of sexual assault of a 1294 01:11:46,080 --> 01:11:48,560 Speaker 3: child while I was there, but the family wanted to 1295 01:11:48,600 --> 01:11:50,839 Speaker 3: continue their journey and so the charges won't be pressed. 1296 01:11:51,080 --> 01:11:53,280 Speaker 3: This makes it very hard to ascertain how many cases 1297 01:11:53,320 --> 01:11:55,360 Speaker 3: a sexual assault there are in a dai and every year, 1298 01:11:55,800 --> 01:11:59,040 Speaker 3: aside from through medical reports from NGOs, and those only 1299 01:11:59,040 --> 01:12:02,000 Speaker 3: include the people who make it to ba alahas blancats. 1300 01:12:02,479 --> 01:12:05,200 Speaker 3: The numbers are clearly high, and it's a fear that 1301 01:12:05,240 --> 01:12:08,679 Speaker 3: many migrants a articulated to me. In the jungle, they're 1302 01:12:08,800 --> 01:12:12,320 Speaker 3: their most vulnerable, they said. Most people robbed, they tell me, 1303 01:12:12,680 --> 01:12:16,800 Speaker 3: held by armed attackers carrying guns and machetes. But once 1304 01:12:16,800 --> 01:12:20,240 Speaker 3: a migrants set foot in Baju Jiqito, they're momentarily safe 1305 01:12:20,240 --> 01:12:22,799 Speaker 3: from rory and assault. For the first time in days. 1306 01:12:22,800 --> 01:12:25,439 Speaker 3: They can sleep without worry being attacked or washed away, 1307 01:12:26,040 --> 01:12:27,840 Speaker 3: and the rest of their journeys north they'll face set 1308 01:12:27,920 --> 01:12:30,559 Speaker 3: threat again, but that's not what's on their mind. When 1309 01:12:30,560 --> 01:12:33,200 Speaker 3: they enter town. All they want is a cold drink 1310 01:12:33,240 --> 01:12:35,320 Speaker 3: and a warm meal and a chance to rest their 1311 01:12:35,360 --> 01:12:37,840 Speaker 3: aching feet. It's the chance that they have thanks to 1312 01:12:37,840 --> 01:12:41,000 Speaker 3: the Ambra people who receive them there. And I want 1313 01:12:41,000 --> 01:12:43,320 Speaker 3: to end with Buono and his reflection on the suffering 1314 01:12:43,360 --> 01:12:45,719 Speaker 3: people endure on their way to eat rice and plantain 1315 01:12:45,880 --> 01:12:50,080 Speaker 3: in his little front room cafe. 1316 01:12:53,439 --> 01:12:56,040 Speaker 13: Truly, the migrants on this route are not here because 1317 01:12:56,080 --> 01:12:59,600 Speaker 13: they want to be. They are here because the economy 1318 01:12:59,600 --> 01:13:04,519 Speaker 13: and their countries is terrible or something. Everything is going 1319 01:13:04,520 --> 01:13:08,559 Speaker 13: badly on their countries. How can we mistreat them knowing 1320 01:13:08,600 --> 01:13:15,599 Speaker 13: that we won't not us never. This is a belief 1321 01:13:15,600 --> 01:13:19,080 Speaker 13: that we have. We are all children of God. God 1322 01:13:19,120 --> 01:13:21,679 Speaker 13: made the world and humanity, and we are not that different. 1323 01:13:23,000 --> 01:13:52,600 Speaker 13: We are all brothers. 1324 01:13:56,680 --> 01:13:59,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, the journey is dangerous, but what can we do. 1325 01:14:00,160 --> 01:14:02,400 Speaker 2: We can't stay in a country where the economy is 1326 01:14:02,400 --> 01:14:05,960 Speaker 2: getting worse and worse. With a salary of three dollars 1327 01:14:06,040 --> 01:14:10,040 Speaker 2: a month, you can't survive. Like my friend said, if 1328 01:14:10,040 --> 01:14:12,439 Speaker 2: you have a job in other countries, maybe you can 1329 01:14:12,479 --> 01:14:14,680 Speaker 2: invest some money. But where are you going to get 1330 01:14:14,760 --> 01:14:17,400 Speaker 2: the money to invest? If before you had a salary 1331 01:14:17,400 --> 01:14:19,880 Speaker 2: that fed you paid for your car, your house and 1332 01:14:19,920 --> 01:14:22,080 Speaker 2: your children to enjoy it all with. And now you 1333 01:14:22,120 --> 01:14:25,720 Speaker 2: can't even afford to put gas in the car. So 1334 01:14:25,800 --> 01:14:29,720 Speaker 2: it's true. Yeah, the darien is dangerous, but nothing is impossible. 1335 01:14:30,479 --> 01:14:32,800 Speaker 2: We walk hand in hand with God and with the 1336 01:14:32,840 --> 01:14:35,400 Speaker 2: faith that we will get there. But that doesn't mean 1337 01:14:35,400 --> 01:14:39,280 Speaker 2: it isn't difficult. But I'll say it again, it's not impossible. 1338 01:14:39,760 --> 01:14:42,960 Speaker 2: You suffer, you cry, you go hungry cold, but thank 1339 01:14:43,080 --> 01:14:44,240 Speaker 2: God we made it through. 1340 01:14:52,640 --> 01:14:55,960 Speaker 3: Put around the Toquesa River, the jungle rumbles quat as 1341 01:14:56,000 --> 01:14:59,439 Speaker 3: you pass by on your boat, insects, frogs, and birds 1342 01:14:59,439 --> 01:15:01,519 Speaker 3: all combined to make a sort of deep throbbing that 1343 01:15:01,600 --> 01:15:05,120 Speaker 3: emanates from the darkness between the trees. It seems at 1344 01:15:05,120 --> 01:15:07,400 Speaker 3: wants to be calling you in and warning you to 1345 01:15:07,400 --> 01:15:10,800 Speaker 3: stay away. I've been in the jungle before, in the 1346 01:15:10,880 --> 01:15:14,880 Speaker 3: Rwanda Congo borderlands and in Venezuela, but I've never really 1347 01:15:14,880 --> 01:15:16,960 Speaker 3: felt the sense of foreboding I did as we rode 1348 01:15:16,960 --> 01:15:19,519 Speaker 3: down the river, protected only by our hollow log, looking 1349 01:15:19,560 --> 01:15:22,639 Speaker 3: into the triple canopy forest, and knowing that if I walked 1350 01:15:22,640 --> 01:15:25,000 Speaker 3: long enough in the shadows, I'd be confronted with the 1351 01:15:25,040 --> 01:15:27,080 Speaker 3: remains of people I might have interviewed if it hadn't 1352 01:15:27,120 --> 01:15:29,920 Speaker 3: been for a rolled ankle, a slippery rock, or a 1353 01:15:29,960 --> 01:15:33,640 Speaker 3: desperate sip of water. To understand what drives people to 1354 01:15:33,760 --> 01:15:36,840 Speaker 3: enter the jungle with their children and their dreams, I 1355 01:15:36,840 --> 01:15:38,600 Speaker 3: think we also have to understand what drives them to 1356 01:15:38,680 --> 01:15:41,120 Speaker 3: leave wherever they're living. And that's what I want to 1357 01:15:41,160 --> 01:15:44,679 Speaker 3: talk about today. The story of migrants crossing the Daddy 1358 01:15:44,680 --> 01:15:47,720 Speaker 3: and Gap is an American one. It's impossible to disentangle 1359 01:15:47,760 --> 01:15:50,160 Speaker 3: the people making this dangerous journey from the history of 1360 01:15:50,160 --> 01:15:54,120 Speaker 3: support for dictatorship sanctions, an imperial plunder that ties to 1361 01:15:54,120 --> 01:15:56,439 Speaker 3: the United States to its American brothers and sisters in 1362 01:15:56,479 --> 01:15:59,640 Speaker 3: the South. Sometimes I play a game with myself at 1363 01:15:59,640 --> 01:16:01,400 Speaker 3: the border where I try and meet people from all 1364 01:16:01,400 --> 01:16:03,840 Speaker 3: the countries named in Washington bullets in a single day. 1365 01:16:04,439 --> 01:16:07,679 Speaker 3: Since Biden bungled the Afghanistan withdrawal, it's become a lot easier, 1366 01:16:07,880 --> 01:16:11,519 Speaker 3: but Tibet can be hard. For two hundred years since 1367 01:16:11,560 --> 01:16:13,920 Speaker 3: President Monroe gave his State of the Union address in 1368 01:16:14,000 --> 01:16:17,000 Speaker 3: December eighteen twenty three, the US has seen the Western 1369 01:16:17,000 --> 01:16:20,200 Speaker 3: hemisphere is its sphere of influence. While is opposed old 1370 01:16:20,200 --> 01:16:23,439 Speaker 3: fashioned colonialism, it has used less avert methods of control, 1371 01:16:23,640 --> 01:16:26,640 Speaker 3: as well as avert military force across the hemisphere. For 1372 01:16:26,800 --> 01:16:29,760 Speaker 3: much of the last century, it supported and installed dictators 1373 01:16:29,920 --> 01:16:31,680 Speaker 3: who would prevent what it saw as a threat of 1374 01:16:31,720 --> 01:16:34,760 Speaker 3: state socialism in its sphere of influence, and allowed them 1375 01:16:34,840 --> 01:16:37,800 Speaker 3: to create economic and political climates that were unsurvivable for 1376 01:16:37,840 --> 01:16:42,439 Speaker 3: the majority and extremely profitable for US based corporations. The 1377 01:16:42,479 --> 01:16:46,440 Speaker 3: direct result of this policy has been economic insecurity, political instability, 1378 01:16:46,600 --> 01:16:50,040 Speaker 3: and state violence across South and Central America, resulting in 1379 01:16:50,080 --> 01:16:52,680 Speaker 3: people making the very natural humor decision to flee to 1380 01:16:52,720 --> 01:16:56,800 Speaker 3: somewhere safer. As in so many other empires, they've made 1381 01:16:56,800 --> 01:17:00,519 Speaker 3: the choice to lead a destabilized colonial periphery. Safety and 1382 01:17:00,520 --> 01:17:04,320 Speaker 3: stability in the metropol for more than a century. Money 1383 01:17:04,360 --> 01:17:06,160 Speaker 3: and good to be able to travel seamlessly up and 1384 01:17:06,200 --> 01:17:09,439 Speaker 3: down the continent, but people have not. The bananaread for 1385 01:17:09,479 --> 01:17:11,840 Speaker 3: breakfast this morning made the journey in a few days, 1386 01:17:12,640 --> 01:17:15,960 Speaker 3: but people take months, if not years, pay thousands of dollars, 1387 01:17:16,320 --> 01:17:19,200 Speaker 3: climb mountains, forded rivers, and risk their lives on trains 1388 01:17:19,200 --> 01:17:21,360 Speaker 3: and buses that cost a lot more than the flights 1389 01:17:21,400 --> 01:17:24,799 Speaker 3: I took to Panama, but offer considerably less comfort and safety. 1390 01:17:25,840 --> 01:17:28,680 Speaker 3: As climate change has have greater impacts, more and more 1391 01:17:28,720 --> 01:17:31,000 Speaker 3: people are forced to leave their homes of their livelihoods 1392 01:17:31,000 --> 01:17:34,800 Speaker 3: become less sustainable. The Guna, the indigenous people of the 1393 01:17:34,840 --> 01:17:38,559 Speaker 3: Panamanian coast in an area called Guna Yala, are having 1394 01:17:38,560 --> 01:17:40,639 Speaker 3: to withdraw from some of their islands because of sea 1395 01:17:40,680 --> 01:17:44,560 Speaker 3: level rise. Right now, agriculture across the world is increasingly 1396 01:17:44,600 --> 01:17:48,120 Speaker 3: threatened by extreme weather and rising temperatures, and Orotionans are 1397 01:17:48,160 --> 01:17:50,519 Speaker 3: less able to sustain life than they once were due 1398 01:17:50,520 --> 01:17:54,280 Speaker 3: to pollution and overfishing, forced to leave their homes as 1399 01:17:54,280 --> 01:17:57,639 Speaker 3: people have been for millennia by weather patterns changing people 1400 01:17:57,640 --> 01:17:59,760 Speaker 3: head to places that have a want caused much of 1401 01:17:59,760 --> 01:18:03,160 Speaker 3: the ear issue, and tried to insulate themselves from its consequences. 1402 01:18:04,400 --> 01:18:08,160 Speaker 3: Their American dreams are modest to overcome the crippling low paid. 1403 01:18:08,160 --> 01:18:10,519 Speaker 3: They received a home to bring their children up in 1404 01:18:10,560 --> 01:18:12,280 Speaker 3: a place where they have a good chance of surviving 1405 01:18:12,280 --> 01:18:15,280 Speaker 3: their twenties, to work and get paid enough to get by. 1406 01:18:15,840 --> 01:18:17,479 Speaker 3: They want to be able to protest and not get 1407 01:18:17,479 --> 01:18:19,760 Speaker 3: a shot, and to look forward to the future, not 1408 01:18:19,880 --> 01:18:23,200 Speaker 3: fear it. These aren't guaranteed in the USA, and as 1409 01:18:23,240 --> 01:18:24,800 Speaker 3: many of you listening will know, it can be hard 1410 01:18:24,840 --> 01:18:27,400 Speaker 3: for us to make ends meet here as well. But 1411 01:18:27,720 --> 01:18:30,599 Speaker 3: despite what you see on social and legacy media, things 1412 01:18:30,680 --> 01:18:32,600 Speaker 3: are unlikely to become as bad here as they are 1413 01:18:32,640 --> 01:18:37,720 Speaker 3: in Venezuela, Cameroon or Iran anytime soon. I've lived in Venezuela, 1414 01:18:38,000 --> 01:18:41,480 Speaker 3: specifically in the formerly Javista neighborhood of La Pastora in Caracas, 1415 01:18:41,640 --> 01:18:43,400 Speaker 3: and I've seen how hard it is for my friends 1416 01:18:43,439 --> 01:18:46,960 Speaker 3: who still live there, even for people with no other disadvantages, 1417 01:18:47,000 --> 01:18:49,880 Speaker 3: making rent and feeding your family can be a challenge. 1418 01:18:50,120 --> 01:18:52,720 Speaker 3: That's part of why Venezuelan people make up the majority 1419 01:18:52,720 --> 01:18:54,800 Speaker 3: of the folks. I met men Daddy in so much 1420 01:18:54,840 --> 01:18:58,520 Speaker 3: so that I'd slip back into using Venezuelan slang in Spanish, 1421 01:18:58,720 --> 01:19:00,400 Speaker 3: and after a few days of seeing the same people 1422 01:19:00,439 --> 01:19:02,720 Speaker 3: engaging in the kind of friendly mockery and banter that 1423 01:19:02,760 --> 01:19:05,920 Speaker 3: I remember well from Caracas, mostly the super form of 1424 01:19:05,960 --> 01:19:07,880 Speaker 3: asking them why they crossed Daddy and gap in Man 1425 01:19:07,960 --> 01:19:11,320 Speaker 3: United shirts or worse yet, in a Chelsea shit. It's 1426 01:19:11,360 --> 01:19:13,759 Speaker 3: important to steal moments of humor in these difficult times, 1427 01:19:14,160 --> 01:19:16,320 Speaker 3: to laugh a little among all the suffering, and that's 1428 01:19:16,360 --> 01:19:18,400 Speaker 3: something people in Venezuela have done very well for a 1429 01:19:18,439 --> 01:19:22,120 Speaker 3: very long time. But despite their humor, I could tell 1430 01:19:22,120 --> 01:19:24,040 Speaker 3: the journey had a serious impact on the people I 1431 01:19:24,080 --> 01:19:27,960 Speaker 3: spoke to. 1432 01:19:28,120 --> 01:19:30,559 Speaker 13: You have to go through a lot, a lot of jungle, 1433 01:19:30,760 --> 01:19:33,720 Speaker 13: a lot of hills. There are people, there are dead 1434 01:19:33,760 --> 01:19:37,599 Speaker 13: people on the road, so it's something you cannot really explain. 1435 01:19:38,200 --> 01:19:40,920 Speaker 13: It's complicated because everything can be explained in a fashion, 1436 01:19:40,960 --> 01:19:44,040 Speaker 13: but it's not the same as living it. It's insanity 1437 01:19:44,240 --> 01:19:47,800 Speaker 13: three four days with that food and nothing. One thing 1438 01:19:47,880 --> 01:19:51,679 Speaker 13: is to live it. Explaining it, talking about it. That's different. 1439 01:19:52,000 --> 01:19:53,200 Speaker 13: It's hard to put into words. 1440 01:19:54,360 --> 01:19:56,240 Speaker 3: This intere is. When I conducted with one group of 1441 01:19:56,280 --> 01:19:59,519 Speaker 3: Venezuelan migrants with my voice recorder in the chest pocket 1442 01:19:59,520 --> 01:20:01,680 Speaker 3: of my shirt and whatever bags let me carry in 1443 01:20:01,680 --> 01:20:04,519 Speaker 3: my hands, we walked it on the last part of 1444 01:20:04,520 --> 01:20:07,439 Speaker 3: the trail, discussing what they'd seen. For a while, we 1445 01:20:07,560 --> 01:20:09,640 Speaker 3: joked a little. One guy had crossed it at man 1446 01:20:09,720 --> 01:20:11,880 Speaker 3: United Ship. I told him about the team and the 1447 01:20:11,920 --> 01:20:14,559 Speaker 3: universe was dislike non Menu fans have for Menu fans. 1448 01:20:15,320 --> 01:20:17,200 Speaker 3: Then after a while they opened up more about their 1449 01:20:17,200 --> 01:20:21,400 Speaker 3: experiences they had. They said, seen deputies and they couldn't 1450 01:20:21,400 --> 01:20:23,920 Speaker 3: stop thinking about what happened if they'd fallen, and they 1451 01:20:23,920 --> 01:20:27,240 Speaker 3: wanted to know how when if the dead people's family 1452 01:20:27,240 --> 01:20:30,600 Speaker 3: would ever find out. 1453 01:20:32,439 --> 01:20:34,599 Speaker 17: The family waits for that person to come out to 1454 01:20:34,600 --> 01:20:37,200 Speaker 17: hear that they made it, because if not, who's going 1455 01:20:37,280 --> 01:20:40,439 Speaker 17: to let you know? There's no signal and nobody's going 1456 01:20:40,520 --> 01:20:42,360 Speaker 17: to grab the body, and you're not going to carry 1457 01:20:42,400 --> 01:20:45,760 Speaker 17: them out. The person stays there and eventually years and 1458 01:20:45,840 --> 01:20:48,000 Speaker 17: years go by and the family won't know where they 1459 01:20:48,040 --> 01:20:50,720 Speaker 17: are or how they died. Those are the sort of 1460 01:20:50,760 --> 01:20:53,439 Speaker 17: things that one doesn't expect to see and it makes 1461 01:20:53,439 --> 01:20:55,759 Speaker 17: you just want to hurry past. Not that you wouldn't 1462 01:20:55,760 --> 01:20:58,040 Speaker 17: want to get the documentation from the body and deliver 1463 01:20:58,120 --> 01:21:00,280 Speaker 17: it and tell them how this person that passed away? 1464 01:21:00,680 --> 01:21:02,719 Speaker 17: But how dare you just go grabbing a dead body. 1465 01:21:04,120 --> 01:21:06,200 Speaker 3: Venetuinan elections were held on the twenty eighth of July 1466 01:21:06,280 --> 01:21:09,479 Speaker 3: this year. Venezuelan presidents have a six year term and 1467 01:21:09,520 --> 01:21:12,519 Speaker 3: the incumbllent de Corlas Maduro has been in office since 1468 01:21:12,560 --> 01:21:15,960 Speaker 3: twenty thirty. And let the Venezuelan people I met introduce 1469 01:21:16,000 --> 01:21:19,160 Speaker 3: themselves and explain the result of the election. Now there's 1470 01:21:19,160 --> 01:21:20,680 Speaker 3: a bit of background noise here, but that's because we 1471 01:21:20,760 --> 01:21:25,519 Speaker 3: were walking on the trails. And it's hard to Avoidezuela. 1472 01:21:27,040 --> 01:21:30,120 Speaker 2: I am coming from Venezuela, migrating through the jungle for 1473 01:21:30,160 --> 01:21:32,720 Speaker 2: a better future for me and my children. I'll tell 1474 01:21:32,760 --> 01:21:36,920 Speaker 2: you it's hard, but it's not impossible. No, that was 1475 01:21:36,960 --> 01:21:39,920 Speaker 2: electoral fraud. And I tell you what, one day, you 1476 01:21:40,080 --> 01:21:40,920 Speaker 2: just have to leave. 1477 01:21:42,600 --> 01:21:46,840 Speaker 3: Moduro was opposed by Ajuardo Gonzalez, an obviously candidate who 1478 01:21:46,880 --> 01:21:50,160 Speaker 3: represented a wide coalition increating groups on the left and right. 1479 01:21:50,600 --> 01:21:54,040 Speaker 3: While Maduro might have support among Western socialists and even communists. 1480 01:21:54,120 --> 01:21:57,680 Speaker 3: The actual Venezuelan Communist Party's youth organization formed part of 1481 01:21:57,680 --> 01:22:01,200 Speaker 3: the Popular Democratic Front that opposed him. Despite poul watchers 1482 01:22:01,240 --> 01:22:04,559 Speaker 3: telling a massive victory for the opposition, Moduro controls the 1483 01:22:04,640 --> 01:22:09,360 Speaker 3: National Lecture Council, I proclaimed himself the victor. People protested, 1484 01:22:09,760 --> 01:22:13,760 Speaker 3: and Moduro responded with bullets. Gonzales fled to the Dutch 1485 01:22:13,800 --> 01:22:17,000 Speaker 3: and then the Spanish embassy, and later claimed asylum in Spain, 1486 01:22:17,040 --> 01:22:20,680 Speaker 3: where his family lived. But for regular working class Venezuelan's 1487 01:22:20,840 --> 01:22:23,919 Speaker 3: there's no option to hop on a flight to safety. Instead, 1488 01:22:24,320 --> 01:22:27,000 Speaker 3: they have to begin the long walk north. As many 1489 01:22:27,080 --> 01:22:29,360 Speaker 3: Venezuelans I spoke to told me, in addition to the 1490 01:22:29,360 --> 01:22:33,240 Speaker 3: electoral fraud, Venezuela is undergoing an economic collapse. At least 1491 01:22:33,240 --> 01:22:35,760 Speaker 3: an the Chavis. They said most people could eat. When 1492 01:22:35,760 --> 01:22:37,599 Speaker 3: I lived in La Pastora, I was able to access 1493 01:22:37,640 --> 01:22:41,320 Speaker 3: medical care from Cuban doctors. Now they say things have 1494 01:22:41,320 --> 01:22:42,920 Speaker 3: become unsurvival. 1495 01:22:44,000 --> 01:23:01,679 Speaker 15: Garlindo, So you're Venezuela monte pero. When Jake Venezuela. 1496 01:23:02,800 --> 01:23:06,160 Speaker 13: Well, I would say that Venezuela, you know, yeah, you 1497 01:23:06,280 --> 01:23:10,000 Speaker 13: can live, but not on a minimum wage. I would 1498 01:23:10,000 --> 01:23:14,000 Speaker 13: say that, for example, working independently in an independent business. 1499 01:23:14,080 --> 01:23:17,280 Speaker 13: Maybe you can live good, but working and surviving for 1500 01:23:17,320 --> 01:23:21,240 Speaker 13: a minimum wage, no, the truth is that it doesn't work, 1501 01:23:21,800 --> 01:23:25,160 Speaker 13: and that's serious. Things are still bad with the new 1502 01:23:25,200 --> 01:23:27,400 Speaker 13: elections and the new government. Everything is ugly. 1503 01:23:27,520 --> 01:23:27,680 Speaker 9: Yeah. 1504 01:23:28,560 --> 01:23:31,120 Speaker 13: The streets of Caracas are full of protests. Every day. 1505 01:23:31,479 --> 01:23:34,960 Speaker 13: People went out to protest. Sometimes they shoot people. The 1506 01:23:35,040 --> 01:23:37,280 Speaker 13: government mistreats people. But if you can live with it, 1507 01:23:37,320 --> 01:23:40,640 Speaker 13: and you can live with it it's ugly. Well, that 1508 01:23:40,760 --> 01:23:42,720 Speaker 13: is why we left there for a better future, and 1509 01:23:42,800 --> 01:23:44,879 Speaker 13: we'll keep moving onward onward. 1510 01:23:47,120 --> 01:23:50,080 Speaker 3: This group were young men traveling in advance to their families, 1511 01:23:50,400 --> 01:23:52,720 Speaker 3: hoping to end some money, save it up, and send 1512 01:23:52,760 --> 01:23:55,479 Speaker 3: it home. They knew what they were getting into when 1513 01:23:55,520 --> 01:23:57,960 Speaker 3: they go to the USA. The migrants through to end 1514 01:23:57,960 --> 01:24:00,640 Speaker 3: it paid. I might struggle to make ends meet, but 1515 01:24:00,760 --> 01:24:02,840 Speaker 3: they still thought it was better than staying home and 1516 01:24:02,920 --> 01:24:04,559 Speaker 3: watching your children's future disappear. 1517 01:24:07,000 --> 01:24:09,320 Speaker 17: If you don't have papers, you don't have a work permit, 1518 01:24:09,680 --> 01:24:11,320 Speaker 17: you have to work for it. They want to pay you, 1519 01:24:11,880 --> 01:24:13,360 Speaker 17: not for what you demand or anything. 1520 01:24:14,400 --> 01:24:16,760 Speaker 3: I met lots of Venezuelan families with children who had 1521 01:24:16,760 --> 01:24:20,719 Speaker 3: different illnesses or disabilities. Things they couldn't obtain or afford 1522 01:24:20,760 --> 01:24:24,000 Speaker 3: treatment for In Venezuela, they were traveling to the US 1523 01:24:24,120 --> 01:24:26,120 Speaker 3: in the hopes of finding a better future for their kids, 1524 01:24:26,680 --> 01:24:29,120 Speaker 3: or any future at all. I met young men who 1525 01:24:29,200 --> 01:24:31,719 Speaker 3: left their children behind but carried the children of strangers, 1526 01:24:32,320 --> 01:24:35,360 Speaker 3: even those with whom they didn't share a language. Christian, 1527 01:24:35,600 --> 01:24:37,519 Speaker 3: who he heard from earlier, showed me how he'd carried 1528 01:24:37,560 --> 01:24:39,880 Speaker 3: someone else's child on his shoulders until he fell and 1529 01:24:39,960 --> 01:24:42,519 Speaker 3: hurt his knee. We all help. 1530 01:24:42,600 --> 01:24:44,360 Speaker 13: I put little children up here on my shoulders to 1531 01:24:44,400 --> 01:24:45,639 Speaker 13: carry them, but it isn't easy. 1532 01:24:46,640 --> 01:24:49,080 Speaker 3: In the jungle, they'd formed chains using their arms to 1533 01:24:49,120 --> 01:24:52,360 Speaker 3: cross rivers and carried little children on those who couldn't swim. 1534 01:24:52,880 --> 01:24:55,880 Speaker 3: In Barjiquito, sera group of men from Angola, receiving hugs 1535 01:24:55,880 --> 01:24:58,880 Speaker 3: from Venezuela and women they'd helped in the jungle without 1536 01:24:58,880 --> 01:25:01,560 Speaker 3: the help of the Angolans, said that children wouldn't have 1537 01:25:01,600 --> 01:25:03,760 Speaker 3: made it. One slip or a loss of grip, they 1538 01:25:03,840 --> 01:25:06,320 Speaker 3: told me, would be fatal, and the remains of those 1539 01:25:06,360 --> 01:25:09,880 Speaker 3: who had done just that served as a grisly reminder. Later, 1540 01:25:10,400 --> 01:25:13,679 Speaker 3: little boys maybe eight to ten years old gleefully recounted 1541 01:25:13,760 --> 01:25:15,679 Speaker 3: seeing a dead body on which the head had quote 1542 01:25:15,800 --> 01:25:20,040 Speaker 3: exploded while their parents winked. In recollection, I wanted to 1543 01:25:20,120 --> 01:25:22,479 Speaker 3: understand a bit more of what they were fleeing. That 1544 01:25:22,560 --> 01:25:23,840 Speaker 3: made it worth getting through all this. 1545 01:25:25,080 --> 01:25:26,760 Speaker 15: You're dan Venezuela. 1546 01:25:28,600 --> 01:25:31,600 Speaker 18: Well, I left Venezuela because I worked in fishing. But 1547 01:25:31,840 --> 01:25:34,280 Speaker 18: right now, in Venezuela, despite the fact that it is 1548 01:25:34,360 --> 01:25:37,960 Speaker 18: a country rich and oil, there's not enough gasoline for 1549 01:25:38,040 --> 01:25:40,720 Speaker 18: the fishermen to go fishing. And since I did not 1550 01:25:40,880 --> 01:25:44,040 Speaker 18: have the ability to even buy basic things such as food, 1551 01:25:44,520 --> 01:25:47,080 Speaker 18: the situation was, well, it was a little complicated. I 1552 01:25:47,200 --> 01:25:49,599 Speaker 18: had to immigrate. I had nothing else to do. They 1553 01:25:49,800 --> 01:25:52,600 Speaker 18: didn't rob me, well, they were going to rob me 1554 01:25:52,720 --> 01:25:55,559 Speaker 18: because I didn't have anything to steal. We passed by 1555 01:25:55,720 --> 01:25:58,360 Speaker 18: and the group that was behind us got robbed. They 1556 01:25:58,479 --> 01:25:59,599 Speaker 18: raped women in that group. 1557 01:26:02,080 --> 01:26:04,960 Speaker 3: Almost every Venezuelan migroan I spect to share a similar story. 1558 01:26:05,520 --> 01:26:08,280 Speaker 3: One said he'd installed security cameras, but nobody could afford 1559 01:26:08,320 --> 01:26:11,000 Speaker 3: them now, as they had to choose between rent and 1560 01:26:11,080 --> 01:26:13,960 Speaker 3: groceries or medical procedures that they needed but couldn't afford. 1561 01:26:14,600 --> 01:26:18,639 Speaker 3: Overwhelmingly they said the same thing. No aifulturo, there's no future. 1562 01:26:19,200 --> 01:26:21,040 Speaker 3: One group said to me that they couldn't wait for 1563 01:26:21,080 --> 01:26:23,639 Speaker 3: their country to become like Cuba, as decades of embargos 1564 01:26:23,640 --> 01:26:26,560 Speaker 3: took their toll on the population. But others reminded me 1565 01:26:26,640 --> 01:26:29,840 Speaker 3: in them that Lisa Cubans seemed to have doctors. Venezuela 1566 01:26:29,880 --> 01:26:32,880 Speaker 3: has an eighty percent poverty right now. Though it sits 1567 01:26:32,920 --> 01:26:34,920 Speaker 3: on one of the largest oil reserves of any country 1568 01:26:35,000 --> 01:26:37,479 Speaker 3: on Earth. It's been plagued by planmmeting oil prices in 1569 01:26:37,520 --> 01:26:40,120 Speaker 3: the years of hyperinflation, which got so bad at one 1570 01:26:40,160 --> 01:26:42,439 Speaker 3: point the shots stopped putting price tags on things and 1571 01:26:42,520 --> 01:26:45,920 Speaker 3: relied on staff to give up to the minute prices. Today, 1572 01:26:46,120 --> 01:26:49,439 Speaker 3: alongside a regime that lacks legitimacy, a state that readily 1573 01:26:49,520 --> 01:26:52,439 Speaker 3: uses horrific violence against his people, an election that was 1574 01:26:52,560 --> 01:26:56,960 Speaker 3: essentially ignored, Venezuelans must also deal with shortages of basic goods, poverty, 1575 01:26:57,160 --> 01:27:00,800 Speaker 3: and malnutrition. And like Cubans who have a relatively good 1576 01:27:00,800 --> 01:27:03,840 Speaker 3: political lobby in the USA, Venezuelan's coming to the USA 1577 01:27:03,920 --> 01:27:06,960 Speaker 3: do not benefit from special laws. Cubans under the Cuban 1578 01:27:07,000 --> 01:27:09,400 Speaker 3: Adjustment Act have a part of the citizenship and permanence 1579 01:27:09,439 --> 01:27:12,120 Speaker 3: once they set foot on US soil. Venezuelans do not. 1580 01:27:12,920 --> 01:27:16,000 Speaker 3: They're covered by something called a temporary protected status, but 1581 01:27:16,120 --> 01:27:18,120 Speaker 3: this does not afford them much in the way of stability, 1582 01:27:18,280 --> 01:27:23,799 Speaker 3: protection or a secure future. Erekapinhidro of Valatolado, an incredible organization, 1583 01:27:23,880 --> 01:27:27,679 Speaker 3: does valuable work with migrant legal aid advocacy and humanitarian relief, 1584 01:27:28,160 --> 01:27:30,439 Speaker 3: explaining just how temporary a TPS is. 1585 01:27:30,880 --> 01:27:35,920 Speaker 16: So temporary protected status is it's basically a form of 1586 01:27:36,040 --> 01:27:39,760 Speaker 16: protecting individuals who are already in the United States when 1587 01:27:39,800 --> 01:27:45,080 Speaker 16: their countries have experienced a natural disaster, they are in war, 1588 01:27:45,439 --> 01:27:48,680 Speaker 16: there's some kind of situation going on that makes it 1589 01:27:48,960 --> 01:27:53,960 Speaker 16: difficult for them to return, and so temporary protected status 1590 01:27:54,120 --> 01:27:58,440 Speaker 16: was first created in nineteen ninety and the first individuals 1591 01:27:58,520 --> 01:28:03,080 Speaker 16: who receive the status we're from El Salvador. And since then, 1592 01:28:03,160 --> 01:28:04,960 Speaker 16: I think there's been a few dozen countries that have 1593 01:28:05,040 --> 01:28:08,720 Speaker 16: been designated. But basically the way it works is they 1594 01:28:08,880 --> 01:28:12,040 Speaker 16: designate a country and so if you were in the 1595 01:28:12,160 --> 01:28:15,960 Speaker 16: United States before that designation date, you can apply for 1596 01:28:16,040 --> 01:28:20,679 Speaker 16: temporary protected status within you know, a designated time period, 1597 01:28:21,360 --> 01:28:25,160 Speaker 16: and you get a work permit. It's valid for six, 1598 01:28:25,280 --> 01:28:29,280 Speaker 16: twelve or eighteen months, and then two months before it expires. 1599 01:28:29,920 --> 01:28:33,960 Speaker 16: The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security has to 1600 01:28:34,040 --> 01:28:37,880 Speaker 16: say whether or not they're going to reauthorize GPS. So 1601 01:28:38,120 --> 01:28:41,240 Speaker 16: there's like eight hundred and sixty thousand people in the 1602 01:28:41,400 --> 01:28:46,920 Speaker 16: US who have temporary protected status and it's not a 1603 01:28:47,000 --> 01:28:50,439 Speaker 16: path of citizenship. So basically people are just in limbo 1604 01:28:50,600 --> 01:28:53,559 Speaker 16: sometimes for decades, you know. They just have to reapply 1605 01:28:53,760 --> 01:28:58,080 Speaker 16: for this permit every eighteen months. So I have quite 1606 01:28:58,080 --> 01:29:01,519 Speaker 16: a few salvador and friends who in the United States 1607 01:29:01,560 --> 01:29:04,479 Speaker 16: since the nineties. They have kids, some of them acquirrent 1608 01:29:04,520 --> 01:29:08,599 Speaker 16: kids who are US citizen and they can't become permanent 1609 01:29:08,680 --> 01:29:11,280 Speaker 16: residents or have a pass of citizenship didn't. Most they 1610 01:29:11,360 --> 01:29:14,120 Speaker 16: leave the country and either come back with another type 1611 01:29:14,120 --> 01:29:17,840 Speaker 16: of parole or apply through a consulate, which many of 1612 01:29:17,880 --> 01:29:19,479 Speaker 16: them are just not willing to take that risk. 1613 01:29:20,200 --> 01:29:23,080 Speaker 3: What makes things even more complicated for the Venezuelans is 1614 01:29:23,160 --> 01:29:26,320 Speaker 3: that many of them are traveling without documents. It costs 1615 01:29:26,320 --> 01:29:28,240 Speaker 3: three hundred bucks to get a passport, they told me, 1616 01:29:28,439 --> 01:29:31,759 Speaker 3: and the weight's considerable. This makes their journeys even harder 1617 01:29:32,000 --> 01:29:34,000 Speaker 3: as every country the enter has to approve them to 1618 01:29:34,240 --> 01:29:37,439 Speaker 3: or without a passport, getting a visa, they said, would 1619 01:29:37,439 --> 01:29:39,760 Speaker 3: be nearly impossible, and just trying might result in the 1620 01:29:39,800 --> 01:29:43,719 Speaker 3: government coming after them. Such things, they said, are reserved 1621 01:29:43,760 --> 01:29:47,360 Speaker 3: for the wealthier citizens, people like Gonzales, who's asylum claim 1622 01:29:47,439 --> 01:29:49,880 Speaker 3: and stays at the Dutch and Spanish embassies, and who's 1623 01:29:49,920 --> 01:29:52,439 Speaker 3: right to join his family in exile, are all luxuries 1624 01:29:52,479 --> 01:29:55,160 Speaker 3: that most of his country people can't expect. It's dead. 1625 01:29:55,360 --> 01:29:58,680 Speaker 3: Most Venezualians must ride basses through Columbia, then walk north 1626 01:29:58,720 --> 01:30:02,559 Speaker 3: through the jungle buses, stir away on trains, or walk 1627 01:30:02,600 --> 01:30:05,360 Speaker 3: again all the way to the border. They all lamented 1628 01:30:05,400 --> 01:30:08,679 Speaker 3: to Dadian crossing, and so they wouldn't advise it without 1629 01:30:08,720 --> 01:30:20,639 Speaker 3: other options. They all made it anyway. Community. See, they don't. 1630 01:30:24,560 --> 01:30:28,320 Speaker 17: Because unfortunately we don't have much in our country. You 1631 01:30:28,400 --> 01:30:30,360 Speaker 17: don't have another option when you're dying of hunger and 1632 01:30:30,400 --> 01:30:34,559 Speaker 17: you don't have a future. You can't even study. So yeah, 1633 01:30:34,840 --> 01:30:35,400 Speaker 17: it's worth it. 1634 01:30:37,360 --> 01:30:40,760 Speaker 3: The economic situation is dire in Venezuela. Many families can't 1635 01:30:40,800 --> 01:30:43,400 Speaker 3: make ends me their currency is almost worth us, and 1636 01:30:43,479 --> 01:30:45,880 Speaker 3: the majorid government seems to have successfully installed itself for 1637 01:30:45,960 --> 01:30:49,200 Speaker 3: the foreseeable future. This will mean a continuation of embargoes 1638 01:30:49,240 --> 01:30:52,880 Speaker 3: and sanctions, which will harm the people more than the regime. Sadly, 1639 01:30:52,960 --> 01:30:55,960 Speaker 3: though economic hardships not a criteria for which one could 1640 01:30:55,960 --> 01:30:57,479 Speaker 3: be granted asylum in the USA. 1641 01:30:58,080 --> 01:31:03,320 Speaker 16: His Erica again, so severe economic deprivation can be persecution 1642 01:31:03,680 --> 01:31:06,799 Speaker 16: if it's linked to one of the other protected grounds, 1643 01:31:06,840 --> 01:31:11,000 Speaker 16: so race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a 1644 01:31:11,080 --> 01:31:12,160 Speaker 16: particular social group. 1645 01:31:12,280 --> 01:31:14,040 Speaker 3: So, for example, if. 1646 01:31:14,040 --> 01:31:21,000 Speaker 16: Someone participated in anti Moduro political activity and then we're 1647 01:31:21,080 --> 01:31:25,200 Speaker 16: blocked from getting a job or just denied economic opportunities 1648 01:31:25,240 --> 01:31:30,000 Speaker 16: to the point where they're starving, economic deprivation could count 1649 01:31:30,040 --> 01:31:33,760 Speaker 16: as persecution, but it's a very difficult case to make 1650 01:31:33,920 --> 01:31:38,679 Speaker 16: in the United States. In Mexico, you can get protection 1651 01:31:39,160 --> 01:31:43,479 Speaker 16: based on generalized conditions in your country, and so you know, 1652 01:31:43,640 --> 01:31:49,880 Speaker 16: Venezuelans tweeing economic collapse or even Central Americans fleeing extreme 1653 01:31:50,040 --> 01:31:53,639 Speaker 16: violence have a much easier time beating protection in Mexico 1654 01:31:54,360 --> 01:31:56,880 Speaker 16: than they would in the United States because of that 1655 01:31:57,400 --> 01:32:01,040 Speaker 16: kind of extra category of protection in Mexico. The issue 1656 01:32:01,080 --> 01:32:03,720 Speaker 16: with Mexico is just the very limited capacity of this 1657 01:32:03,760 --> 01:32:07,280 Speaker 16: asylum system overall, and the very dangerous conditions in which 1658 01:32:07,320 --> 01:32:10,000 Speaker 16: people are forced to wait while their cases are adjudicated. 1659 01:32:10,600 --> 01:32:14,000 Speaker 3: Going forward from the Dadian, they'll face an enormously difficult journey. 1660 01:32:14,520 --> 01:32:17,160 Speaker 3: The US does have a program for Cubans, Venezuelans, Haitians, 1661 01:32:17,160 --> 01:32:20,040 Speaker 3: and Nicaraguans, then in theory allows them to apply, be 1662 01:32:20,200 --> 01:32:23,920 Speaker 3: pre approved and fly straight to the USA, but it's 1663 01:32:23,960 --> 01:32:26,000 Speaker 3: so delayed and broken. It's just not an option for 1664 01:32:26,080 --> 01:32:28,320 Speaker 3: people who barely have enough money for food, let learn 1665 01:32:28,320 --> 01:32:29,760 Speaker 3: a plane ticket there. 1666 01:32:30,320 --> 01:32:37,000 Speaker 16: HMV program is for cubanations, nick Garaguins, Venezuelans who have 1667 01:32:37,200 --> 01:32:40,880 Speaker 16: not crossed into Panama or Mexico in the past few years. 1668 01:32:41,080 --> 01:32:43,760 Speaker 16: You do not qualify who've done that or have not 1669 01:32:43,840 --> 01:32:47,519 Speaker 16: been interdeed at see if they're Haitian or Cuban. You 1670 01:32:47,680 --> 01:32:49,519 Speaker 16: have to have a sponsor in the United States who 1671 01:32:49,560 --> 01:32:52,720 Speaker 16: have some kind of legal status. You have to be 1672 01:32:52,760 --> 01:32:55,320 Speaker 16: able to pay for the flight, you have to have 1673 01:32:56,000 --> 01:32:58,680 Speaker 16: a passport, and you have to be able to wait 1674 01:32:58,760 --> 01:33:01,839 Speaker 16: forever long it takes for your application to be approved. 1675 01:33:02,360 --> 01:33:06,080 Speaker 16: And the Department of Homeland Security just announced that they 1676 01:33:06,360 --> 01:33:09,680 Speaker 16: are not renewing parole for people who are already in 1677 01:33:09,720 --> 01:33:13,200 Speaker 16: the United States. So people from those four countries who 1678 01:33:13,400 --> 01:33:15,439 Speaker 16: were in the US had up to two years of 1679 01:33:15,560 --> 01:33:18,679 Speaker 16: humanitarian parole which is not being renewed, so they either 1680 01:33:18,720 --> 01:33:22,040 Speaker 16: would need to apply for something else, or go back 1681 01:33:22,040 --> 01:33:24,200 Speaker 16: to their country, or just, I guess, stay in the 1682 01:33:24,640 --> 01:34:10,400 Speaker 16: United States undocumented until their cody. 1683 01:33:59,360 --> 01:34:02,360 Speaker 3: Had the same orly hundreds of times that week, sometimes 1684 01:34:02,400 --> 01:34:05,760 Speaker 3: off mike and sometimes on mike, sometimes holding my voice 1685 01:34:05,800 --> 01:34:08,880 Speaker 3: recorder and notebook, sometimes just sitting on the ground or 1686 01:34:08,920 --> 01:34:11,479 Speaker 3: walking on the trail or enjoying a bottle of cold 1687 01:34:11,560 --> 01:34:16,000 Speaker 3: water in Bahjigito, Crippling poverty and bad governance in their 1688 01:34:16,040 --> 01:34:19,120 Speaker 3: country made it difficult to see a future there. They 1689 01:34:19,200 --> 01:34:21,759 Speaker 3: wanted better for their children, so they brought them across 1690 01:34:21,800 --> 01:34:23,800 Speaker 3: the mountains and risked their lives in the jungle to 1691 01:34:23,880 --> 01:34:26,599 Speaker 3: give them a chance in life. I prepared a lot 1692 01:34:26,640 --> 01:34:29,000 Speaker 3: for this trip, and I tried to search for everything 1693 01:34:29,080 --> 01:34:31,439 Speaker 3: had my experience on the internet. But one thing I 1694 01:34:31,479 --> 01:34:33,360 Speaker 3: really didn't expect to learn in the jungle is just 1695 01:34:33,479 --> 01:34:35,760 Speaker 3: how much it's possible for parents to love their kids. 1696 01:34:36,760 --> 01:34:39,599 Speaker 3: I watched exhausted mothers hoist their babies onto their shoulders 1697 01:34:39,640 --> 01:34:42,160 Speaker 3: to keep walking, and somehow come up with a story 1698 01:34:42,200 --> 01:34:44,240 Speaker 3: that made the whole thing an adventure, not a tragedy, 1699 01:34:45,280 --> 01:34:47,360 Speaker 3: then did the same thing again the next day without 1700 01:34:47,439 --> 01:34:51,320 Speaker 3: sleeping or eating. I watched fathers carefully lay out their 1701 01:34:51,360 --> 01:34:53,960 Speaker 3: sleeping mac so the children could rest while they tried 1702 01:34:54,000 --> 01:34:56,040 Speaker 3: to do the same on the dirt or hardwood floors 1703 01:34:56,880 --> 01:34:59,280 Speaker 3: every day as their savings grew lower and they outlooked 1704 01:34:59,280 --> 01:35:01,840 Speaker 3: more bleak, watch parents try to smile for their kids. 1705 01:35:02,600 --> 01:35:05,320 Speaker 3: The sacrifices I saw them make, starving for days to 1706 01:35:05,360 --> 01:35:07,760 Speaker 3: give their kids something to eat, or spending their last 1707 01:35:07,800 --> 01:35:10,080 Speaker 3: remaining dollar on clean clothes for their kids while they 1708 01:35:10,080 --> 01:35:13,360 Speaker 3: walked barefoo and couldn't afford shoes really brought home for 1709 01:35:13,479 --> 01:35:16,000 Speaker 3: me the desire these families had for better future and 1710 01:35:16,120 --> 01:35:20,320 Speaker 3: the sacrifices they're willing to make for one. Another week later, 1711 01:35:20,720 --> 01:35:22,519 Speaker 3: it's still hard for me to accept that I'm home 1712 01:35:22,600 --> 01:35:25,360 Speaker 3: safely and they're still in as much danger, if not more. 1713 01:35:28,800 --> 01:35:32,479 Speaker 11: Our walk lasted five days. Thank god I was always 1714 01:35:32,479 --> 01:35:34,719 Speaker 11: strong enough and able to get back up when I fell, 1715 01:35:34,840 --> 01:35:37,720 Speaker 11: because if I fell and my children had to see 1716 01:35:37,800 --> 01:35:40,040 Speaker 11: me fall and not get up, imagine how bad that 1717 01:35:40,080 --> 01:35:42,920 Speaker 11: would be. My children want more in the future, but 1718 01:35:43,360 --> 01:35:46,400 Speaker 11: they despaired in the jungle. They said, tell me, mommy, 1719 01:35:46,600 --> 01:35:49,240 Speaker 11: when are we going to get there? Mommy? What could 1720 01:35:49,280 --> 01:35:51,720 Speaker 11: I say to them? My dear, We have to have 1721 01:35:51,880 --> 01:35:55,000 Speaker 11: patience because we have to make the crossing. We have 1722 01:35:55,120 --> 01:35:59,320 Speaker 11: to move forward. If not, we can't get out of here. 1723 01:36:00,240 --> 01:36:03,519 Speaker 3: Even among such difficult times, the Venezuelans always greeted me 1724 01:36:03,560 --> 01:36:05,920 Speaker 3: with a laugh and a smile, especially after a few 1725 01:36:05,960 --> 01:36:08,560 Speaker 3: days of running into each other. When I used venezuhaleen 1726 01:36:08,640 --> 01:36:11,000 Speaker 3: slang or my accents slowly reverted to the Spanish and 1727 01:36:11,000 --> 01:36:13,720 Speaker 3: I learned in Karrakas nearly two decades ago, they'd laugh 1728 01:36:13,760 --> 01:36:16,800 Speaker 3: at me, as they noted at that time, Karrakas had 1729 01:36:16,800 --> 01:36:19,559 Speaker 3: attracted plenty of migrants to his own. Some of them, 1730 01:36:19,840 --> 01:36:22,559 Speaker 3: like me, didn't stay, but we came to We wanted 1731 01:36:22,560 --> 01:36:25,000 Speaker 3: to see a revolution in the flesh, and they welcomed us. 1732 01:36:25,880 --> 01:36:27,800 Speaker 3: For a while in Caracas, I lived in a social 1733 01:36:27,880 --> 01:36:30,360 Speaker 3: center in La Pastora. I didn't pay rent, but there 1734 01:36:30,400 --> 01:36:32,120 Speaker 3: was a small, empty room and no one seemed to mind. 1735 01:36:32,720 --> 01:36:35,240 Speaker 3: Every day I talked to strangers, big friends, and try 1736 01:36:35,280 --> 01:36:38,479 Speaker 3: and learn something new. The situation there wasn't ideal. For 1737 01:36:38,560 --> 01:36:40,880 Speaker 3: one thing, we didn't really have showers, and also I 1738 01:36:40,880 --> 01:36:43,360 Speaker 3: got robbed at gunpoint. So for most of my time 1739 01:36:43,400 --> 01:36:45,680 Speaker 3: in the country, I stayed with the Chilean family i'd met. 1740 01:36:46,280 --> 01:36:49,000 Speaker 3: They welcomed me a more or less total stranger, into 1741 01:36:49,040 --> 01:36:52,000 Speaker 3: their homes and lives. In the evenings, we spent hours 1742 01:36:52,040 --> 01:36:54,599 Speaker 3: talking and they'd tell me stories about how they'd suffered 1743 01:36:54,680 --> 01:36:58,320 Speaker 3: under Pinochet, the hopes they'd had for their country, and 1744 01:36:58,439 --> 01:37:00,920 Speaker 3: how they'd had to flee to Krakas tens of thousands 1745 01:37:00,920 --> 01:37:03,880 Speaker 3: of their fellow Chileans. They introduced me to Victor Hara 1746 01:37:04,280 --> 01:37:07,479 Speaker 3: and Joy Pan. I introduced them to chumber Wamba, and 1747 01:37:07,560 --> 01:37:10,200 Speaker 3: we shared an affection for George Orwell. The song you 1748 01:37:10,280 --> 01:37:12,680 Speaker 3: heard after the adverts was not in fact Chumberwamba, but 1749 01:37:12,840 --> 01:37:16,320 Speaker 3: Chilean left his folk musician, Victor Haa. He's playing Eldreto 1750 01:37:16,400 --> 01:37:19,200 Speaker 3: de vi videnpaz the right to live in Peace in English, 1751 01:37:19,880 --> 01:37:22,400 Speaker 3: and it's one of his most famous songs. It confronts 1752 01:37:22,439 --> 01:37:25,920 Speaker 3: the US War in Vietnam. Later, after haw I was 1753 01:37:25,960 --> 01:37:28,559 Speaker 3: tortured and murdered by the Pinochet regime, it became an 1754 01:37:28,600 --> 01:37:31,920 Speaker 3: anthem of protest in the country. Parah and his friend 1755 01:37:31,960 --> 01:37:34,519 Speaker 3: Pabu and No Ruda were both symbols of the cultural 1756 01:37:34,600 --> 01:37:36,920 Speaker 3: power of the Chilean people and the brutality of the 1757 01:37:36,960 --> 01:37:39,479 Speaker 3: Pinochet regime, who broke the hands he used to play 1758 01:37:39,520 --> 01:37:42,559 Speaker 3: his guitar before they killed him. Haah and the Rudah 1759 01:37:42,840 --> 01:37:45,720 Speaker 3: both moved in the same revolutionary artistic circles as my 1760 01:37:45,840 --> 01:37:49,040 Speaker 3: Chilean host in Venezuela. At night, they tell me stories 1761 01:37:49,040 --> 01:37:51,679 Speaker 3: about the time they spent together. We'd have to speak loudly, 1762 01:37:52,080 --> 01:37:53,479 Speaker 3: as a man who adopted me as a sort of 1763 01:37:53,520 --> 01:37:56,400 Speaker 3: surrogate grandson had permanent hearing damage from the torture he'd 1764 01:37:56,439 --> 01:37:59,720 Speaker 3: endured under the same regime. Luckily, he'd been able to 1765 01:37:59,760 --> 01:38:02,599 Speaker 3: flee with his wife to Venezuela, where they were welcomed. 1766 01:38:03,200 --> 01:38:05,400 Speaker 3: They never returned to Chile and happily lived out the 1767 01:38:05,439 --> 01:38:07,599 Speaker 3: rest of their lives listening to their Victor Hara records 1768 01:38:07,600 --> 01:38:11,160 Speaker 3: in Caracas and living the ideals that have seen them persecuted. 1769 01:38:12,280 --> 01:38:14,760 Speaker 3: Their kindness to me, a nineteen year old stranger with 1770 01:38:14,880 --> 01:38:17,560 Speaker 3: terrible Spanish and nowhere to sleep at night, reflected the 1771 01:38:17,640 --> 01:38:20,040 Speaker 3: kindness they'd received, and I've tried to reflect it in 1772 01:38:20,120 --> 01:38:20,800 Speaker 3: turn ever since. 1773 01:38:25,520 --> 01:38:28,760 Speaker 18: Oh A life. 1774 01:38:28,960 --> 01:38:37,400 Speaker 3: Oh. I never once heard any children crying in Las 1775 01:38:37,479 --> 01:38:41,080 Speaker 3: Blancas or Barjiquito. Well note, until the deportations took their 1776 01:38:41,120 --> 01:38:43,400 Speaker 3: parents away on my last day there. Most of the 1777 01:38:43,479 --> 01:38:47,160 Speaker 3: time the kids entertained themselves. One day in Las Blancas 1778 01:38:47,360 --> 01:38:49,840 Speaker 3: where migrants can wait and spend weeks or months they 1779 01:38:49,880 --> 01:38:51,840 Speaker 3: don't have the funds to move forward with their journey. 1780 01:38:52,520 --> 01:38:54,560 Speaker 3: I left my ficture while she made a call and 1781 01:38:54,600 --> 01:38:56,800 Speaker 3: bumped into some little children playing a game where they 1782 01:38:56,920 --> 01:38:59,280 Speaker 3: throw water bottle caps into half a breeze block from 1783 01:38:59,320 --> 01:39:02,880 Speaker 3: various distance, each of them counting how many they could land. 1784 01:39:04,080 --> 01:39:06,360 Speaker 3: I sat down next to them, put maricorder on the 1785 01:39:06,400 --> 01:39:13,559 Speaker 3: ground and asked nicely if I could join them. That's 1786 01:39:19,560 --> 01:39:21,679 Speaker 3: like a tiny pit buss. One of the kids bought 1787 01:39:21,720 --> 01:39:23,800 Speaker 3: me a pile of bottle tops, and I chatted with 1788 01:39:23,880 --> 01:39:25,519 Speaker 3: them as we threw a bottle cap to the broken 1789 01:39:25,520 --> 01:39:29,000 Speaker 3: piece of concrete. What was it like in America? They asked. 1790 01:39:29,920 --> 01:39:32,479 Speaker 3: They's had a lot of questions about Africa, having probably 1791 01:39:32,479 --> 01:39:34,760 Speaker 3: met African kids in the casita just across the way. 1792 01:39:35,800 --> 01:39:38,519 Speaker 3: Do they have big buildings in Africa? Does it rain there? 1793 01:39:39,160 --> 01:39:40,599 Speaker 3: How long does it take to get there in a bus? 1794 01:39:41,600 --> 01:39:44,479 Speaker 3: Then they tested by venezuela and legitimacy by drawing me 1795 01:39:44,520 --> 01:39:46,360 Speaker 3: in a ripper in my notebook, and I'm asking him 1796 01:39:46,400 --> 01:39:48,880 Speaker 3: if I knew what it was, what I passed a test? 1797 01:39:49,520 --> 01:39:51,120 Speaker 3: They asked me how to say some things in English, 1798 01:39:51,600 --> 01:39:53,120 Speaker 3: and they showed me the toys they bought with them, 1799 01:39:53,120 --> 01:39:55,840 Speaker 3: which were very few. One of them had a small 1800 01:39:55,840 --> 01:39:59,639 Speaker 3: plastic cow of which he was very proud on avoca. 1801 01:40:05,920 --> 01:40:08,280 Speaker 3: After a while, they asked what I was doing, and 1802 01:40:08,320 --> 01:40:11,000 Speaker 3: I showed them how I record interviews, at which point 1803 01:40:11,200 --> 01:40:14,160 Speaker 3: they began recording themselves and each other, wildly stabbing at 1804 01:40:14,160 --> 01:40:16,360 Speaker 3: the buttons on my recorder, which I will admit scared 1805 01:40:16,439 --> 01:40:19,040 Speaker 3: the crap out of me, but I didn't have the 1806 01:40:19,120 --> 01:40:22,000 Speaker 3: heart to take it off. Then they stroked the fluffy 1807 01:40:22,040 --> 01:40:24,479 Speaker 3: WIMD protector I use on my microphone. It told me 1808 01:40:24,520 --> 01:40:27,360 Speaker 3: it was like a tiny teddy bear. Eventually I was 1809 01:40:27,439 --> 01:40:29,839 Speaker 3: able to trade my recorder for several small wooden animals 1810 01:40:29,880 --> 01:40:32,000 Speaker 3: I'd brought with me as gifts, which seemed to be 1811 01:40:32,080 --> 01:40:33,720 Speaker 3: a deal. The left all of us feelings that we 1812 01:40:33,800 --> 01:40:36,519 Speaker 3: come out ahead. They seemed to unbothered by the suffering 1813 01:40:36,560 --> 01:40:39,320 Speaker 3: around them. But Las Blancas is no place for children. 1814 01:40:40,000 --> 01:40:42,360 Speaker 3: They should be in school, learning the English phrases they 1815 01:40:42,439 --> 01:40:44,800 Speaker 3: kept repeating to me every time I saw them. But 1816 01:40:45,360 --> 01:40:47,519 Speaker 3: for a chance to use their English, they first had 1817 01:40:47,520 --> 01:40:56,120 Speaker 3: to endure month more danger and deprivation. I guess, as 1818 01:40:56,160 --> 01:40:59,120 Speaker 3: son some slightly hold A. Children made the journey alone 1819 01:40:59,880 --> 01:41:04,200 Speaker 3: or almost alone. They were accompanied by a spaniel called Channel. 1820 01:41:05,400 --> 01:41:07,200 Speaker 3: I saw a future while as people are characters them 1821 01:41:07,240 --> 01:41:09,040 Speaker 3: through the Darien Gap. But to my ANALYSI this is 1822 01:41:09,080 --> 01:41:11,440 Speaker 3: the first spaniel that has made the treacherous crossing. 1823 01:41:13,479 --> 01:41:14,120 Speaker 12: Inezuela. 1824 01:41:21,960 --> 01:41:24,840 Speaker 3: Like everyone else, they had terrible memories from the jungle. 1825 01:41:27,600 --> 01:41:29,400 Speaker 1: The truth is you have to fight a lot to 1826 01:41:29,479 --> 01:41:32,000 Speaker 1: be able to get out of there, because not everyone 1827 01:41:32,080 --> 01:41:34,919 Speaker 1: gets out of that jungle, and it's even more difficult 1828 01:41:34,960 --> 01:41:37,960 Speaker 1: with small children. There are times when one goes without 1829 01:41:38,040 --> 01:41:42,040 Speaker 1: food and it's very stressful because all around us all 1830 01:41:42,160 --> 01:41:44,800 Speaker 1: we saw was the jungle, and we never saw the 1831 01:41:44,880 --> 01:41:48,560 Speaker 1: way out. But it is complicated. The truth is that 1832 01:41:48,680 --> 01:41:52,320 Speaker 1: it is very hard the jungle. Well, I would really 1833 01:41:52,400 --> 01:41:53,600 Speaker 1: recommend that people. 1834 01:41:53,439 --> 01:41:54,040 Speaker 14: Never go there. 1835 01:41:54,560 --> 01:41:57,599 Speaker 1: All our feet are hurting, we can't walk properly. Our 1836 01:41:57,640 --> 01:42:00,280 Speaker 1: whole body is hurt. We went days without eating. 1837 01:42:01,479 --> 01:42:03,920 Speaker 3: They were traveling. They said to join their parents, and 1838 01:42:04,000 --> 01:42:06,960 Speaker 3: because in Venezuela they told me they were always hungry. 1839 01:42:07,560 --> 01:42:09,639 Speaker 3: They saw people sleeping on the streets, right, that would 1840 01:42:09,640 --> 01:42:11,280 Speaker 3: be their only option. One day they didn't leave. 1841 01:42:14,479 --> 01:42:16,439 Speaker 1: I want to see mom. I haven't seen her in 1842 01:42:16,560 --> 01:42:19,320 Speaker 1: three years, and I want to have my American dream to. 1843 01:42:20,920 --> 01:42:23,160 Speaker 14: I want to see my dad, my aunt, and my uncle. 1844 01:42:23,600 --> 01:42:25,320 Speaker 14: I haven't seen them for three years either. 1845 01:42:26,280 --> 01:42:28,519 Speaker 3: Despite the heart yet, they didn't blame their parents for leaving. 1846 01:42:30,320 --> 01:42:32,639 Speaker 14: We know that we made it because of them. They're 1847 01:42:32,720 --> 01:42:34,760 Speaker 14: the ones who sent us money for the things we need. 1848 01:42:35,120 --> 01:42:37,240 Speaker 14: We were able to get a few things, not everything 1849 01:42:37,280 --> 01:42:39,120 Speaker 14: we needed, but it's all thanks to them. 1850 01:42:40,160 --> 01:42:41,880 Speaker 3: The end of their interview, as I always do, I 1851 01:42:41,880 --> 01:42:43,920 Speaker 3: asked them if there's anything else that they wanted to share. 1852 01:42:45,600 --> 01:42:46,799 Speaker 3: I don't know, but our parents. 1853 01:42:47,080 --> 01:42:49,040 Speaker 18: We love them a lot and hope we can see 1854 01:42:49,040 --> 01:42:49,439 Speaker 18: them soon. 1855 01:43:01,520 --> 01:43:04,120 Speaker 3: Like many of the Valezuela's I spoke to, their American 1856 01:43:04,200 --> 01:43:07,479 Speaker 3: dreams were pretty modest for most of them, though they'll 1857 01:43:07,520 --> 01:43:10,559 Speaker 3: be unachievable in the current immigration system. They'll end up 1858 01:43:10,560 --> 01:43:13,400 Speaker 3: stuck in Mexico, in Mexico City, perhaps so further south 1859 01:43:14,200 --> 01:43:17,160 Speaker 3: in Tijuana or Juara's working across the border. They're lucky, 1860 01:43:17,960 --> 01:43:20,360 Speaker 3: but if they cried across between ports of entry, we'll 1861 01:43:20,360 --> 01:43:23,439 Speaker 3: get caught traveling without red string. In Mexico, there was 1862 01:43:23,560 --> 01:43:25,799 Speaker 3: being deported or relocated back to southern Mexico. 1863 01:43:26,640 --> 01:43:30,120 Speaker 16: His explaining that process, the Mexican National Guard has been 1864 01:43:30,800 --> 01:43:34,519 Speaker 16: detaining people who are trying across the US medical border, 1865 01:43:34,600 --> 01:43:38,040 Speaker 16: and they had been sending them south to Mexico City 1866 01:43:38,560 --> 01:43:43,200 Speaker 16: and Chiapas to Tapachula. Now there's been this huge effort 1867 01:43:43,320 --> 01:43:46,280 Speaker 16: to stop people from weaving, not only at the US 1868 01:43:46,360 --> 01:43:50,040 Speaker 16: Mexico border, but even in Mexco City. So we're seeing 1869 01:43:50,800 --> 01:43:55,280 Speaker 16: Mexican Immigration and National Guard doing sweeps of migrant camps, 1870 01:43:55,479 --> 01:43:58,400 Speaker 16: of apartment buildings, doesn't matter if the person has a 1871 01:43:58,439 --> 01:44:02,920 Speaker 16: CBP one appointment. Sometimes they'll just send themselves to either 1872 01:44:03,080 --> 01:44:06,720 Speaker 16: Chiapa's an increasingly to Basco so Viere. Mossau, which is 1873 01:44:06,760 --> 01:44:11,280 Speaker 16: where people are arriving in Tabasco has one shelter and 1874 01:44:11,400 --> 01:44:14,080 Speaker 16: I think the capacity is around two hundred and fifty 1875 01:44:14,080 --> 01:44:17,719 Speaker 16: three hundred people, and earlier this year they were sending 1876 01:44:18,040 --> 01:44:21,880 Speaker 16: twenty thousand migrants a month there and then they posted 1877 01:44:21,920 --> 01:44:23,840 Speaker 16: the military yips so that people can't leave. 1878 01:44:24,640 --> 01:44:25,880 Speaker 19: And it's very dangerous there. 1879 01:44:25,880 --> 01:44:28,680 Speaker 16: It's a drug tracking area, so it's you know, not 1880 01:44:28,840 --> 01:44:30,920 Speaker 16: only are people sleeping in the streets, but they're sleeping 1881 01:44:31,240 --> 01:44:33,040 Speaker 16: on the streets of some of the most dangerous cities 1882 01:44:33,080 --> 01:44:35,920 Speaker 16: in Mexaco. Win very few services there to help them 1883 01:44:36,400 --> 01:44:37,400 Speaker 16: even get their next meal. 1884 01:44:37,840 --> 01:44:39,960 Speaker 3: This, of course, didn't happen without the imfluence of the 1885 01:44:40,040 --> 01:44:43,280 Speaker 3: United States. In many ways, Joe Biden has done exactly 1886 01:44:43,320 --> 01:44:45,519 Speaker 3: what Donald Trump promised to do. Not only has he 1887 01:44:45,600 --> 01:44:48,840 Speaker 3: built more wool, he's also forced Mexico to pay for 1888 01:44:48,840 --> 01:44:51,880 Speaker 3: a significant amount of the US IS immigration enforcement. But 1889 01:44:52,240 --> 01:44:54,599 Speaker 3: when people are sent back to south of Mexico, they'll 1890 01:44:54,640 --> 01:44:56,880 Speaker 3: just make their way north again, only this time with 1891 01:44:57,000 --> 01:45:00,640 Speaker 3: fewer resources and even greater risk. They're all proud of 1892 01:45:00,640 --> 01:45:02,960 Speaker 3: where they're from. About half the groups I saw had 1893 01:45:03,080 --> 01:45:06,320 Speaker 3: Venezuelan flags and the cats or backpacks, but they're also 1894 01:45:06,479 --> 01:45:08,600 Speaker 3: very aware of the betrayal they get as Venezuelans and 1895 01:45:08,640 --> 01:45:10,960 Speaker 3: the US media and many of them made the very 1896 01:45:11,040 --> 01:45:14,080 Speaker 3: valid point if American is afraid of Venezuela gangs, they 1897 01:45:14,120 --> 01:45:15,840 Speaker 3: ought to consider how much more afraid people are in 1898 01:45:15,880 --> 01:45:24,799 Speaker 3: a country where they actually exist. N Solana, I'm thirteen. 1899 01:45:25,560 --> 01:45:28,840 Speaker 18: Please don't believe that because one person from Venezuela does crime, 1900 01:45:29,280 --> 01:45:30,880 Speaker 18: that all Venezuelans do crime. 1901 01:45:31,680 --> 01:45:34,000 Speaker 3: But at least they get it portrayed in the US media. 1902 01:45:34,360 --> 01:45:37,240 Speaker 3: Many African migrants don't even get that. Of course, it 1903 01:45:37,479 --> 01:45:40,559 Speaker 3: doesn't mean they don't know about the USA his powers 1904 01:45:40,600 --> 01:45:44,080 Speaker 3: in her anglophone Cameroonian group again talking about their impressions 1905 01:45:44,120 --> 01:45:46,800 Speaker 3: of America where they'd like to live when they arrive here. 1906 01:45:47,479 --> 01:45:50,519 Speaker 5: We know America is a very beautiful country, and America 1907 01:45:50,600 --> 01:45:51,439 Speaker 5: has human right. 1908 01:45:51,920 --> 01:45:54,000 Speaker 3: They care about the citizens. 1909 01:45:54,400 --> 01:45:57,439 Speaker 5: In fact, they care about humanity. See, I don't want 1910 01:45:57,520 --> 01:46:00,240 Speaker 5: to have a friend that I'm gonna stay with for 1911 01:46:00,360 --> 01:46:01,000 Speaker 5: the meantime. 1912 01:46:01,120 --> 01:46:05,200 Speaker 3: Then it gets that's great, Yeah, that helps her lot. Yeah. 1913 01:46:05,360 --> 01:46:07,639 Speaker 3: Do you know which city your friend lives in? She's 1914 01:46:07,680 --> 01:46:09,160 Speaker 3: in merry Land, Oh, Maryland? 1915 01:46:09,240 --> 01:46:12,240 Speaker 5: Okay, yeah, So if I may asks, if you don't 1916 01:46:12,280 --> 01:46:16,080 Speaker 5: mind me asking, of course, what do Americans? How do 1917 01:46:16,200 --> 01:46:19,360 Speaker 5: they treat or how do they see immigrants? 1918 01:46:20,080 --> 01:46:23,960 Speaker 3: Oh, my friend, it's changing a lot. African bagaants in particular, 1919 01:46:24,000 --> 01:46:26,600 Speaker 3: will struggle with a lack of resources. The absence of 1920 01:46:26,680 --> 01:46:30,880 Speaker 3: solidarity structures an obvious anti blackness along the journey. Along 1921 01:46:30,920 --> 01:46:32,800 Speaker 3: with this, people they meet along the way simply lack 1922 01:46:32,880 --> 01:46:35,960 Speaker 3: context of their journeys, why they're leaving, what they're fleeing. 1923 01:46:36,520 --> 01:46:39,479 Speaker 3: Language barriers may exclude many of them from using CBP one, 1924 01:46:39,720 --> 01:46:43,439 Speaker 3: which is only offered English, Spanish and Haitian Creole. Less 1925 01:46:43,439 --> 01:46:46,040 Speaker 3: than fifteen percent of asylum cases are conducted in English, 1926 01:46:46,520 --> 01:46:48,839 Speaker 3: but the app ignores huge toasts of the world outside 1927 01:46:48,880 --> 01:46:52,760 Speaker 3: the Western hemisphere. But Jikito, I use French to speak 1928 01:46:52,760 --> 01:46:55,800 Speaker 3: to min who students speak English, and began to notice 1929 01:46:55,840 --> 01:46:58,080 Speaker 3: the complete absence of signage, and I think other as 1930 01:46:58,120 --> 01:47:02,200 Speaker 3: Spanish and sometimes English Creole. This is likely an issue 1931 01:47:02,240 --> 01:47:05,560 Speaker 3: throughout that long journeys. Here's one migrant from Angola and 1932 01:47:05,600 --> 01:47:07,880 Speaker 3: I should probably at this point that Angolan people tend 1933 01:47:07,920 --> 01:47:10,880 Speaker 3: to speak Portuguese, it's a national language, but French with 1934 01:47:10,920 --> 01:47:12,400 Speaker 3: the language I shared with some of them, as I 1935 01:47:12,439 --> 01:47:13,400 Speaker 3: don't speak Portuguese. 1936 01:47:18,439 --> 01:47:22,320 Speaker 10: It was too much, very complicated. Like me, I did 1937 01:47:22,360 --> 01:47:26,160 Speaker 10: a week in Brazil at Brazil and for Peru, Peru 1938 01:47:26,280 --> 01:47:30,280 Speaker 10: to nicol Klee. Then here I did. We did four days, 1939 01:47:30,400 --> 01:47:35,200 Speaker 10: four days walking. There are many mountains, many risks, there 1940 01:47:35,240 --> 01:47:37,439 Speaker 10: are many animals along the route. You have to follow 1941 01:47:37,479 --> 01:47:41,479 Speaker 10: the path for four days and there's no food. But 1942 01:47:41,600 --> 01:47:44,439 Speaker 10: we are glad to arrive today. This is the first group. 1943 01:47:45,479 --> 01:47:48,280 Speaker 10: There's the second, third, fourth, fifth group. They're still on 1944 01:47:48,400 --> 01:47:51,120 Speaker 10: the road. I'm very proud of the fact that we 1945 01:47:51,240 --> 01:47:54,640 Speaker 10: made it despite the suffering. But God was with us 1946 01:47:55,000 --> 01:47:56,080 Speaker 10: that is what is important. 1947 01:47:57,800 --> 01:48:00,479 Speaker 3: There are numerous instances a French speaking micro trying to 1948 01:48:00,560 --> 01:48:02,920 Speaker 3: approach the border near me in Santy Ses and being 1949 01:48:02,960 --> 01:48:05,360 Speaker 3: turned away for not having an appointment on that that's 1950 01:48:05,400 --> 01:48:08,400 Speaker 3: not available in the language they can understand. These language 1951 01:48:08,400 --> 01:48:11,120 Speaker 3: barriers might stop the migrants getting information, but they don't 1952 01:48:11,120 --> 01:48:14,400 Speaker 3: stop them helping one another. His powers group describing the 1953 01:48:14,479 --> 01:48:18,120 Speaker 3: isolation they felt, but also the kindness they experienced. Do 1954 01:48:18,240 --> 01:48:21,919 Speaker 3: you think people on the trip treat African people differently? 1955 01:48:22,360 --> 01:48:27,439 Speaker 5: Yeah, they do differently differently. They're not being communicated, They're 1956 01:48:27,600 --> 01:48:31,439 Speaker 5: just by themselves. They don't associate. They look at us differently. 1957 01:48:32,360 --> 01:48:32,960 Speaker 3: Yeah I. 1958 01:48:34,720 --> 01:48:37,040 Speaker 6: Had, I had someone who supported me. 1959 01:48:37,600 --> 01:48:41,320 Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, I saw. I saw how kind of person 1960 01:48:41,600 --> 01:48:45,160 Speaker 3: was because of their obvious foreignness and perceived an ability 1961 01:48:45,200 --> 01:48:48,960 Speaker 3: to communicate. African migrants are often targeted for crime in Mexico. 1962 01:48:49,560 --> 01:48:54,680 Speaker 3: Since leaving Panama, have heard from migrants who are raped, kidnapped, ransomed, 1963 01:48:54,960 --> 01:48:57,679 Speaker 3: and I even heard about one who was killed. Because 1964 01:48:57,680 --> 01:49:00,800 Speaker 3: of their difficulties accessing this CVP one app many face 1965 01:49:00,920 --> 01:49:03,720 Speaker 3: longer way to Mexico, which may in turn leave them 1966 01:49:03,800 --> 01:49:06,400 Speaker 3: open to extortion or see them decide to cross the 1967 01:49:06,439 --> 01:49:10,240 Speaker 3: border between ports of entry. I've met hundreds of migrants, 1968 01:49:10,720 --> 01:49:14,000 Speaker 3: mainly Mauritanians and Guineans, who have made this difficult choice 1969 01:49:14,120 --> 01:49:17,280 Speaker 3: since bidons of Silent Bank came into force. Due to 1970 01:49:17,320 --> 01:49:20,360 Speaker 3: the distance, African migrants also face a longer, more expensive, 1971 01:49:20,479 --> 01:49:24,280 Speaker 3: and more dangerous journey. His premier from Zimbabwe, describing her 1972 01:49:24,360 --> 01:49:26,000 Speaker 3: journey just to get to Bao Jiquito. 1973 01:49:26,680 --> 01:49:30,800 Speaker 12: The situation for me, it was tough. I just ran 1974 01:49:30,880 --> 01:49:34,240 Speaker 12: away to South Africa. In South Africa was not safe 1975 01:49:34,760 --> 01:49:42,519 Speaker 12: solofobia and they almost secure me and my boyfriend. Oh no, 1976 01:49:43,000 --> 01:49:49,599 Speaker 12: and even my big father was abusive too much because 1977 01:49:49,680 --> 01:49:55,160 Speaker 12: of the politics. I'm opposition part. 1978 01:49:55,360 --> 01:49:55,920 Speaker 20: So it was. 1979 01:49:58,160 --> 01:50:01,200 Speaker 12: Now even in South Africa, I was not safe at all. 1980 01:50:01,600 --> 01:50:04,160 Speaker 12: It was those people. They were like following me and 1981 01:50:04,360 --> 01:50:07,720 Speaker 12: my daughter. So I spent three months on the road 1982 01:50:07,840 --> 01:50:11,600 Speaker 12: coming here. I leave South Africa, I think fourth of 1983 01:50:11,720 --> 01:50:17,040 Speaker 12: July till now I'm in Panama. I'm still working using bases. 1984 01:50:18,000 --> 01:50:21,920 Speaker 3: Jesus, How you get away from Africa to America? Did 1985 01:50:21,960 --> 01:50:23,000 Speaker 3: you fly or take a boat? 1986 01:50:23,840 --> 01:50:28,360 Speaker 12: The thing is I fly from Joannespec to Brazil. Then 1987 01:50:28,560 --> 01:50:32,639 Speaker 12: I seek asylum in Brazil. Then I wanted to stay 1988 01:50:32,680 --> 01:50:37,960 Speaker 12: in Brazil, so people said no, yeah, in Brazil, you 1989 01:50:38,120 --> 01:50:43,200 Speaker 12: can't because of language, Yeah, Portuguese. So I start also 1990 01:50:43,360 --> 01:50:46,240 Speaker 12: using people's groups like you list take this pass from 1991 01:50:46,680 --> 01:50:49,040 Speaker 12: point A to point base. So we take a bus 1992 01:50:49,160 --> 01:50:53,719 Speaker 12: from Brazil to Bolivia, then from Bolivia to Peru, Peru 1993 01:50:54,400 --> 01:50:58,840 Speaker 12: to Equador, Colombia. Then you start working using Darien cap two. 1994 01:50:58,920 --> 01:51:02,200 Speaker 3: I'm here in African migrants will end up in different 1995 01:51:02,280 --> 01:51:05,519 Speaker 3: shelters that are more remote or have less connectivity, again 1996 01:51:05,640 --> 01:51:10,200 Speaker 3: making their asylum process harder. Unlike migrants from the Western Hemisphere, 1997 01:51:10,320 --> 01:51:12,840 Speaker 3: they might struggle to find solidarity networks even inside the 1998 01:51:12,960 --> 01:51:16,439 Speaker 3: USA without a significant diaspora, and many of the migrants 1999 01:51:16,479 --> 01:51:18,600 Speaker 3: I met in the jungle have struggled to find sponsors 2000 01:51:19,200 --> 01:51:21,879 Speaker 3: los Just the people I spoke to here, including Primrose 2001 01:51:21,920 --> 01:51:24,320 Speaker 3: and her daughter, are still looking for someone to give 2002 01:51:24,360 --> 01:51:26,320 Speaker 3: them a helping hand as they start their new life. 2003 01:51:27,040 --> 01:51:28,840 Speaker 3: We spoke a lot over the week I is there, 2004 01:51:29,080 --> 01:51:32,840 Speaker 3: and we've spoken most days since. It's heartbreaking for me 2005 01:51:33,000 --> 01:51:35,360 Speaker 3: to see her daughter going for months without education or 2006 01:51:35,360 --> 01:51:38,040 Speaker 3: even a safe place to sleep. I've seen photos of 2007 01:51:38,080 --> 01:51:41,360 Speaker 3: them sleeping on the street, They've ridden crowded buses north, 2008 01:51:41,960 --> 01:51:44,120 Speaker 3: and I've heard their frustrated attempts to comply with the 2009 01:51:44,240 --> 01:51:46,760 Speaker 3: arcane and complicated restrictions on their right to come here 2010 01:51:46,840 --> 01:51:50,000 Speaker 3: and ask for help. And it's been really hard since 2011 01:51:50,040 --> 01:51:52,360 Speaker 3: I got home to reconcile this with a national discussion 2012 01:51:52,400 --> 01:51:54,200 Speaker 3: that seems to see migration as a number that we 2013 01:51:54,280 --> 01:51:57,160 Speaker 3: have to decrease. A migrants are something other than people 2014 01:51:57,160 --> 01:51:58,960 Speaker 3: who want to come here for all the same reasons, 2015 01:51:58,960 --> 01:52:03,519 Speaker 3: iding happily and peaceably as our neighbors. Now that they've 2016 01:52:03,560 --> 01:52:06,360 Speaker 3: come this far, magants from outside the Western hemisphere have 2017 01:52:06,479 --> 01:52:08,920 Speaker 3: to keep going. They kind of even file their claims 2018 01:52:08,960 --> 01:52:11,920 Speaker 3: on CBP one until they make it to Tapatula, which 2019 01:52:11,960 --> 01:52:14,960 Speaker 3: is hundreds of dollars and thousands of kilometers from Panama. 2020 01:52:15,640 --> 01:52:17,439 Speaker 3: They likely don't have the funds to go back home 2021 01:52:17,479 --> 01:52:19,760 Speaker 3: even if they want to, and they are far more 2022 01:52:19,920 --> 01:52:23,040 Speaker 3: likely to be robbed or kidnapped along the way. However, 2023 01:52:23,120 --> 01:52:26,080 Speaker 3: their story is often not told. Reporting on the board 2024 01:52:26,120 --> 01:52:28,920 Speaker 3: is still largely focused on Spanish speaking migrants, with some 2025 01:52:29,040 --> 01:52:32,120 Speaker 3: space of Chinese or Haitians, but magots from Africa rarely 2026 01:52:32,160 --> 01:52:34,840 Speaker 3: get much care or attention in the media. In part, 2027 01:52:35,400 --> 01:52:38,479 Speaker 3: this has helped them avoid the demonization that Venezuelan migrants 2028 01:52:38,479 --> 01:52:41,280 Speaker 3: are all too aware of, but in part it also 2029 01:52:41,400 --> 01:52:44,360 Speaker 3: leads to a lack of concern for their needs. I 2030 01:52:44,439 --> 01:52:48,200 Speaker 3: want to end today with Gabriel from Equatorial Guinea sharing 2031 01:52:48,280 --> 01:52:49,440 Speaker 3: his message for Americans. 2032 01:52:50,080 --> 01:52:57,760 Speaker 20: Ah Aca not as Yeah, A lot of people get 2033 01:52:57,840 --> 01:53:02,160 Speaker 20: this confused. Africa is not a country. A lot of 2034 01:53:02,240 --> 01:53:05,639 Speaker 20: them think when they see you and you're black person, 2035 01:53:05,760 --> 01:53:09,920 Speaker 20: they say, are you African? And it's like, there are 2036 01:53:10,040 --> 01:53:15,759 Speaker 20: lots of countries in Africa. Kana, Nigeria, you got Guinea, 2037 01:53:16,360 --> 01:53:20,160 Speaker 20: you got the more Atinian people. There are loads of countries. 2038 01:53:20,280 --> 01:53:21,439 Speaker 20: I wish people would know. 2039 01:53:21,840 --> 01:53:22,560 Speaker 10: How do I say this? 2040 01:53:23,320 --> 01:53:27,040 Speaker 20: I wish they'd take us into account because really they 2041 01:53:27,120 --> 01:53:30,960 Speaker 20: don't consider us when they say Africa is a country. 2042 01:53:31,400 --> 01:53:33,519 Speaker 20: They don't care about us the way we care about them. 2043 01:53:34,080 --> 01:53:37,200 Speaker 20: And this is the way of seeing things which doesn't 2044 01:53:37,240 --> 01:53:40,360 Speaker 20: consider us as human, not the same as them. You 2045 01:53:40,479 --> 01:53:44,640 Speaker 20: understand they see us as Africans or animals something like that. 2046 01:54:00,080 --> 01:54:00,360 Speaker 17: M h. 2047 01:54:12,560 --> 01:54:26,559 Speaker 3: Yeah kid again pretty it's yell of the bat. He said, 2048 01:54:26,600 --> 01:54:26,840 Speaker 3: I was. 2049 01:54:29,160 --> 01:54:32,120 Speaker 6: A boy, remain I polo people. 2050 01:54:34,160 --> 01:54:36,440 Speaker 10: Ermato you know something? 2051 01:54:36,440 --> 01:54:37,640 Speaker 16: Don't have people an annouches? 2052 01:54:38,480 --> 01:54:39,000 Speaker 3: Can they have me? 2053 01:54:39,080 --> 01:54:39,320 Speaker 16: People? 2054 01:54:40,200 --> 01:54:41,000 Speaker 18: Only day was an. 2055 01:54:40,960 --> 01:54:47,360 Speaker 3: Agent said I'm an a bad man. Again, you're a logic, 2056 01:54:48,120 --> 01:54:57,440 Speaker 3: but it isn't. Young and yea, some of you recognize 2057 01:54:57,440 --> 01:54:59,360 Speaker 3: the audio that we opened this show with, and then 2058 01:54:59,440 --> 01:55:02,320 Speaker 3: if you weren't, it's a sample from the Fourth Declaration 2059 01:55:02,400 --> 01:55:05,000 Speaker 3: of the Lacandan Jungle that Manuchow used to open his 2060 01:55:05,080 --> 01:55:08,000 Speaker 3: shows with. It's a piece of music that's very emotive 2061 01:55:08,040 --> 01:55:10,520 Speaker 3: for me. Obviously, I'm a white leftist guy in my 2062 01:55:10,640 --> 01:55:13,440 Speaker 3: thirties who learned Spanish and decided to live in Barcelona. 2063 01:55:13,920 --> 01:55:16,000 Speaker 3: So I have a story about running into Manuchow once 2064 01:55:16,040 --> 01:55:18,360 Speaker 3: where he was busking, but that's not what I want 2065 01:55:18,400 --> 01:55:21,720 Speaker 3: to share today. Because I'm technology challenged, I can't seem 2066 01:55:21,760 --> 01:55:24,320 Speaker 3: to get my phone to download songs, but I've managed 2067 01:55:24,360 --> 01:55:26,520 Speaker 3: to download the same Manu Chow playlist that I ripped 2068 01:55:26,520 --> 01:55:28,800 Speaker 3: off a rewriteable CD when I was in high school 2069 01:55:29,320 --> 01:55:31,680 Speaker 3: and put it on the various headphones and garment watches 2070 01:55:31,760 --> 01:55:33,480 Speaker 3: that I've had of the last two decades or so. 2071 01:55:34,360 --> 01:55:36,560 Speaker 3: When I'm away for work, I like to run whenever 2072 01:55:36,600 --> 01:55:38,960 Speaker 3: I can. Obviously I wasn't just going to go for 2073 01:55:39,000 --> 01:55:41,800 Speaker 3: a jog straight into the Darien Gap, but once we 2074 01:55:41,880 --> 01:55:44,760 Speaker 3: were out of Bajajiqito, it gave me some time to 2075 01:55:44,920 --> 01:55:47,800 Speaker 3: run and think and process the things that I've seen, 2076 01:55:48,520 --> 01:55:50,000 Speaker 3: And while I do that, I listen to the same 2077 01:55:50,080 --> 01:55:53,080 Speaker 3: doz or so MP three files. I was listening to 2078 01:55:53,200 --> 01:55:55,640 Speaker 3: this song one day after I got back from Lahas Blancas, 2079 01:55:55,760 --> 01:55:57,760 Speaker 3: as I sweated my way up ahead in the rainforest, 2080 01:55:58,360 --> 01:56:01,120 Speaker 3: hoping to see a sloth. I didn't see a sloth, 2081 01:56:01,800 --> 01:56:06,160 Speaker 3: but it seemed like an appropriate soundtrack. Manuchoo himself as 2082 01:56:06,160 --> 01:56:09,120 Speaker 3: a child of refugees from Francoist Spain. He sings in 2083 01:56:09,200 --> 01:56:13,080 Speaker 3: French and Spanish, willoff and Galician and Portuguese, among other languages, 2084 01:56:13,600 --> 01:56:16,360 Speaker 3: often several of them in the same song, the product 2085 01:56:16,400 --> 01:56:19,840 Speaker 3: of growing up among other migrants of diverse backgrounds. I 2086 01:56:20,000 --> 01:56:22,000 Speaker 3: like the way he plays with language because it reminds 2087 01:56:22,040 --> 01:56:23,760 Speaker 3: me of the way I so often speak to my 2088 01:56:23,880 --> 01:56:27,960 Speaker 3: friends Spanglish, for example, or Frannglais. It's the way people 2089 01:56:28,040 --> 01:56:31,480 Speaker 3: talk in border regions and refugee camps, languages that don't 2090 01:56:31,520 --> 01:56:34,000 Speaker 3: have the support of a state or the academy, but 2091 01:56:34,080 --> 01:56:37,600 Speaker 3: nonetheless convey so much meaning for so many people. That song, 2092 01:56:37,720 --> 01:56:40,200 Speaker 3: in particular reminds me of my first time reading about 2093 01:56:40,240 --> 01:56:43,000 Speaker 3: Zapatismo in a tiny anarchist cafe in the West Midlands. 2094 01:56:43,840 --> 01:56:45,720 Speaker 3: I remember being struck as a kid from europ who 2095 01:56:45,760 --> 01:56:48,280 Speaker 3: would frequently drive to France or Belgium to race bikes 2096 01:56:48,280 --> 01:56:50,920 Speaker 3: and buy cheap beer, that the USA still maintained a 2097 01:56:50,960 --> 01:56:55,560 Speaker 3: fortified border with Mexico. People couldn't travel freely, but money could. 2098 01:56:56,720 --> 01:56:59,440 Speaker 3: With its realization and the writings in particular of Suquam 2099 01:56:59,560 --> 01:57:02,080 Speaker 3: and Temar course, along with my talks in Spain to 2100 01:57:02,120 --> 01:57:05,560 Speaker 3: old anarchists, that encouraged me to learn Spanish, which I 2101 01:57:05,680 --> 01:57:08,680 Speaker 3: pursued by spending months in Spain and Venezuela and learning 2102 01:57:08,720 --> 01:57:11,320 Speaker 3: thanks to the patient to the people around me. It 2103 01:57:11,440 --> 01:57:13,920 Speaker 3: was a new anarchism which came from the periphery, not 2104 01:57:14,000 --> 01:57:17,240 Speaker 3: only a liberal cores, which gave me my first serious politics. 2105 01:57:18,320 --> 01:57:21,520 Speaker 3: I traveled to Venezuela to understand the revolution there. I 2106 01:57:21,600 --> 01:57:24,000 Speaker 3: did a PhD to try and understand the revolution in Spain. 2107 01:57:25,040 --> 01:57:27,440 Speaker 3: It's all very well understanding things, but I think it's 2108 01:57:27,520 --> 01:57:29,800 Speaker 3: much more important to do things, and I tried to 2109 01:57:29,840 --> 01:57:32,720 Speaker 3: practice mutual aid as much as I can. Since I 2110 01:57:32,760 --> 01:57:34,600 Speaker 3: got back from the daddy En, I've loaded up a 2111 01:57:34,640 --> 01:57:37,480 Speaker 3: heavy backpack and carried water into the desert and spent 2112 01:57:37,600 --> 01:57:39,280 Speaker 3: hours trying to connect the friends I made in the 2113 01:57:39,360 --> 01:57:42,520 Speaker 3: jungle with services along the way. In the face of 2114 01:57:42,600 --> 01:57:45,440 Speaker 3: so much cruelty, it feels good to be doing something 2115 01:57:45,520 --> 01:57:47,880 Speaker 3: to help and carrying the water is away. I can 2116 01:57:47,920 --> 01:57:50,920 Speaker 3: make a material difference in a terrible situation. But in 2117 01:57:50,960 --> 01:57:54,040 Speaker 3: all my time reporting, I've really never felt as disempowered 2118 01:57:54,080 --> 01:57:57,880 Speaker 3: and helpless as I did in Last Blancas. Here at 2119 01:57:57,920 --> 01:58:00,720 Speaker 3: the first official migrant reception center off to Daddi Enne, 2120 01:58:01,160 --> 01:58:05,720 Speaker 3: the Panamanian government registers migrants. NGO's offer a few services, 2121 01:58:06,400 --> 01:58:10,600 Speaker 3: and the US funded process of deportation for migrants from Colombia, Cuba, 2122 01:58:10,920 --> 01:58:14,520 Speaker 3: Venezuela and India begins. Some of those sent to India 2123 01:58:14,600 --> 01:58:17,600 Speaker 3: might well be Nepalese who often travel on fake Indian passports. 2124 01:58:18,560 --> 01:58:22,640 Speaker 3: The little cluster of cheap tents, shipping container offices, un shelters, 2125 01:58:22,680 --> 01:58:24,720 Speaker 3: and barbed wire offences is where the rubber meets a 2126 01:58:24,800 --> 01:58:28,080 Speaker 3: road for the USA's border and migration policy, and it's 2127 01:58:28,120 --> 01:58:32,040 Speaker 3: heartbreaking to witness. As migrants were called out to the 2128 01:58:32,120 --> 01:58:35,520 Speaker 3: security office to begin the deportation process. I tried to 2129 01:58:35,600 --> 01:58:38,560 Speaker 3: narrate the scene into my voice recorder, but I struggled, 2130 01:58:38,960 --> 01:58:41,520 Speaker 3: in part because their family members asked me questions, hoping 2131 01:58:41,560 --> 01:58:51,240 Speaker 3: I can help. Yeah, planings on the side, But in 2132 01:58:51,280 --> 01:58:53,840 Speaker 3: a larger part, this was also difficult because I couldn't help, 2133 01:58:54,200 --> 01:58:56,880 Speaker 3: and I deeply wanted to. The best I could offer 2134 01:58:56,960 --> 01:58:59,360 Speaker 3: was an arm around someone's shoulder and the promise to 2135 01:58:59,400 --> 01:59:01,320 Speaker 3: email any one who I could think of, and asked 2136 01:59:01,360 --> 01:59:07,400 Speaker 3: what was going on? This guy's just sobbing. Yeah, that's 2137 01:59:07,440 --> 01:59:18,640 Speaker 3: really tough. Some people's parents, some people's partners, some who 2138 01:59:24,800 --> 01:59:26,960 Speaker 3: I'll explain exactly what was happening in a moment, but 2139 01:59:27,040 --> 01:59:29,560 Speaker 3: first I want to explain how I got here. On 2140 01:59:29,640 --> 01:59:31,800 Speaker 3: the day we left Maraganti, we set off at the 2141 01:59:31,840 --> 01:59:33,920 Speaker 3: same time some migrants who are making their own journey 2142 01:59:33,960 --> 01:59:37,680 Speaker 3: to last Blankets. PA. Is carrying only myself and my 2143 01:59:37,760 --> 01:59:40,840 Speaker 3: fixed daddy and a pe aguero, so we're moving a 2144 01:59:40,880 --> 01:59:43,520 Speaker 3: lot faster than the boats full of migrants. On the 2145 01:59:43,600 --> 01:59:47,000 Speaker 3: way north. We passed them, they smiled and waves as 2146 01:59:47,040 --> 01:59:49,120 Speaker 3: we rode by. Many of them had met me the 2147 01:59:49,200 --> 01:59:52,240 Speaker 3: day before. All of them were ecstatic to have survived 2148 01:59:52,280 --> 01:59:56,640 Speaker 3: the daddy enn and be heading north. Yeah, it's a 2149 01:59:56,680 --> 01:59:59,240 Speaker 3: pretty busy stretcher ray that it's party three or four 2150 01:59:59,280 --> 02:00:04,320 Speaker 3: pedaguas full of migrant Hello. There are kids shogging at me. 2151 02:00:04,440 --> 02:00:07,640 Speaker 3: And taught them some English words yesterday and they're shouting 2152 02:00:07,680 --> 02:00:09,280 Speaker 3: them back to me today, which is nice. 2153 02:00:10,680 --> 02:00:11,080 Speaker 14: You got it. 2154 02:00:15,680 --> 02:00:23,720 Speaker 3: Family from Panama. They might be Enngio people or something. 2155 02:00:23,760 --> 02:00:27,520 Speaker 3: They lived a bill shocked to the whole scene. Here 2156 02:00:27,560 --> 02:00:32,600 Speaker 3: we are passing another bit agua. Now they're all waving 2157 02:00:32,640 --> 02:00:39,680 Speaker 3: at me. It's got to be uncomfortable. Pack that denity 2158 02:00:39,720 --> 02:00:47,920 Speaker 3: into a bi agua one, two, three, four, five, three, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, 2159 02:00:47,960 --> 02:00:53,560 Speaker 3: forty fifty sixteen people. Yeah, once the boat arrived, they 2160 02:00:53,600 --> 02:00:56,120 Speaker 3: did embark in LaaS Blancas the next day. I was 2161 02:00:56,160 --> 02:00:59,040 Speaker 3: there to meet them. We're just walking into Lahas Blancas. 2162 02:01:00,120 --> 02:01:03,520 Speaker 3: Hectic here so it's a new shop here, and outside 2163 02:01:03,600 --> 02:01:08,080 Speaker 3: the shop they've made like a line of outlets to 2164 02:01:08,240 --> 02:01:11,400 Speaker 3: charge people. It's a dollar an hour to charge your telephone. 2165 02:01:11,960 --> 02:01:13,680 Speaker 3: As we go in, there are a row of like 2166 02:01:14,320 --> 02:01:17,320 Speaker 3: kind of sheds which represent shops. And then further in, 2167 02:01:17,720 --> 02:01:20,920 Speaker 3: every ngo has its own little kind of shed. They're 2168 02:01:20,960 --> 02:01:25,240 Speaker 3: all covered in tarps. They're like canvas and tarp tents 2169 02:01:26,560 --> 02:01:32,520 Speaker 3: actually here so see unief, I see, oh I am yeah, 2170 02:01:32,520 --> 02:01:34,760 Speaker 3: they have that sort of little tent office here. I 2171 02:01:34,840 --> 02:01:39,840 Speaker 3: guess see here as for example, has information psychological support, 2172 02:01:39,920 --> 02:01:47,440 Speaker 3: safe space for women, Wonnief has some workshops for children, 2173 02:01:47,600 --> 02:01:51,440 Speaker 3: and then you know they're hours. I guess, nice little 2174 02:01:51,520 --> 02:01:59,640 Speaker 3: chairs in there and yeah, see you can't take photographs 2175 02:01:59,640 --> 02:02:02,880 Speaker 3: in there, which is good. Yeah, and then it's just 2176 02:02:03,080 --> 02:02:09,200 Speaker 3: a crowd of people coming out. And there's also more 2177 02:02:11,200 --> 02:02:14,960 Speaker 3: little Mormon situation. See oh yeah, I guess see. Oh 2178 02:02:15,000 --> 02:02:17,440 Speaker 3: I am are supported by Church of Jesus Christ on 2179 02:02:17,520 --> 02:02:20,240 Speaker 3: bat Today Saints. Then the Red Cross has got a 2180 02:02:20,240 --> 02:02:26,680 Speaker 3: shipping container. I've been hoping last blank Cuts would be 2181 02:02:26,680 --> 02:02:29,360 Speaker 3: a better scene than baj Jugito, with more organized sleeping 2182 02:02:29,440 --> 02:02:32,960 Speaker 3: arrangements and hopefully basic necessities like clean water, food and 2183 02:02:33,080 --> 02:02:36,160 Speaker 3: Wi Fi provided by their numerous NGOs who work there. 2184 02:02:36,920 --> 02:02:40,400 Speaker 3: But if anythink it was worse in Baja Jigito. In Bajuquito, 2185 02:02:40,520 --> 02:02:43,360 Speaker 3: migrants were exhausted, but also ecstatic to be at the jungle. 2186 02:02:43,960 --> 02:02:46,400 Speaker 3: They knew they'd be moving forward the next day and 2187 02:02:46,480 --> 02:02:48,160 Speaker 3: for a few bucks. Again, I don't think they needed. 2188 02:02:48,240 --> 02:02:50,720 Speaker 3: In the village, the locals told me that if kids 2189 02:02:50,720 --> 02:02:52,640 Speaker 3: didn't have the money to eat, they fed them for free. 2190 02:02:53,200 --> 02:02:55,440 Speaker 3: I didn't see this, but normally seen that they're having 2191 02:02:55,480 --> 02:02:57,120 Speaker 3: a very hard time, and any of the days of 2192 02:02:57,240 --> 02:03:00,680 Speaker 3: vice to the village at least not for fine actual reasons. 2193 02:03:01,600 --> 02:03:03,400 Speaker 3: Magots can get as far as Bahol Jiguito on a 2194 02:03:03,480 --> 02:03:06,680 Speaker 3: few hundred dollars in their tenasty. They pay Columbian guides 2195 02:03:06,680 --> 02:03:08,520 Speaker 3: a few hundred bucks to bring them across the ocean 2196 02:03:08,560 --> 02:03:11,680 Speaker 3: from Necople and to walk them from the border, and 2197 02:03:11,760 --> 02:03:14,360 Speaker 3: they parry them bar Perraguero's twenty five bucks for the 2198 02:03:14,400 --> 02:03:17,520 Speaker 3: ride up the river. But once they get to last Blankerts. 2199 02:03:17,800 --> 02:03:20,400 Speaker 3: For a good number of migrants, their journey grinds to 2200 02:03:20,440 --> 02:03:23,080 Speaker 3: a halt. Many of them told me they've been stuck 2201 02:03:23,120 --> 02:03:25,240 Speaker 3: in the camp for weeks or even months because they 2202 02:03:25,280 --> 02:03:27,320 Speaker 3: couldn't get that sixty dollars that they needed to pay 2203 02:03:27,400 --> 02:03:30,440 Speaker 3: for their travel north. There's no Western Union in the camp, 2204 02:03:30,720 --> 02:03:32,800 Speaker 3: and the only way to transfer money is very local 2205 02:03:32,840 --> 02:03:36,000 Speaker 3: intermediary who charges between twenty and twenty five percent of 2206 02:03:36,040 --> 02:03:39,560 Speaker 3: the sum being transferred as a fee. In the morning, 2207 02:03:39,880 --> 02:03:42,880 Speaker 3: migrants arrive on their peraguas just as we did. I 2208 02:03:43,000 --> 02:03:44,800 Speaker 3: drop down the boat ramp when I saw them to 2209 02:03:44,880 --> 02:03:48,000 Speaker 3: help with their bags and ask about their journey from 2210 02:03:48,080 --> 02:03:50,960 Speaker 3: there they formed two lines, one for men and one 2211 02:03:51,000 --> 02:03:53,320 Speaker 3: for women and children. They have their bag search and 2212 02:03:53,320 --> 02:03:56,360 Speaker 3: their passport checked. They've given a welcome kit for the 2213 02:03:56,440 --> 02:04:00,520 Speaker 3: Red Cross with some basic necessities toilet paper, two to brush, 2214 02:04:00,800 --> 02:04:04,280 Speaker 3: some soap, stuff like that, or some of them get 2215 02:04:04,320 --> 02:04:06,840 Speaker 3: a kid. When the kids ran out, it was long 2216 02:04:06,920 --> 02:04:09,080 Speaker 3: before the line of people did. By the time the 2217 02:04:09,160 --> 02:04:11,400 Speaker 3: men were finished, they were given little more than a 2218 02:04:11,440 --> 02:04:14,200 Speaker 3: shrug and good wishes by the Red Cross volunteers and 2219 02:04:14,280 --> 02:04:16,720 Speaker 3: allowed to head off into the camp. Within the camp, 2220 02:04:17,040 --> 02:04:19,000 Speaker 3: there are a few rows of small casitas that are 2221 02:04:19,000 --> 02:04:22,680 Speaker 3: allocated to u accompany children and families. They're a little 2222 02:04:22,720 --> 02:04:24,720 Speaker 3: more than four walls in a roof, but they offer 2223 02:04:24,760 --> 02:04:28,160 Speaker 3: a bit of privacy for most migrants, though there isn't 2224 02:04:28,200 --> 02:04:30,200 Speaker 3: space and they have to search for a spot of 2225 02:04:30,240 --> 02:04:32,400 Speaker 3: empty ground in the crowded camp where they can pitch 2226 02:04:32,480 --> 02:04:35,240 Speaker 3: the same tents they bought a necko cley. The Wi 2227 02:04:35,320 --> 02:04:37,960 Speaker 3: Fi which a Red Cross usually provides, wasn't working when 2228 02:04:38,000 --> 02:04:39,920 Speaker 3: I arrived, so I had to let people hot spot 2229 02:04:39,920 --> 02:04:42,600 Speaker 3: off my phone all day. At least the promised food 2230 02:04:42,720 --> 02:04:44,880 Speaker 3: really was free, but the migrants told me it was 2231 02:04:44,920 --> 02:04:47,760 Speaker 3: far from good. Still, this is supposed to be a 2232 02:04:47,840 --> 02:04:51,840 Speaker 3: temporary camp. People register here, get any medical attention they need, 2233 02:04:52,240 --> 02:04:55,680 Speaker 3: and then move forward to Costa Rica. That's the theory anyway. 2234 02:04:56,520 --> 02:04:58,320 Speaker 3: In practice, if you can't get the sixty bucks, you 2235 02:04:58,400 --> 02:05:00,600 Speaker 3: need to move forward, or so one stole it for 2236 02:05:00,680 --> 02:05:02,920 Speaker 3: me in the jungle, or you are forced to walk 2237 02:05:02,960 --> 02:05:04,840 Speaker 3: to the camp because you didn't have twenty five bucks 2238 02:05:04,880 --> 02:05:11,320 Speaker 3: for the boat and then someone rubbed you. Then you're stucks. 2239 02:05:12,200 --> 02:05:14,880 Speaker 18: We have been here a month. You have people who've 2240 02:05:14,920 --> 02:05:18,160 Speaker 18: been here a month and a half. I've been twenty 2241 02:05:18,200 --> 02:05:21,840 Speaker 18: seven days here. Well, I thank god because we have 2242 02:05:22,000 --> 02:05:24,960 Speaker 18: three meals a day. We have water, but it still 2243 02:05:25,080 --> 02:05:28,000 Speaker 18: hurts the girls. The food and water always make me 2244 02:05:28,120 --> 02:05:28,960 Speaker 18: sick with diarrhea. 2245 02:05:29,120 --> 02:05:29,920 Speaker 3: It bothers me. 2246 02:05:30,720 --> 02:05:34,120 Speaker 18: I vomit and the heat is so desperate. But we 2247 02:05:34,240 --> 02:05:36,680 Speaker 18: have to hold on because even though we don't have 2248 02:05:36,760 --> 02:05:39,360 Speaker 18: the resources, like we don't have enough to pay for 2249 02:05:39,440 --> 02:05:42,160 Speaker 18: a ticket, we have to hold on here a little longer. 2250 02:05:42,720 --> 02:05:45,400 Speaker 18: We don't have any family members that can give us support. 2251 02:05:45,480 --> 02:05:49,040 Speaker 3: Either. What's keeping the migrants here is money, or rather 2252 02:05:49,080 --> 02:05:51,440 Speaker 3: a lack of it. It They need sixty bucks to leave. 2253 02:05:52,280 --> 02:05:55,280 Speaker 3: Buses used to take five free passengers per bus, but 2254 02:05:55,520 --> 02:05:58,839 Speaker 3: under Panama's new regime, it seems like they don't. Instead, 2255 02:05:59,080 --> 02:06:01,880 Speaker 3: migrants just graduate mass in growing number of tents that 2256 02:06:01,960 --> 02:06:05,200 Speaker 3: populate the grassy areas of Las Blankets. They might try 2257 02:06:05,240 --> 02:06:07,560 Speaker 3: and do some informal work. I saw one guy who 2258 02:06:07,640 --> 02:06:10,280 Speaker 3: was cutting hair for a dollar time, but I couldn't 2259 02:06:10,320 --> 02:06:13,120 Speaker 3: really get a satisfactory response to what they're expected to do. 2260 02:06:13,280 --> 02:06:15,640 Speaker 3: If they don't have the money and can't get someone 2261 02:06:15,680 --> 02:06:17,720 Speaker 3: to send us seventy five dollars, they'd need to cover 2262 02:06:17,800 --> 02:06:19,920 Speaker 3: their travel costs and the twenty five percent transfer. 2263 02:06:20,000 --> 02:06:24,840 Speaker 18: Feel if you're short ten dollars, they don't put you 2264 02:06:24,960 --> 02:06:28,480 Speaker 18: on the bus or anything. So things are terrible here. 2265 02:06:29,200 --> 02:06:31,600 Speaker 18: There should at least be support for migrants who at 2266 02:06:31,680 --> 02:06:35,480 Speaker 18: least come with few resources. They don't have money or anything. 2267 02:06:36,040 --> 02:06:37,920 Speaker 18: They can search your bag so they can see that 2268 02:06:38,000 --> 02:06:41,800 Speaker 18: you're not lying that you don't have money. Because nobody 2269 02:06:41,920 --> 02:06:44,760 Speaker 18: wants to be stuck here, you have to move forward, 2270 02:06:44,800 --> 02:06:48,040 Speaker 18: because nobody wants to be stuck here in Panama. The 2271 02:06:48,160 --> 02:06:51,720 Speaker 18: idea is to move forward to get further ahead. We 2272 02:06:51,840 --> 02:06:54,320 Speaker 18: brought our children to look for a future, not to 2273 02:06:54,400 --> 02:06:57,200 Speaker 18: be locked up here in Panama. As if we've been 2274 02:06:57,280 --> 02:06:57,839 Speaker 18: in prisoned. 2275 02:06:58,720 --> 02:07:01,200 Speaker 3: The group even tried to leave on foot, hoping to 2276 02:07:01,280 --> 02:07:03,480 Speaker 3: begin walking north. And so it's for better future and 2277 02:07:03,560 --> 02:07:05,920 Speaker 3: a way to make money on their way. But they 2278 02:07:05,960 --> 02:07:08,480 Speaker 3: were caught, they say, and returned to the campra. 2279 02:07:11,640 --> 02:07:12,720 Speaker 10: And they beat me hard. 2280 02:07:13,280 --> 02:07:15,440 Speaker 18: I gave myself up because they had caught her, a 2281 02:07:15,520 --> 02:07:20,240 Speaker 18: grandmother with my other daughter. I returned myself voluntarily, and 2282 02:07:20,520 --> 02:07:23,640 Speaker 18: they beat me up anyway. And from there we've lost 2283 02:07:23,720 --> 02:07:25,200 Speaker 18: the desire to walk back there. 2284 02:07:25,760 --> 02:07:26,320 Speaker 3: What can we do? 2285 02:07:27,720 --> 02:07:28,040 Speaker 10: Rights? 2286 02:07:28,560 --> 02:07:29,600 Speaker 3: They don't care about them. 2287 02:07:30,240 --> 02:07:33,120 Speaker 18: We are human beings, but we don't have rights here 2288 02:07:33,200 --> 02:07:35,000 Speaker 18: in Panama, they. 2289 02:07:34,920 --> 02:07:37,000 Speaker 3: Do have the money. Margarets could take a bus to 2290 02:07:37,040 --> 02:07:40,120 Speaker 3: the Costa Rican border. When the buses first arrived, I 2291 02:07:40,200 --> 02:07:42,680 Speaker 3: tried to describe the scene as migrants rushed to buy food, 2292 02:07:42,760 --> 02:07:44,960 Speaker 3: not only for this journey, but also for their journey 2293 02:07:45,000 --> 02:07:47,600 Speaker 3: through Costa Rica, where food and other basics are much 2294 02:07:47,640 --> 02:07:50,920 Speaker 3: more expensive. I'm here in Lahablancas when the first buses 2295 02:07:50,960 --> 02:07:54,800 Speaker 3: have arrived. It's about noon. The first bus is going 2296 02:07:54,840 --> 02:07:56,560 Speaker 3: to be full of people who had been waiting in 2297 02:07:56,640 --> 02:07:59,280 Speaker 3: line for hours already, so they're kind of lining up 2298 02:07:59,320 --> 02:08:02,920 Speaker 3: by the bus. And then the next bus is people 2299 02:08:02,920 --> 02:08:04,760 Speaker 3: seem to be kind of rushing to get to them. 2300 02:08:05,040 --> 02:08:06,840 Speaker 3: They're rushing to my food. I could see the sky 2301 02:08:07,000 --> 02:08:09,680 Speaker 3: has like an entire carrier bag full of pink wave 2302 02:08:09,760 --> 02:08:13,760 Speaker 3: for biscuits and coke bottles. That that's going to be 2303 02:08:13,840 --> 02:08:17,000 Speaker 3: his food for the next eleven hours. I guess other 2304 02:08:17,040 --> 02:08:19,400 Speaker 3: guys to see with bags of bread, rolls and stuff, 2305 02:08:19,520 --> 02:08:22,160 Speaker 3: and they're the first people are getting on the bus. Now, 2306 02:08:23,800 --> 02:08:27,200 Speaker 3: these buses aren't entirely safe. In twenty twenty three, forty 2307 02:08:27,280 --> 02:08:31,000 Speaker 3: two people died in a bus crash. This year, seventeen 2308 02:08:31,040 --> 02:08:34,360 Speaker 3: were intured in a crash in August. Now, migration offices 2309 02:08:34,440 --> 02:08:36,200 Speaker 3: ride in each bus with the migrants to check on 2310 02:08:36,280 --> 02:08:38,960 Speaker 3: safety protocols and make sure they don't get off anywhere 2311 02:08:39,000 --> 02:08:42,040 Speaker 3: else in the country, just like everywhere else on their journey. 2312 02:08:42,400 --> 02:08:45,960 Speaker 3: People make money off the migrants in last blankets. A 2313 02:08:46,040 --> 02:08:48,879 Speaker 3: bus costs sixty dollars ahead and has fifty five passages 2314 02:08:49,400 --> 02:08:52,120 Speaker 3: three three hundred dollars a bus. More than a dozen 2315 02:08:52,160 --> 02:08:55,320 Speaker 3: buses leave every day. They even half of the thousand 2316 02:08:55,440 --> 02:08:57,760 Speaker 3: or so people who arrived us a transfer service to 2317 02:08:57,800 --> 02:09:01,280 Speaker 3: get their bus fare. That's five hundred dollars in transfer 2318 02:09:01,360 --> 02:09:04,160 Speaker 3: fees alone. Of course, not everyone in the community is 2319 02:09:04,160 --> 02:09:07,160 Speaker 3: making thousands of dollars off the migrants. I interviewed local 2320 02:09:07,200 --> 02:09:09,960 Speaker 3: shopkeeper who still sits just outside the camp gates, and 2321 02:09:10,040 --> 02:09:12,800 Speaker 3: I asked him to explain his stock, which included the 2322 02:09:12,840 --> 02:09:15,880 Speaker 3: oddly popular I backed the blue thin blue Lion T shirt. 2323 02:09:15,960 --> 02:09:18,080 Speaker 3: So I've seen several people across the daddy and gap it. 2324 02:09:25,640 --> 02:09:27,560 Speaker 12: Okaymo only fucking money. 2325 02:09:30,800 --> 02:09:32,600 Speaker 3: I asked him what was the most common shopping list 2326 02:09:32,680 --> 02:09:33,640 Speaker 3: for migrants. 2327 02:09:33,320 --> 02:09:36,680 Speaker 12: See Gussie Man. 2328 02:09:36,880 --> 02:09:39,480 Speaker 10: Yes, almost all of them coming by sets for ten, fifteen, 2329 02:09:39,640 --> 02:09:42,960 Speaker 10: twenty dollars. It depends. There are many who don't have them. 2330 02:09:43,160 --> 02:09:45,720 Speaker 10: I have children sets for five dollars. I have sets 2331 02:09:45,760 --> 02:09:48,520 Speaker 10: for five dollars that are pants and sweaters, which is 2332 02:09:48,600 --> 02:09:50,920 Speaker 10: what they're looking for the most those that are socks 2333 02:09:50,960 --> 02:09:54,640 Speaker 10: without underwear. Backpacks for fifteen dollars because the backpack is 2334 02:09:54,720 --> 02:09:56,560 Speaker 10: so worn out and they need it so much that 2335 02:09:56,680 --> 02:10:00,280 Speaker 10: it carries their belongings. Look, it's not really ever who 2336 02:10:00,280 --> 02:10:02,440 Speaker 10: can buy. There are certain people who buy, of course, 2337 02:10:02,680 --> 02:10:04,960 Speaker 10: if everyone bought, but there are very few who can 2338 02:10:05,040 --> 02:10:08,920 Speaker 10: buy something to leave here. Almost seventy percent leave dirty 2339 02:10:09,000 --> 02:10:11,600 Speaker 10: because they don't have anywhere to get money, and the 2340 02:10:11,680 --> 02:10:14,160 Speaker 10: little they can get often comes from selling their phones, 2341 02:10:14,240 --> 02:10:16,640 Speaker 10: their watch, a cap, or their sneakers to be able 2342 02:10:16,640 --> 02:10:18,880 Speaker 10: to get money to pay for their fare to keep going. 2343 02:10:20,200 --> 02:10:22,640 Speaker 3: I asked him how the migration had impacted the community 2344 02:10:23,080 --> 02:10:25,200 Speaker 3: with people making a lot of money, I asked, were 2345 02:10:25,200 --> 02:10:27,240 Speaker 3: they mad about the trash and the pollution of the river. 2346 02:10:27,880 --> 02:10:30,440 Speaker 3: These are legitimate concerns, even if they're used in bad 2347 02:10:30,480 --> 02:10:31,560 Speaker 3: faith against the migrants. 2348 02:10:31,640 --> 02:10:32,640 Speaker 9: Now it's a more effect. 2349 02:10:32,680 --> 02:10:36,720 Speaker 10: Though nobody is perfect, but I can tell you one thing. Honestly, 2350 02:10:36,920 --> 02:10:38,960 Speaker 10: the migrants suffer a lot to be able to carry 2351 02:10:38,960 --> 02:10:41,480 Speaker 10: out this journey. And there are many times when I've 2352 02:10:41,520 --> 02:10:43,640 Speaker 10: even had to give them clothes, some because they don't 2353 02:10:43,640 --> 02:10:45,720 Speaker 10: have any. And well, when a father and family with 2354 02:10:45,880 --> 02:10:48,839 Speaker 10: children comes, what can I say, Look, I have a family. 2355 02:10:49,080 --> 02:10:49,680 Speaker 1: I have to do this. 2356 02:10:49,920 --> 02:10:50,120 Speaker 9: Yeah. 2357 02:10:51,240 --> 02:10:53,240 Speaker 3: I asked him what he felt the solution was to 2358 02:10:53,320 --> 02:10:56,640 Speaker 3: the suffering here, the damage done both to people and planet. 2359 02:10:57,360 --> 02:11:02,280 Speaker 10: Hekay, I say that oppressing people so that they don't 2360 02:11:02,280 --> 02:11:04,720 Speaker 10: go through the dairy and it's not the solution because 2361 02:11:04,760 --> 02:11:06,400 Speaker 10: if you put it to the point, even if they 2362 02:11:06,440 --> 02:11:09,240 Speaker 10: don't know an exact percentage, the immigrant gives the economy 2363 02:11:09,240 --> 02:11:12,720 Speaker 10: of the United States a balance because the people born 2364 02:11:12,800 --> 02:11:16,160 Speaker 10: there not to criticize them. People born there want a 2365 02:11:16,160 --> 02:11:19,240 Speaker 10: stable job, and he doesn't want to feel like he's very, 2366 02:11:19,360 --> 02:11:22,760 Speaker 10: very low. However, the immigrant is there and he's picking fruit, 2367 02:11:22,960 --> 02:11:25,200 Speaker 10: going to the fruit trees, going to the vegetable fields, 2368 02:11:25,360 --> 02:11:28,000 Speaker 10: going to the garbage dumps, going picking up things that 2369 02:11:28,120 --> 02:11:32,080 Speaker 10: many Americans who live there don't do, of course, and 2370 02:11:32,200 --> 02:11:33,880 Speaker 10: so they need them to say that they don't go. 2371 02:11:34,200 --> 02:11:36,120 Speaker 10: They need the support of the immigrant people to have 2372 02:11:36,240 --> 02:11:37,720 Speaker 10: the balance that they have today. 2373 02:11:41,120 --> 02:11:43,520 Speaker 3: Like a lot of Panamanians I met, he was broadly 2374 02:11:43,600 --> 02:11:46,480 Speaker 3: in solidarity with the migrants. I didn't really encounter anti 2375 02:11:46,520 --> 02:11:49,120 Speaker 3: migrants sentiment atall in my time at Panama. In the 2376 02:11:49,200 --> 02:11:52,200 Speaker 3: capital city, which locals just called Panama but we can 2377 02:11:52,280 --> 02:11:56,560 Speaker 3: call Panama City, migrants are not really physically present, nor 2378 02:11:56,600 --> 02:12:00,120 Speaker 3: are they present in conversation. I found the transition the 2379 02:12:00,240 --> 02:12:03,120 Speaker 3: jungle and the refugee camps back to the bustling city 2380 02:12:03,160 --> 02:12:06,560 Speaker 3: pretty challenging a lot of ways. I find I'm oddly 2381 02:12:06,600 --> 02:12:08,960 Speaker 3: comfortable amidst the chale and trauma of a refugee camp. 2382 02:12:09,800 --> 02:12:11,640 Speaker 3: It's a familiar environment for me, and I know how 2383 02:12:11,640 --> 02:12:14,600 Speaker 3: to conduct myself. I feel safe with the migrants, and 2384 02:12:14,680 --> 02:12:16,920 Speaker 3: I tend to find them very open and welcoming to me. 2385 02:12:17,800 --> 02:12:19,920 Speaker 3: I can talk to anyone and they can talk to me. 2386 02:12:20,560 --> 02:12:23,040 Speaker 3: I bring toys for children and try to bring resources 2387 02:12:23,080 --> 02:12:25,040 Speaker 3: for adults, and sometimes I bring my harmonica if I 2388 02:12:25,120 --> 02:12:28,560 Speaker 3: being really cliche in a weird way. Refue camps are 2389 02:12:28,600 --> 02:12:30,920 Speaker 3: a little safe space for me, and even though I 2390 02:12:31,000 --> 02:12:33,640 Speaker 3: know it's bad, I can console myself that I'm helping 2391 02:12:33,680 --> 02:12:36,120 Speaker 3: a little or at least giving people some hope and 2392 02:12:36,240 --> 02:12:39,560 Speaker 3: some information. That made me feel a bit better. But 2393 02:12:39,680 --> 02:12:41,720 Speaker 3: in the city I found it hard, knowing that people 2394 02:12:41,760 --> 02:12:44,440 Speaker 3: were in a terrible situation and that nobody here seemed 2395 02:12:44,480 --> 02:12:46,840 Speaker 3: to care. I went for a run in the jungle 2396 02:12:46,880 --> 02:12:49,240 Speaker 3: near the city, trying to get some perspective and clear 2397 02:12:49,320 --> 02:12:52,080 Speaker 3: my head, but I just ended up screaming and the 2398 02:12:52,160 --> 02:12:55,080 Speaker 3: inconsiderate driver I was angry at them for nearly hitting me. 2399 02:12:55,240 --> 02:12:57,720 Speaker 3: That I was just angry at everyone all over the 2400 02:12:57,920 --> 02:13:00,640 Speaker 3: US and even here in Panama City, for their indifference. 2401 02:13:00,680 --> 02:13:58,000 Speaker 3: It's so much human suffering, the lack of concern about 2402 02:13:58,040 --> 02:14:00,560 Speaker 3: migrants in Panama City. What is so next? At last, 2403 02:14:00,600 --> 02:14:04,920 Speaker 3: blancs even more surprising an announcement of the loudspeakers called 2404 02:14:05,000 --> 02:14:08,560 Speaker 3: several Colombian passport holders to the migration office. At first, 2405 02:14:08,640 --> 02:14:10,000 Speaker 3: it seemed like they were just going to a little 2406 02:14:10,000 --> 02:14:12,120 Speaker 3: wooden shed with a couple of CENA Front officers in 2407 02:14:12,200 --> 02:14:16,560 Speaker 3: it to return their documents. I'd already noticed that some migrants, 2408 02:14:16,720 --> 02:14:19,760 Speaker 3: and seemingly most of the African migrants, were being called 2409 02:14:19,760 --> 02:14:23,000 Speaker 3: to a different shed to do biometric scans. I wondered 2410 02:14:23,000 --> 02:14:25,919 Speaker 3: if this was part of the same process. But shortly thereafter, 2411 02:14:26,520 --> 02:14:28,800 Speaker 3: a truck rolled up and several of the Colombians were 2412 02:14:28,840 --> 02:14:32,600 Speaker 3: loaded in. Apparently neither they nor their partners knew what 2413 02:14:32,760 --> 02:14:35,200 Speaker 3: was going on. They're taking some of the Columbian guys 2414 02:14:35,240 --> 02:14:36,840 Speaker 3: away to report them. You can hear a little kid 2415 02:14:36,920 --> 02:14:55,840 Speaker 3: crying for his dad. Okay this, then they've taken his 2416 02:14:56,000 --> 02:15:00,640 Speaker 3: brother and his brother's wife, taken some other his husband, 2417 02:15:02,400 --> 02:15:05,400 Speaker 3: some of the little kid's dads and making them sit 2418 02:15:05,480 --> 02:15:12,960 Speaker 3: on the floor. I don't know why. Yeah, I don't 2419 02:15:12,960 --> 02:15:13,520 Speaker 3: know what they're. 2420 02:15:13,360 --> 02:15:13,640 Speaker 4: Going to do. 2421 02:15:13,760 --> 02:15:22,000 Speaker 3: Now she's trying to give her husband the money and 2422 02:15:22,080 --> 02:15:28,000 Speaker 3: a SIM card so he can call her. Are you 2423 02:15:28,080 --> 02:15:30,200 Speaker 3: going to go get some more food? Other morgents approached 2424 02:15:30,200 --> 02:15:32,800 Speaker 3: me to us if I knew, which I didn't. But 2425 02:15:32,920 --> 02:15:34,560 Speaker 3: one lady who'd been there for weeks. Told me that 2426 02:15:34,600 --> 02:15:37,160 Speaker 3: people who leave this way never come back and they 2427 02:15:37,240 --> 02:15:41,800 Speaker 3: end up being deported, so we assume that's what's happening here. Yeah, 2428 02:15:41,840 --> 02:15:45,680 Speaker 3: this really sucks. Now they're taking the deportation bus. There's 2429 02:15:45,920 --> 02:15:49,480 Speaker 3: men crying because their wives are on their women crying, 2430 02:15:49,640 --> 02:15:52,440 Speaker 3: their husbands are on their kids are crying because their 2431 02:15:52,480 --> 02:15:56,440 Speaker 3: parents are on there, and they've just done this crossing 2432 02:15:56,480 --> 02:16:00,320 Speaker 3: and now they're going to send them back. By the 2433 02:16:00,360 --> 02:16:02,080 Speaker 3: time I got back to the city, I was getting 2434 02:16:02,120 --> 02:16:05,240 Speaker 3: texts from migrants with photos of them and handcuffs. More 2435 02:16:05,280 --> 02:16:07,960 Speaker 3: and more of them were being deported, particularly the Colombians. 2436 02:16:08,760 --> 02:16:11,440 Speaker 3: One of them, texting me after being returned to Columbia 2437 02:16:11,520 --> 02:16:14,240 Speaker 3: on a flight, gave the following account of detention. 2438 02:16:15,040 --> 02:16:18,880 Speaker 2: They treated us very badly, verbally and psychologically. We all 2439 02:16:18,960 --> 02:16:21,080 Speaker 2: had to do our business in the same cell, and 2440 02:16:21,160 --> 02:16:23,320 Speaker 2: they threw food on the floor for us to eat 2441 02:16:23,360 --> 02:16:26,040 Speaker 2: as we were all in handcuffs. They told us that 2442 02:16:26,120 --> 02:16:29,040 Speaker 2: of Venezuelan had burned down the migrant detention center in 2443 02:16:29,120 --> 02:16:31,680 Speaker 2: San Vincente and that we would all pay for it, 2444 02:16:31,960 --> 02:16:34,279 Speaker 2: and that the Colombians didn't need to leave the country 2445 02:16:34,360 --> 02:16:36,640 Speaker 2: because the president there said it was doing well, and 2446 02:16:36,720 --> 02:16:39,280 Speaker 2: there's plenty of work. None of that is true. 2447 02:16:40,320 --> 02:16:43,440 Speaker 3: The Mican facility in Sambacinity was burned out, and the 2448 02:16:43,480 --> 02:16:45,840 Speaker 3: people working there told me it was a Venezuelan migrant 2449 02:16:45,879 --> 02:16:48,280 Speaker 3: who did that. But none of that excuses any of this. 2450 02:16:49,080 --> 02:16:51,600 Speaker 3: We weren't able to access that facility. As a people 2451 02:16:51,600 --> 02:16:54,440 Speaker 3: who had detained there can't really consent meaningfully to an interview. 2452 02:16:54,959 --> 02:16:58,160 Speaker 3: That's a fair enough for the action. But the migrant 2453 02:16:58,200 --> 02:17:01,520 Speaker 3: who was deported also alleged that they received no hearings 2454 02:17:01,600 --> 02:17:04,240 Speaker 3: or a chance to appeal their deportation. Instead, they were 2455 02:17:04,280 --> 02:17:07,800 Speaker 3: detained for eight days, spent their last US dollars, and 2456 02:17:07,840 --> 02:17:10,400 Speaker 3: were then kicked out of the country. They were not 2457 02:17:10,520 --> 02:17:13,520 Speaker 3: detained or arrested upon reaching Columbia, which makes it a 2458 02:17:13,520 --> 02:17:15,880 Speaker 3: little more difficult for me to believe the claim that 2459 02:17:16,040 --> 02:17:18,960 Speaker 3: only people without standing warrants in Columbia were being deported. 2460 02:17:19,520 --> 02:17:22,680 Speaker 3: These weren't the only allegations of mistreatment I heard. Magrants 2461 02:17:22,720 --> 02:17:24,520 Speaker 3: came to me and whispered about the abuse of black 2462 02:17:24,600 --> 02:17:26,960 Speaker 3: migrants who were forced to walk to Lahas Blancos because 2463 02:17:26,959 --> 02:17:29,480 Speaker 3: they couldn't afford the boat ride. I should note that 2464 02:17:29,520 --> 02:17:31,640 Speaker 3: it wasn't the migrants who had been robbed or abuse 2465 02:17:31,680 --> 02:17:34,480 Speaker 3: that came to me. It was other migrants. It was 2466 02:17:34,520 --> 02:17:36,160 Speaker 3: a group of guys had given a water filter too. 2467 02:17:36,200 --> 02:17:38,640 Speaker 3: While they were leaving to walk from Lahas Blancas, I 2468 02:17:38,720 --> 02:17:41,840 Speaker 3: hadn't been able to join them, but when they got there, 2469 02:17:42,120 --> 02:17:44,440 Speaker 3: we ran into each other again, and they came up 2470 02:17:44,480 --> 02:17:46,680 Speaker 3: to me to share their concerns for the black men 2471 02:17:46,720 --> 02:17:49,760 Speaker 3: who had walked with them. In one instance, one migrant 2472 02:17:49,879 --> 02:17:51,960 Speaker 3: told me he was robbed by what he called quote 2473 02:17:52,120 --> 02:17:55,920 Speaker 3: police dressed as thieves. The deportations, which seemed to be 2474 02:17:55,959 --> 02:17:59,720 Speaker 3: increasingly commonplace, are being funded by US taxpayer dollars. The 2475 02:17:59,800 --> 02:18:03,120 Speaker 3: same day that Molino took office in July, Homeland Security 2476 02:18:03,240 --> 02:18:07,960 Speaker 3: Secretary Alejandro Majorcas, himself the child of migrants, visited Panama. 2477 02:18:08,640 --> 02:18:11,080 Speaker 3: Panama's a relatively young country and one which the US 2478 02:18:11,160 --> 02:18:13,640 Speaker 3: occupied part of for much of the last century, but 2479 02:18:13,840 --> 02:18:17,640 Speaker 3: despite a real struggle for independence, the Panamanian government didn't 2480 02:18:17,640 --> 02:18:20,480 Speaker 3: seem concerned that the U. S. Secretary of Homeland Security 2481 02:18:20,680 --> 02:18:23,240 Speaker 3: was present at the inauguration of a president in a 2482 02:18:23,280 --> 02:18:26,200 Speaker 3: country that is decidedly not the U. S. Homeland. The 2483 02:18:26,280 --> 02:18:29,480 Speaker 3: official DHS readout of his trip notes that the US 2484 02:18:29,560 --> 02:18:32,560 Speaker 3: has enjoyed a flourishing strategic relationship with Panama for over 2485 02:18:32,640 --> 02:18:35,320 Speaker 3: one hundred years, which is certainly one way to sell 2486 02:18:35,400 --> 02:18:38,160 Speaker 3: up decades of occupation, violence, and profit from the Panama 2487 02:18:38,280 --> 02:18:41,000 Speaker 3: Canal and one of the more brutal dictatorships in the 2488 02:18:41,040 --> 02:18:44,160 Speaker 3: long list of authoritarian regimes that the US preferred to 2489 02:18:44,200 --> 02:18:47,520 Speaker 3: communist or even socialist governments in the Western Hemisphere. They 2490 02:18:47,560 --> 02:18:50,360 Speaker 3: also announced that the US government would quote help the 2491 02:18:50,400 --> 02:18:53,240 Speaker 3: Panamanian government to remove foreign nationals who do not have 2492 02:18:53,360 --> 02:18:56,880 Speaker 3: a legal basis to remain in Panama. Obviously act to 2493 02:18:57,000 --> 02:18:59,120 Speaker 3: take this moment to note that under the United Nations, 2494 02:18:59,200 --> 02:19:01,959 Speaker 3: refugee can vente and refugees do have a legal right 2495 02:19:02,080 --> 02:19:04,360 Speaker 3: to travel through a country on route to another. His 2496 02:19:04,600 --> 02:19:05,800 Speaker 3: Erica describing that right. 2497 02:19:06,080 --> 02:19:09,119 Speaker 16: The refuge you can mention is complex that does afford 2498 02:19:09,440 --> 02:19:11,280 Speaker 16: a lot of rights to people who have fled their 2499 02:19:11,320 --> 02:19:14,560 Speaker 16: countries based on persecution. You know, you're supposed to be 2500 02:19:14,600 --> 02:19:16,840 Speaker 16: able to pass through whichever country you want, go to, 2501 02:19:16,959 --> 02:19:20,760 Speaker 16: whichever country you want, not be criminally prosecuted for crossing 2502 02:19:20,800 --> 02:19:23,040 Speaker 16: the border between ports of entry, and not be turned 2503 02:19:23,120 --> 02:19:24,760 Speaker 16: back to a country where you face harm. 2504 02:19:25,360 --> 02:19:28,000 Speaker 3: The US allocated six million dollars for a six month 2505 02:19:28,080 --> 02:19:32,480 Speaker 3: pilot program of repatriations. If the program meets the USA's goals, 2506 02:19:32,680 --> 02:19:34,960 Speaker 3: they might consider expanding it to other countries along the 2507 02:19:35,040 --> 02:19:39,400 Speaker 3: migrant route. According to reporting in Enruters, as of early October, 2508 02:19:39,520 --> 02:19:42,520 Speaker 3: they've deported five hundred and thirty people to Colombia. That's 2509 02:19:42,560 --> 02:19:44,600 Speaker 3: half the people I saw arriving in a single day 2510 02:19:44,640 --> 02:19:49,320 Speaker 3: in Bahjojigito. Because Panama's government and Venezuela's government have ceased 2511 02:19:49,360 --> 02:19:53,000 Speaker 3: relations after the election, Panamara is now struggling to deport 2512 02:19:53,080 --> 02:19:55,840 Speaker 3: Venezuelan's back to Venezuela, and it's actively searching for a 2513 02:19:55,959 --> 02:19:58,960 Speaker 3: third country into which to deport them. But even if 2514 02:19:59,000 --> 02:20:02,080 Speaker 3: the program resulted one planeloaded day, which it hasn't yet, 2515 02:20:02,360 --> 02:20:04,200 Speaker 3: that would be roughly ten percent of the total dadly 2516 02:20:04,280 --> 02:20:07,760 Speaker 3: in traffic and far fewer planes are traveling. What it 2517 02:20:07,840 --> 02:20:11,280 Speaker 3: will do, like so many other DHS policies, is play 2518 02:20:11,280 --> 02:20:14,560 Speaker 3: into the hands of smugglers. Already, new ocean roots are 2519 02:20:14,600 --> 02:20:17,440 Speaker 3: being used, which see migrants, many of whom cannot swim, 2520 02:20:17,560 --> 02:20:20,960 Speaker 3: taking lung journeys around Panama on ill equipped boats. This 2521 02:20:21,080 --> 02:20:24,440 Speaker 3: doesn't help anyone apart from the DHS contractors and staff, 2522 02:20:24,480 --> 02:20:28,320 Speaker 3: equipping and training Panamanian personnel, and the human traffickers making 2523 02:20:28,400 --> 02:20:31,520 Speaker 3: more and more money from migration. I also shopkeeper his 2524 02:20:31,640 --> 02:20:32,240 Speaker 3: opinion on this. 2525 02:20:34,280 --> 02:20:38,360 Speaker 9: To look. 2526 02:20:38,360 --> 02:20:40,120 Speaker 10: I'll tell you I think that instead of giving them 2527 02:20:40,200 --> 02:20:43,360 Speaker 10: a reward for deportation, they should give them support, a 2528 02:20:43,440 --> 02:20:46,400 Speaker 10: lot of support, because it is a huge sacrifice to 2529 02:20:46,480 --> 02:20:49,320 Speaker 10: leave your country where you were born, your children, your family, 2530 02:20:50,000 --> 02:20:52,040 Speaker 10: leave it to be able to have a future, and 2531 02:20:52,160 --> 02:20:54,160 Speaker 10: you go with your mentality that your future is the 2532 02:20:54,280 --> 02:20:57,119 Speaker 10: United States that will give you an opportunity to get 2533 02:20:57,120 --> 02:21:01,440 Speaker 10: ahead and give well being to your children. Now, ten 2534 02:21:01,480 --> 02:21:03,440 Speaker 10: percent of those who go are going to destroy the 2535 02:21:03,480 --> 02:21:06,280 Speaker 10: good name of the migrants, But what people really want 2536 02:21:06,360 --> 02:21:10,920 Speaker 10: to do is help their family, and this balance unbalances 2537 02:21:11,080 --> 02:21:13,280 Speaker 10: everything that is being done by good people, because there 2538 02:21:13,320 --> 02:21:16,400 Speaker 10: are many good people who want to get ahead, and 2539 02:21:16,520 --> 02:21:19,600 Speaker 10: I think that the United States should support give support 2540 02:21:19,680 --> 02:21:21,720 Speaker 10: to people who really want to fight and move forward. 2541 02:21:21,800 --> 02:21:24,480 Speaker 10: As I just told you, they give a lot of 2542 02:21:24,520 --> 02:21:26,400 Speaker 10: benefit they contribute to the country. 2543 02:21:49,560 --> 02:22:01,520 Speaker 3: After leaving last blank, I felt pretty down about the 2544 02:22:01,560 --> 02:22:03,240 Speaker 3: fact that people were just hitting a wall that they 2545 02:22:03,280 --> 02:22:06,480 Speaker 3: couldn't overcome. Since then, I've stayed in touch with many 2546 02:22:06,520 --> 02:22:09,080 Speaker 3: of them. For some a friend or family members able 2547 02:22:09,160 --> 02:22:10,880 Speaker 3: to send the money, and they made it to costantly 2548 02:22:11,000 --> 02:22:13,879 Speaker 3: on the bus. From there, they crossed quickly into Nicaragua 2549 02:22:14,120 --> 02:22:16,960 Speaker 3: and Guatemala before arriving in the Mexican border city of 2550 02:22:17,000 --> 02:22:20,200 Speaker 3: Tapatula in the state of Chiapas and ironically not so 2551 02:22:20,440 --> 02:22:23,480 Speaker 3: very far from whether Zapatistas made their revolution thirty years ago. 2552 02:22:24,280 --> 02:22:26,680 Speaker 3: Once they crossed the southern border of Mexico, migrants can 2553 02:22:26,760 --> 02:22:29,680 Speaker 3: begin their application for asylum using the CBP one app 2554 02:22:29,720 --> 02:22:31,720 Speaker 3: that we've talked about so much on the show before. 2555 02:22:32,440 --> 02:22:34,760 Speaker 3: They can use it in Tabasco and Chiapas, the southern 2556 02:22:34,800 --> 02:22:37,400 Speaker 3: border states, and then once again when they're north of 2557 02:22:37,480 --> 02:22:40,840 Speaker 3: Mexico City. To recap very briefly, the app is terrible 2558 02:22:40,879 --> 02:22:44,240 Speaker 3: and almost every way, including its inability to recognize blackfaces. 2559 02:22:44,480 --> 02:22:47,280 Speaker 3: It's limited functionality on Android phones, which are a vast 2560 02:22:47,360 --> 02:22:50,840 Speaker 3: majority of devices used by migrants, It's constant crashing, and 2561 02:22:50,879 --> 02:22:53,359 Speaker 3: an eight to nine month wait time for asylum appointments. 2562 02:22:53,920 --> 02:22:55,880 Speaker 3: His Erica explaining some of those problems. 2563 02:22:56,200 --> 02:22:59,840 Speaker 16: You have to have a relatively new smartphone, you have 2564 02:23:00,280 --> 02:23:03,480 Speaker 16: to have an address, all the people you're traveling with 2565 02:23:03,640 --> 02:23:05,840 Speaker 16: have to be with you, right and you have to 2566 02:23:06,200 --> 02:23:10,760 Speaker 16: first get through the initial kind of registration phase. 2567 02:23:10,520 --> 02:23:12,920 Speaker 19: Which doesn't always work. The program is very glitchy. 2568 02:23:13,680 --> 02:23:17,320 Speaker 16: You have to take a live photo and you have 2569 02:23:17,480 --> 02:23:20,160 Speaker 16: to wait essentially, so you know, it's kind of random too. 2570 02:23:20,240 --> 02:23:22,560 Speaker 16: Some people will get an appointment within three months, but 2571 02:23:22,600 --> 02:23:24,760 Speaker 16: I would say most people are waiting nine to twelve. 2572 02:23:25,080 --> 02:23:25,720 Speaker 19: At this point. 2573 02:23:26,200 --> 02:23:28,840 Speaker 16: You don't have any legal status in Mexico while you're waiting, 2574 02:23:28,959 --> 02:23:33,160 Speaker 16: unless you can apply for some other status in Mexico independently. 2575 02:23:34,120 --> 02:23:36,400 Speaker 3: Then it is yet very poorly designed. It's also a 2576 02:23:36,480 --> 02:23:40,039 Speaker 3: de facto a metering system. Want assign Them's Erica explaining. 2577 02:23:39,640 --> 02:23:43,440 Speaker 16: That we've been litigating against the use of CBP one 2578 02:23:43,520 --> 02:23:46,040 Speaker 16: for a few years now. My organization out at the 2579 02:23:46,120 --> 02:23:49,680 Speaker 16: Level and Patient Bridge Alliance, and the reason why we 2580 02:23:50,640 --> 02:23:54,760 Speaker 16: are fighting against the required use of CBP one is 2581 02:23:54,879 --> 02:23:58,840 Speaker 16: first because it is an illegal metering system. So we've 2582 02:23:59,000 --> 02:24:02,520 Speaker 16: already litigated the fact that there is no number limit 2583 02:24:02,640 --> 02:24:05,840 Speaker 16: on the amount of individuals who can seek asylum at 2584 02:24:05,879 --> 02:24:09,080 Speaker 16: the US Mexico border, and Customs and Border Protection legally 2585 02:24:09,200 --> 02:24:11,039 Speaker 16: does not have the right to turn people. 2586 02:24:10,840 --> 02:24:16,040 Speaker 19: Away and CBP one essentially allows them to do that. 2587 02:24:16,240 --> 02:24:19,960 Speaker 16: You know, there were physical meterings at ports of entry 2588 02:24:20,040 --> 02:24:24,440 Speaker 16: before CBP one was implemented as essentially the only way 2589 02:24:24,520 --> 02:24:26,800 Speaker 16: to access the US asylum system at ports of entry, 2590 02:24:27,360 --> 02:24:30,600 Speaker 16: and now it's a digital metering list and it's very limited. 2591 02:24:31,240 --> 02:24:34,000 Speaker 3: Recently, the Department of Homeland Security lost a court case 2592 02:24:34,040 --> 02:24:36,840 Speaker 3: which forced them to release records in there with some 2593 02:24:36,920 --> 02:24:39,840 Speaker 3: of the app plugs and data regarding CBP one. I'm 2594 02:24:39,840 --> 02:24:42,360 Speaker 3: still in the phase of coming through that asking my friends, 2595 02:24:42,400 --> 02:24:44,640 Speaker 3: you know more about technologies than I do, to explain 2596 02:24:44,680 --> 02:24:47,480 Speaker 3: exactly what the limitations with the app are. But it 2597 02:24:47,560 --> 02:24:51,080 Speaker 3: doesn't really matter. DHS is well aware of the app's floors, 2598 02:24:51,240 --> 02:24:53,000 Speaker 3: and it doesn't really seem to see the most flaws 2599 02:24:53,040 --> 02:24:55,119 Speaker 3: at all. The goal of the app is to make 2600 02:24:55,160 --> 02:24:58,720 Speaker 3: it harder for people, even those with very legitimate asylum claims, 2601 02:24:58,800 --> 02:25:02,080 Speaker 3: to obtain asylum in the use. As we heard yesterday, 2602 02:25:02,240 --> 02:25:05,840 Speaker 3: the CHNV program is no better a recently Reddit thread 2603 02:25:05,840 --> 02:25:08,280 Speaker 3: of applicants who've been waiting nearly two years. What it 2604 02:25:08,320 --> 02:25:11,120 Speaker 3: didn't mention yesterday is a parallel program for another group 2605 02:25:11,160 --> 02:25:13,039 Speaker 3: of migrants, which I'll let Erica explain. 2606 02:25:13,320 --> 02:25:16,000 Speaker 19: I want to mention the fact that there is a 2607 02:25:16,080 --> 02:25:16,960 Speaker 19: cap right. 2608 02:25:17,080 --> 02:25:19,520 Speaker 16: I think it's thirty thousand a month or something like 2609 02:25:19,600 --> 02:25:22,920 Speaker 16: that for those four countries. But it's almost identical to 2610 02:25:22,959 --> 02:25:27,640 Speaker 16: the Ukrainian United for a Ukraine program, which doesn't have 2611 02:25:27,720 --> 02:25:30,760 Speaker 16: a cap right, so there's no limit to how many 2612 02:25:30,879 --> 02:25:34,680 Speaker 16: Ukrainians can get the same benefit. And they are renewing 2613 02:25:34,920 --> 02:25:37,760 Speaker 16: the humanitarian prole for Ukrainians, which I believe was just 2614 02:25:37,800 --> 02:25:40,360 Speaker 16: announced almost within weeks of them announcing that they're not 2615 02:25:41,080 --> 02:25:44,920 Speaker 16: renewing for the other four countries. So it's really a 2616 02:25:45,280 --> 02:25:50,840 Speaker 16: very stark demonstration of how the US immigration system, even when. 2617 02:25:50,760 --> 02:25:54,320 Speaker 19: It's a relatively nearer benefit, is based on race, is 2618 02:25:54,400 --> 02:25:56,760 Speaker 19: based on which country you're from. 2619 02:25:57,360 --> 02:25:59,880 Speaker 3: What this means is it in practice the migrants I 2620 02:26:00,040 --> 02:26:02,959 Speaker 3: spoke to face a long and dangerous way in Mexico 2621 02:26:03,640 --> 02:26:06,880 Speaker 3: while others skip ahead. I've got nothing against the Ukrainians, 2622 02:26:06,879 --> 02:26:09,280 Speaker 3: and I don't think many of them do either. I 2623 02:26:09,400 --> 02:26:12,640 Speaker 3: tried to go to Ukraine and report, but the Avisas 2624 02:26:12,680 --> 02:26:14,440 Speaker 3: ended up taking so long that I missed the flights 2625 02:26:14,480 --> 02:26:17,800 Speaker 3: that I'd booked. I have, however, a serious problem with 2626 02:26:17,840 --> 02:26:20,879 Speaker 3: a Biden administration which left people who fought alongside its 2627 02:26:20,920 --> 02:26:24,000 Speaker 3: own US troops to die in Afghanistan and turned away 2628 02:26:24,120 --> 02:26:26,840 Speaker 3: migrants small over the world, but then opened its arms 2629 02:26:26,879 --> 02:26:29,320 Speaker 3: to a country that just happened to have the majority 2630 02:26:29,320 --> 02:26:31,520 Speaker 3: of its citizens be the same race as the president. 2631 02:26:32,120 --> 02:26:35,320 Speaker 3: It's cruel and it's wrong, and it's barely ever even 2632 02:26:35,400 --> 02:26:38,840 Speaker 3: mentioned in national media coverage. But there's not fortunate enough 2633 02:26:38,879 --> 02:26:41,520 Speaker 3: to be Ukrainian. Here's what waiting in Mexico looks like. 2634 02:26:41,920 --> 02:26:47,200 Speaker 16: The incidence of crime directed at migrants is horrifyingly high. 2635 02:26:48,400 --> 02:26:52,160 Speaker 16: We had done an electronic survey a few years ago, 2636 02:26:52,280 --> 02:26:54,880 Speaker 16: and this was during Title forty two, when people were 2637 02:26:54,920 --> 02:26:58,200 Speaker 16: just being expelled to Mexico, and if I remember correctly, 2638 02:26:59,000 --> 02:27:01,400 Speaker 16: it was like around twenty five to thirty percent of 2639 02:27:01,440 --> 02:27:07,280 Speaker 16: people have been either raged, such traffic, assaulted, hidnapped. 2640 02:27:07,360 --> 02:27:08,600 Speaker 19: I mean, the list goes on and on. 2641 02:27:09,480 --> 02:27:12,000 Speaker 16: We've seen a lot of people lose their lives just 2642 02:27:12,120 --> 02:27:15,720 Speaker 16: due to violence, and the kidnapping rates are through the roof. 2643 02:27:16,480 --> 02:27:18,640 Speaker 3: Almost every one you've heard from in this series is 2644 02:27:18,680 --> 02:27:22,520 Speaker 3: now stuck in Mexico. Some of them have been kidnapped, paid, 2645 02:27:22,600 --> 02:27:25,560 Speaker 3: ransomed and released. Some of them have been sexually assaulted, 2646 02:27:26,280 --> 02:27:28,640 Speaker 3: many of them have been robbed. Some of them have 2647 02:27:29,080 --> 02:27:31,560 Speaker 3: after surviving one of the most deadly land migration routes 2648 02:27:31,600 --> 02:27:34,360 Speaker 3: on Earth been killed while waiting in Mexico for an 2649 02:27:34,360 --> 02:27:37,240 Speaker 3: app to stop crashing on their phones. Over a week 2650 02:27:37,280 --> 02:27:39,680 Speaker 3: since I got home, I've seen them go gradually more 2651 02:27:39,760 --> 02:27:42,880 Speaker 3: desperate and afraid just to get to Mexico. Many of 2652 02:27:42,920 --> 02:27:46,320 Speaker 3: them have spent several thousand dollars. Once they're in Capatula, 2653 02:27:46,560 --> 02:27:49,040 Speaker 3: they're faced with the astronomical costs for the trip north, 2654 02:27:49,400 --> 02:27:52,760 Speaker 3: often several thousand dollars more, and many of them, their 2655 02:27:52,800 --> 02:27:56,119 Speaker 3: phones exhausted, have slept on the streets. Those who didn't 2656 02:27:56,120 --> 02:27:59,400 Speaker 3: speak Spanish struggled to find refuge. Those who did wanted 2657 02:27:59,400 --> 02:28:02,200 Speaker 3: to move quickly, but struggle to find the money. Here 2658 02:28:02,200 --> 02:28:04,360 Speaker 3: are the Iranian migrants you heard early in the series, 2659 02:28:04,480 --> 02:28:06,879 Speaker 3: explaining what they'd already heard about CBP one. 2660 02:28:07,280 --> 02:28:11,160 Speaker 9: It's so tough because the some polices in their way, 2661 02:28:11,480 --> 02:28:17,560 Speaker 9: they took our money that we came from Iran. It 2662 02:28:17,760 --> 02:28:23,000 Speaker 9: was so difficult for us and resumed the way. So Mexico, 2663 02:28:23,400 --> 02:28:27,880 Speaker 9: Mexico is so difficult for us, and something is CPP 2664 02:28:28,160 --> 02:28:34,920 Speaker 9: one is not working for our for us, for Iranian people, yeah, 2665 02:28:35,120 --> 02:28:38,480 Speaker 9: I know the people who are in Mexico City for 2666 02:28:38,640 --> 02:28:44,640 Speaker 9: about three months, for three months, yeah, yeah, because of that, 2667 02:28:45,400 --> 02:28:46,600 Speaker 9: Iranian people go to. 2668 02:28:46,680 --> 02:28:47,360 Speaker 8: The wall and. 2669 02:28:49,680 --> 02:28:53,480 Speaker 9: It's it's it's not our choice, we have to do this. 2670 02:28:54,480 --> 02:28:57,120 Speaker 3: We don't want them, but it's we have to do this. Yeah, 2671 02:28:57,240 --> 02:28:59,960 Speaker 3: it's good to explain. According to a study can there 2672 02:29:00,040 --> 02:29:02,240 Speaker 3: to the University of Texas, wait times are as high 2673 02:29:02,240 --> 02:29:05,440 Speaker 3: as eight or nine months on average. Now Mexico announce 2674 02:29:05,480 --> 02:29:07,160 Speaker 3: on the thirty first of August that it will provide 2675 02:29:07,200 --> 02:29:09,680 Speaker 3: security and food for migrants who have an appointment to 2676 02:29:09,760 --> 02:29:11,920 Speaker 3: travel north from the south of the country to the 2677 02:29:11,920 --> 02:29:14,920 Speaker 3: place where they have a CVP one appointment. Migrets absolutely 2678 02:29:14,959 --> 02:29:16,880 Speaker 3: have been robbed or kidnapped on their way to their 2679 02:29:16,920 --> 02:29:19,200 Speaker 3: appointment and missed it as a result, but they are 2680 02:29:19,360 --> 02:29:21,280 Speaker 3: just as honorable in the eight or nine months that 2681 02:29:21,360 --> 02:29:24,240 Speaker 3: they have to wait for one. Margarets and Tapajula are 2682 02:29:24,280 --> 02:29:26,800 Speaker 3: at a very high risk for kidnapping and are often 2683 02:29:26,879 --> 02:29:30,600 Speaker 3: held until their families pay ransoms. But without money or 2684 02:29:30,600 --> 02:29:33,880 Speaker 3: an appointment, their little means of leaving the city. Some 2685 02:29:34,160 --> 02:29:36,160 Speaker 3: choose to travel a little further north and then hop 2686 02:29:36,200 --> 02:29:39,240 Speaker 3: on a freight train known as Labstia the Beast, an 2687 02:29:39,320 --> 02:29:42,520 Speaker 3: extraordinarily risky endeavor that several of the people I spoke 2688 02:29:42,560 --> 02:29:45,240 Speaker 3: to for this series have undertaken. The only place to 2689 02:29:45,320 --> 02:29:48,360 Speaker 3: ride on these trains is on top of carriages, exposing 2690 02:29:48,440 --> 02:29:51,560 Speaker 3: migrants to freezing temperatures in the desert night. Even on 2691 02:29:51,680 --> 02:29:55,240 Speaker 3: the train, they're not safe from kidnapping. Like many migrants, 2692 02:29:55,600 --> 02:29:58,360 Speaker 3: the Ranian group will well informed about domestic politics in 2693 02:29:58,400 --> 02:30:01,360 Speaker 3: the US, and they say when they made their journey north, 2694 02:30:01,400 --> 02:30:03,280 Speaker 3: they wanted to be sure to avoid the state where 2695 02:30:03,320 --> 02:30:06,000 Speaker 3: local law enforcement was likely to turn them over for deportation. 2696 02:30:07,240 --> 02:30:09,880 Speaker 3: In reality, that could be any of the states, but 2697 02:30:09,959 --> 02:30:11,720 Speaker 3: they're probably right that their life would be a little 2698 02:30:11,720 --> 02:30:12,720 Speaker 3: easier on the West coast. 2699 02:30:13,600 --> 02:30:17,680 Speaker 9: I heard it's so difficult and about three months, four months, 2700 02:30:18,280 --> 02:30:21,240 Speaker 9: more than seven months, they will arrest us in the US. 2701 02:30:21,720 --> 02:30:27,000 Speaker 9: I heard in Mississippi it takes us in the middle. Yeah, yeah, yeah, 2702 02:30:27,240 --> 02:30:31,640 Speaker 9: I think just the California is a little little little bit. 2703 02:30:32,040 --> 02:30:32,200 Speaker 14: Yeah. 2704 02:30:32,600 --> 02:30:36,600 Speaker 8: Surely our money is very excuse me, shits money in 2705 02:30:36,760 --> 02:30:40,240 Speaker 8: the world, and we have to pay a lot of 2706 02:30:40,480 --> 02:30:44,800 Speaker 8: money for this way because because. 2707 02:30:44,600 --> 02:30:45,520 Speaker 3: Our one. 2708 02:30:48,080 --> 02:30:50,199 Speaker 9: One dollar is sixty thousand. 2709 02:30:52,440 --> 02:30:55,120 Speaker 3: Some of course, which used to cross the border between 2710 02:30:55,200 --> 02:30:58,160 Speaker 3: ports ventry as they become desperate to see their families 2711 02:30:58,840 --> 02:31:02,720 Speaker 3: or afraid of remaining in Exico. Since President Biden's executive 2712 02:31:02,760 --> 02:31:06,640 Speaker 3: audier earlier this summer. Doing this can result expedited removal proceedings, 2713 02:31:07,200 --> 02:31:10,680 Speaker 3: and effectively, Biden's new ruling denies asylum by default to 2714 02:31:10,720 --> 02:31:13,879 Speaker 3: anyone crossing the border when daily crossings have passed twenty 2715 02:31:14,000 --> 02:31:17,119 Speaker 3: five hundred. In fact, this is the continuation of extremely 2716 02:31:17,200 --> 02:31:20,160 Speaker 3: punitive and cruel politics that have been in place since 2717 02:31:20,160 --> 02:31:23,200 Speaker 3: he was finally forced to stop using Title forty two, which, 2718 02:31:23,200 --> 02:31:25,039 Speaker 3: if you're not aware, is a public health law used 2719 02:31:25,080 --> 02:31:28,080 Speaker 3: by the Trump administration and embraced by the Biden administration 2720 02:31:28,160 --> 02:31:30,800 Speaker 3: as an asylum law. It has already resulted in the 2721 02:31:30,879 --> 02:31:33,800 Speaker 3: deportation to people back to places where they have extremely 2722 02:31:33,920 --> 02:31:37,360 Speaker 3: credible fears of harm and created a system whereby migrants 2723 02:31:37,400 --> 02:31:39,400 Speaker 3: have no idea how they will be treated on any 2724 02:31:39,440 --> 02:31:42,240 Speaker 3: given day. Again, it's play into the hands of anyone 2725 02:31:42,280 --> 02:31:44,560 Speaker 3: seeking to smoke or migrants into the country and detected, 2726 02:31:45,200 --> 02:31:47,720 Speaker 3: while also harming innocent people coming to this country to 2727 02:31:47,800 --> 02:31:51,000 Speaker 3: ask for protection. His Erica's short history of Biden's asylum 2728 02:31:51,040 --> 02:31:52,119 Speaker 3: policy since last year. 2729 02:31:52,480 --> 02:31:55,560 Speaker 16: So when the Biden administration lift at Title forty two, 2730 02:31:56,560 --> 02:32:00,640 Speaker 16: they essentially imposed what I call transit van. 2731 02:32:00,840 --> 02:32:04,560 Speaker 19: So there's a couple of components to it. One is, 2732 02:32:05,200 --> 02:32:06,680 Speaker 19: if you do not enter. 2733 02:32:06,640 --> 02:32:08,640 Speaker 16: The United States out of port of entry with a 2734 02:32:08,720 --> 02:32:13,959 Speaker 16: CDP one appointment, you are presumed ineligible for asylum unless 2735 02:32:14,040 --> 02:32:17,320 Speaker 16: you fall under a few narrow exceptions which are not 2736 02:32:17,600 --> 02:32:20,920 Speaker 16: consistently applied. So the exceptions are things like you were 2737 02:32:20,959 --> 02:32:23,959 Speaker 16: having a medical emergency, you were running for your life, 2738 02:32:24,240 --> 02:32:26,680 Speaker 16: you know, you couldn't access the app for some reason. 2739 02:32:27,200 --> 02:32:32,160 Speaker 16: But in practice those exceptions are almost never applied at ports. 2740 02:32:32,360 --> 02:32:37,000 Speaker 16: There's been a few kind of alternative programs run by 2741 02:32:37,080 --> 02:32:41,400 Speaker 16: shelters or local governments, where people with extreme medical vulnerabilities, 2742 02:32:41,400 --> 02:32:44,720 Speaker 16: for example, can be let in without an appointment, but 2743 02:32:45,080 --> 02:32:48,960 Speaker 16: we don't know whether the ban applies to them once 2744 02:32:49,000 --> 02:32:52,120 Speaker 16: they enter without that appointment, right, So it's like I said, 2745 02:32:52,160 --> 02:32:55,840 Speaker 16: inconsistently applied exceptions. If you enter between a port of entry, 2746 02:32:56,280 --> 02:32:59,160 Speaker 16: you're presumed and eligible for asylum again unless you meet 2747 02:32:59,280 --> 02:33:03,119 Speaker 16: some therew except and what that means is you can still. 2748 02:33:02,959 --> 02:33:05,440 Speaker 19: Apply for other types of protection in the United States. 2749 02:33:05,560 --> 02:33:10,280 Speaker 16: So there's two principal types of protection. One it's called 2750 02:33:10,320 --> 02:33:13,640 Speaker 16: withholding of removal, which is like asylum but with a 2751 02:33:13,680 --> 02:33:16,840 Speaker 16: higher standard, and then the other is Convention against Torture 2752 02:33:17,480 --> 02:33:20,040 Speaker 16: which you just have to prove it's more likely than 2753 02:33:20,120 --> 02:33:22,600 Speaker 16: not that your own government will torture you, which is 2754 02:33:22,760 --> 02:33:26,080 Speaker 16: more extreme than persecution, but isn't necessarily based on a 2755 02:33:26,160 --> 02:33:28,600 Speaker 16: protected ground, So the torture could be for any reason, 2756 02:33:29,200 --> 02:33:32,600 Speaker 16: but it's a high hurdle. But the most important thing 2757 02:33:32,879 --> 02:33:36,760 Speaker 16: is those two types of protection are not path to citizenship, 2758 02:33:36,959 --> 02:33:39,720 Speaker 16: and they do not allow you to petition for your family. So, 2759 02:33:39,840 --> 02:33:43,000 Speaker 16: for example, if you get asylum in the US and 2760 02:33:43,120 --> 02:33:45,039 Speaker 16: then you want to ask for your wife and children 2761 02:33:45,080 --> 02:33:47,480 Speaker 16: to join you, there is an avenue for that, and 2762 02:33:47,640 --> 02:33:51,240 Speaker 16: all of you can eventually become citizens. Withholding of removal 2763 02:33:51,360 --> 02:33:54,520 Speaker 16: and convention against torture, you basically get a work permit. 2764 02:33:55,560 --> 02:33:56,320 Speaker 19: If conditions in. 2765 02:33:56,320 --> 02:33:59,320 Speaker 16: Your country change, they can support you, and you can 2766 02:33:59,400 --> 02:34:02,240 Speaker 16: never leave states and you can never reunify with your family, 2767 02:34:02,400 --> 02:34:03,760 Speaker 16: and you could ever become a citizen. 2768 02:34:04,680 --> 02:34:08,000 Speaker 3: This won't deter people. I speak to people every day 2769 02:34:08,040 --> 02:34:11,320 Speaker 3: who cross the Daddy, Yet we're kidnapped, robbed, and sometimes 2770 02:34:11,440 --> 02:34:14,040 Speaker 3: raped on their way here. They're going through all of 2771 02:34:14,120 --> 02:34:16,600 Speaker 3: that because we refuse to give people a dignified or 2772 02:34:16,640 --> 02:34:19,040 Speaker 3: safe way to come here. They know it's a risk, 2773 02:34:19,320 --> 02:34:21,400 Speaker 3: and they continue to come because they think it's the 2774 02:34:21,520 --> 02:34:24,400 Speaker 3: only option his powers from coming rou and explaining that 2775 02:34:25,040 --> 02:34:25,720 Speaker 3: it's deadly. 2776 02:34:26,400 --> 02:34:28,760 Speaker 5: How will lie to you. It's fifty to fifty alive 2777 02:34:28,840 --> 02:34:32,120 Speaker 5: on it, honestly speaking. But we had to take their 2778 02:34:32,200 --> 02:34:35,000 Speaker 5: rigs because I think that was only all shroma we had. 2779 02:34:37,440 --> 02:34:40,360 Speaker 3: If you can't imagine taking those risks, it's likely because 2780 02:34:40,360 --> 02:34:42,800 Speaker 3: you can't imagine the things these people are leaving behind either. 2781 02:34:43,800 --> 02:34:46,000 Speaker 3: As a conflict reporter, I've been able to see a 2782 02:34:46,040 --> 02:34:51,360 Speaker 3: small amount of what they're fleeing war, death, poverty, state violence. 2783 02:34:52,080 --> 02:34:53,760 Speaker 3: I don't know if i'd be brave or strong enough 2784 02:34:53,800 --> 02:34:55,400 Speaker 3: to do the same, but I have a lot of 2785 02:34:55,440 --> 02:34:58,920 Speaker 3: respect for people who can. Tomorrow we're going to talk 2786 02:34:58,920 --> 02:35:01,000 Speaker 3: about the people who help them along the way and 2787 02:35:01,120 --> 02:35:03,280 Speaker 3: what you can do to support them. When the state worked, 2788 02:35:30,959 --> 02:35:31,959 Speaker 3: just you. 2789 02:35:32,160 --> 02:35:35,120 Speaker 6: Finding yourself there and seeing how the environment looks like 2790 02:35:35,240 --> 02:35:37,360 Speaker 6: you feel like you should give up. I cried it 2791 02:35:38,200 --> 02:35:41,560 Speaker 6: grace of work for you to actually stand by us, 2792 02:35:41,560 --> 02:35:45,000 Speaker 6: say no, I'll keep on struggling. A lot of people 2793 02:35:45,040 --> 02:35:45,920 Speaker 6: who give up. 2794 02:35:46,240 --> 02:35:47,000 Speaker 18: There a lot of people. 2795 02:35:47,360 --> 02:35:50,720 Speaker 6: Someone died, the lady died. People who were crying. Yeah, yes, 2796 02:35:51,080 --> 02:35:53,960 Speaker 6: we let people swear crying. They didn't know how they 2797 02:35:54,000 --> 02:35:58,560 Speaker 6: could continue. It's not an easy situation. It's not really 2798 02:35:58,600 --> 02:36:02,720 Speaker 6: an easy situation. It's just the grace of God for us, 2799 02:36:03,680 --> 02:36:06,119 Speaker 6: because I can't say it's by my strength. It's actually 2800 02:36:06,240 --> 02:36:09,160 Speaker 6: the grace of God. Because what we actually went through, 2801 02:36:09,400 --> 02:36:12,600 Speaker 6: we met people living collapsed. We had to help them. 2802 02:36:12,959 --> 02:36:15,680 Speaker 6: You meet your body, you give a lifting hand. It's 2803 02:36:15,840 --> 02:36:18,560 Speaker 6: not really an easy thing. It's not something that if 2804 02:36:19,000 --> 02:36:21,880 Speaker 6: we are fine tomorrow, can advise any of our family 2805 02:36:21,959 --> 02:36:24,640 Speaker 6: members to go through, because it's so deaf. It's risky 2806 02:36:25,000 --> 02:36:27,840 Speaker 6: if your family member is in there and it's not out. 2807 02:36:28,400 --> 02:36:30,320 Speaker 6: It takes the grace of God for you to even 2808 02:36:30,520 --> 02:36:33,200 Speaker 6: lie on your bed and close all your eyes either. 2809 02:36:33,360 --> 02:36:36,160 Speaker 21: Once I survived by the grace of God, I almost drowned. 2810 02:36:36,280 --> 02:36:40,039 Speaker 21: It's fact I was drowning. By the grace of God. 2811 02:36:40,080 --> 02:36:45,520 Speaker 21: I was rescued, yeh, some guys that rescued me. I 2812 02:36:45,640 --> 02:36:46,440 Speaker 21: was already drowned. 2813 02:36:46,520 --> 02:36:47,240 Speaker 7: I was gone. 2814 02:36:47,440 --> 02:36:48,080 Speaker 17: I was gone. 2815 02:36:48,720 --> 02:36:50,160 Speaker 9: I was drinking water. 2816 02:36:50,280 --> 02:36:54,040 Speaker 3: Very readily all throughout the journey. North Margarets have a 2817 02:36:54,120 --> 02:36:56,000 Speaker 3: little choice but to rely on one another and the 2818 02:36:56,080 --> 02:36:59,680 Speaker 3: solidarity of strangers. I heard dozens of stories that you've 2819 02:36:59,760 --> 02:37:02,760 Speaker 3: just heard. My time in the Dai n total strangers 2820 02:37:02,879 --> 02:37:05,640 Speaker 3: who saved each other's lives risk their own in the process. 2821 02:37:06,520 --> 02:37:08,280 Speaker 3: For vers, it could only be crossed to People from 2822 02:37:08,320 --> 02:37:11,080 Speaker 3: three different continents joined arms to form a human chain 2823 02:37:11,280 --> 02:37:13,440 Speaker 3: the children and smaller people could hold on to to 2824 02:37:13,480 --> 02:37:18,040 Speaker 3: avoid being swept downstream. Not everyone can help. Just surviving 2825 02:37:18,080 --> 02:37:20,800 Speaker 3: the Dadian takes all of what many people have. But 2826 02:37:20,920 --> 02:37:22,920 Speaker 3: for the people who are in a position to even 2827 02:37:22,959 --> 02:37:26,720 Speaker 3: in desperate times, there's mutual support among the migrants. Very 2828 02:37:26,800 --> 02:37:27,560 Speaker 3: few people who. 2829 02:37:27,480 --> 02:37:31,280 Speaker 6: Are very help you. They're very few people. Only people 2830 02:37:31,320 --> 02:37:34,119 Speaker 6: who are time can actually help. That people will pass 2831 02:37:34,280 --> 02:37:36,680 Speaker 6: you by, and that people want If you have lost 2832 02:37:36,760 --> 02:37:39,080 Speaker 6: your strength, it's not easy for another person to actually 2833 02:37:39,200 --> 02:37:43,120 Speaker 6: help break though, we can really appreciate those who help, because, yeah, 2834 02:37:43,560 --> 02:37:46,360 Speaker 6: having your strength is another You must help yourself before 2835 02:37:46,400 --> 02:37:48,959 Speaker 6: you can help another past, right, So if you can't 2836 02:37:49,000 --> 02:37:50,880 Speaker 6: really have the strength, it will be difficult for need 2837 02:37:50,920 --> 02:37:53,440 Speaker 6: to help another. So we don't really condemn them, but 2838 02:37:54,080 --> 02:37:56,640 Speaker 6: at least we are praying where we are bleeding on 2839 02:37:56,760 --> 02:37:59,600 Speaker 6: our brothers worst still behind that if they meet people, 2840 02:38:00,080 --> 02:38:02,320 Speaker 6: if they have the ability to herpe, they should do so. 2841 02:38:02,480 --> 02:38:05,640 Speaker 6: Of course, it's not really uneasy something. 2842 02:38:06,879 --> 02:38:14,600 Speaker 3: Give sometimes reporting on these places compete them as bleak, unwelcoming, 2843 02:38:15,120 --> 02:38:17,840 Speaker 3: or just miserable and certainly very sad. Things happen in 2844 02:38:17,879 --> 02:38:20,960 Speaker 3: the jungle and in the camps, in human things, But 2845 02:38:21,200 --> 02:38:24,640 Speaker 3: just like war or a natural disaster, sometimes the horrible 2846 02:38:24,680 --> 02:38:27,600 Speaker 3: circumstances of the migration trail bring out the best in people. 2847 02:38:28,400 --> 02:38:31,120 Speaker 3: As I've said before in this series, I'm comfortable in 2848 02:38:31,160 --> 02:38:33,760 Speaker 3: the refugee camps, at least in part because people they 2849 02:38:33,760 --> 02:38:36,640 Speaker 3: are looking out for one another. Kids don't stop playing 2850 02:38:36,680 --> 02:38:39,480 Speaker 3: the moment they become refugees, not an adults stop laughing. 2851 02:38:39,920 --> 02:38:42,760 Speaker 3: In fact, these things become even more important that how 2852 02:38:42,800 --> 02:38:45,800 Speaker 3: we keep our humanity in a system that's inherently dehumanizing, 2853 02:38:46,320 --> 02:38:49,119 Speaker 3: And people don't stop organizing or caring about one another either. 2854 02:38:50,080 --> 02:38:52,400 Speaker 3: It's not just the migrants, of course. One of the 2855 02:38:52,480 --> 02:38:54,560 Speaker 3: families who've been stuck in Bao Jiguito for almost a 2856 02:38:54,640 --> 02:38:56,880 Speaker 3: month was given some money by a local Sender Front 2857 02:38:56,920 --> 02:38:59,959 Speaker 3: member to take a bus. In Mexico, those who don't 2858 02:39:00,040 --> 02:39:02,560 Speaker 3: have enough money to take buses, we'll hop onto freight trains, 2859 02:39:03,160 --> 02:39:05,440 Speaker 3: and as they speed through towns and rail yards at night, 2860 02:39:05,840 --> 02:39:08,720 Speaker 3: local people will throw plastic bags of food, water, and 2861 02:39:08,760 --> 02:39:12,440 Speaker 3: clothing to them. In Panama City, I visited a Jesuit 2862 02:39:12,560 --> 02:39:15,439 Speaker 3: run shelter for migrants called fate Erga. 2863 02:39:15,959 --> 02:39:24,160 Speaker 18: Well number Celias Cordnijo is Coordina or the Promotion Social Accompanimento. 2864 02:39:26,560 --> 02:39:27,000 Speaker 3: Panama. 2865 02:39:27,680 --> 02:39:33,440 Speaker 20: Alberto went down a Darien recently and we know from 2866 02:39:33,480 --> 02:39:37,520 Speaker 20: firsthand experience that the difficulty they have is moving. So 2867 02:39:38,680 --> 02:39:42,440 Speaker 20: some don't go through the stations, but they stay, so 2868 02:39:43,160 --> 02:39:47,640 Speaker 20: they appear here in the city, and so they arrive 2869 02:39:47,800 --> 02:39:51,040 Speaker 20: here and some decide to stay and forego all the 2870 02:39:51,120 --> 02:39:52,520 Speaker 20: difficulty of moving forward. 2871 02:39:53,480 --> 02:39:56,360 Speaker 3: Despite having been set up as a refuge, recent changes 2872 02:39:56,400 --> 02:39:59,280 Speaker 3: to Panamanian law had made that work difficult, and you. 2873 02:39:59,280 --> 02:39:59,959 Speaker 18: Don't pretty heard. 2874 02:40:01,400 --> 02:40:03,960 Speaker 20: We had to stop that service because the state literally 2875 02:40:04,080 --> 02:40:09,360 Speaker 20: prohibited us as agencies from providing shelter and under the 2876 02:40:09,480 --> 02:40:13,400 Speaker 20: premise that if we gave them shelter without them asking 2877 02:40:13,520 --> 02:40:17,840 Speaker 20: for it, they could consider us as human traffickers. 2878 02:40:18,720 --> 02:40:21,360 Speaker 3: So what we do now is we give them. 2879 02:40:21,280 --> 02:40:25,080 Speaker 20: Food and if they decide to stay, well, we help 2880 02:40:25,160 --> 02:40:29,959 Speaker 20: them with certain processes that we can call humanitarian aid 2881 02:40:30,120 --> 02:40:31,160 Speaker 20: for sustainability. 2882 02:40:32,959 --> 02:40:35,040 Speaker 3: I've seen a wide variety of faith based aid in 2883 02:40:35,080 --> 02:40:37,640 Speaker 3: my time at the border. Much of it has been fantastic, 2884 02:40:38,280 --> 02:40:40,280 Speaker 3: but with more than a decade of refugee camps from 2885 02:40:40,280 --> 02:40:42,640 Speaker 3: resource pot settings, I've also learned to be a bit 2886 02:40:42,720 --> 02:40:46,640 Speaker 3: wary of faith based charity. But something Elias said early 2887 02:40:46,760 --> 02:40:48,800 Speaker 3: in our talk gave me a great deal of respect 2888 02:40:48,840 --> 02:40:51,600 Speaker 3: for him. It's not justin he said it, but he 2889 02:40:51,680 --> 02:40:53,600 Speaker 3: took the time to address his comments to me as 2890 02:40:53,640 --> 02:40:55,920 Speaker 3: a journalist because he saw this as a problem in 2891 02:40:56,000 --> 02:40:58,640 Speaker 3: part created by the media. For its worth, I think 2892 02:40:58,680 --> 02:41:01,560 Speaker 3: he's right. I think that as we try and help 2893 02:41:01,959 --> 02:41:04,640 Speaker 3: on a difficult journey, we must always keep in mind. 2894 02:41:05,120 --> 02:41:06,880 Speaker 3: He might come from a very different background than my 2895 02:41:06,959 --> 02:41:08,880 Speaker 3: mutual Aid group, but we do seem to share the 2896 02:41:08,959 --> 02:41:11,000 Speaker 3: same belief in solidarity with the migrants. 2897 02:41:11,920 --> 02:41:12,080 Speaker 19: Is a. 2898 02:41:14,440 --> 02:41:18,000 Speaker 20: Unfortunately much of the media narrative. What they do is 2899 02:41:18,400 --> 02:41:22,200 Speaker 20: they victimize and ridicule people in family groups and turn 2900 02:41:22,280 --> 02:41:26,640 Speaker 20: them into pariahs and beggars. Then that is insulting to 2901 02:41:26,760 --> 02:41:30,480 Speaker 20: the dignity of the person. So the way they portray 2902 02:41:30,640 --> 02:41:34,240 Speaker 20: migration is shameful in some cases, and this is very difficult. 2903 02:41:34,959 --> 02:41:38,480 Speaker 20: Well for this, yes, I think that's very important. 2904 02:41:40,280 --> 02:41:42,280 Speaker 3: After this, I figured I address the issue head on. 2905 02:41:42,520 --> 02:41:44,640 Speaker 3: I'm asking about the many churches and Christians I see 2906 02:41:44,720 --> 02:41:46,880 Speaker 3: preaching hate against people coming to the southern border of 2907 02:41:46,920 --> 02:41:47,360 Speaker 3: the US. 2908 02:41:51,520 --> 02:41:53,960 Speaker 20: There is a sector in the Catholic Church and the 2909 02:41:54,040 --> 02:41:58,600 Speaker 20: Evangelical Church that opposes it and is more closely linked. 2910 02:41:59,879 --> 02:42:03,920 Speaker 20: And they are in fact they are they're benefactors of 2911 02:42:03,959 --> 02:42:10,600 Speaker 20: Trump's campaign. So this one and this one are there, well, well, 2912 02:42:10,640 --> 02:42:14,760 Speaker 20: those are like groups that are rejecting, let's say, the 2913 02:42:14,840 --> 02:42:18,040 Speaker 20: basic principle of the Church, which is that we must 2914 02:42:18,480 --> 02:42:24,600 Speaker 20: welcome migrants and refugees. So they fundamentally reject it. So 2915 02:42:24,720 --> 02:42:29,400 Speaker 20: they invent all these narratives that Haitians practice voodoo and 2916 02:42:29,920 --> 02:42:33,440 Speaker 20: they eat pets, and this and that or that and 2917 02:42:33,520 --> 02:42:38,480 Speaker 20: it's shameful mean, or like the Venezuelans, that the majority 2918 02:42:38,520 --> 02:42:42,440 Speaker 20: of them are from Triandegua gang or that they come 2919 02:42:42,480 --> 02:42:46,800 Speaker 20: from areas that are what you call problematic or chauvannista, 2920 02:42:47,120 --> 02:42:50,240 Speaker 20: and that they are infuriating or that or that. All 2921 02:42:50,320 --> 02:42:54,520 Speaker 20: the same narrative that was created when when the Maritos 2922 02:42:54,600 --> 02:42:57,960 Speaker 20: left Cuba. And it's not that the Cuban government is 2923 02:42:58,080 --> 02:43:01,080 Speaker 20: sending all the prisoners on the Madi l boats to 2924 02:43:01,240 --> 02:43:03,640 Speaker 20: invade the United States. It's the same narrative. 2925 02:43:05,080 --> 02:43:07,400 Speaker 3: Then they asked what he thought of the government's plans 2926 02:43:07,440 --> 02:43:09,880 Speaker 3: to close the day enda if they could even do that. 2927 02:43:13,320 --> 02:43:15,280 Speaker 20: People ask me, do you think the Darian gap is 2928 02:43:15,320 --> 02:43:18,400 Speaker 20: going to close and that migration is going to disappear? 2929 02:43:18,680 --> 02:43:21,480 Speaker 20: And I say, ask the Mexicans and the North Americans 2930 02:43:21,520 --> 02:43:24,600 Speaker 20: if the Sonara Desert has stopped being a corridor for 2931 02:43:24,680 --> 02:43:28,240 Speaker 20: people after Trump, Because there was a time when all 2932 02:43:28,320 --> 02:43:31,560 Speaker 20: the media was focused on the migration that passed through 2933 02:43:31,640 --> 02:43:35,880 Speaker 20: the Sonara and everything continues to happen, but then it 2934 02:43:35,920 --> 02:43:40,080 Speaker 20: became invisible and ceased to exist for them. But people 2935 02:43:40,200 --> 02:43:44,480 Speaker 20: continue to pass through, and people continue to die. So 2936 02:43:44,840 --> 02:43:48,480 Speaker 20: as you say this, this is going to continue, maybe 2937 02:43:48,600 --> 02:43:51,320 Speaker 20: not a half a million people, but the flow is 2938 02:43:51,360 --> 02:43:52,200 Speaker 20: going to continue. 2939 02:43:52,520 --> 02:43:53,480 Speaker 3: It's going to continue. 2940 02:43:54,080 --> 02:43:57,120 Speaker 20: And then the question we should ask ourselves is what 2941 02:43:57,240 --> 02:43:59,640 Speaker 20: are we going to do or how are we going 2942 02:43:59,720 --> 02:44:03,119 Speaker 20: to accompany this flow? How are we going to accompanies 2943 02:44:03,200 --> 02:44:06,160 Speaker 20: these lives? And in what way can let these people's 2944 02:44:06,240 --> 02:44:08,040 Speaker 20: lives impact us. 2945 02:44:09,360 --> 02:44:11,600 Speaker 3: But like so many of us who work along the board, 2946 02:44:11,720 --> 02:44:14,760 Speaker 3: he says, he's constantly fighting. It's negative messaging that encourages 2947 02:44:14,800 --> 02:44:17,280 Speaker 3: people not to follow the natural impulse to help and 2948 02:44:17,360 --> 02:44:18,280 Speaker 3: take care of one another. 2949 02:44:21,800 --> 02:44:24,760 Speaker 20: So it's not a question of how I always say, 2950 02:44:25,720 --> 02:44:28,440 Speaker 20: and sometimes they tell me, oh, that you always speak 2951 02:44:28,520 --> 02:44:32,480 Speaker 20: so badly of Panama. But it's not speaking badly of Panama. 2952 02:44:32,520 --> 02:44:34,920 Speaker 20: I love my country and I feel that we in general, 2953 02:44:35,200 --> 02:44:39,840 Speaker 20: the Panamanian communities are very welcoming and very affectionate with 2954 02:44:39,959 --> 02:44:43,040 Speaker 20: the migrants. The problem is the narrative that is created 2955 02:44:43,440 --> 02:44:47,040 Speaker 20: and then it generates to stimuli that end up with 2956 02:44:47,360 --> 02:44:52,920 Speaker 20: a situation where are not seen so positively. And consequently, 2957 02:44:53,480 --> 02:44:58,320 Speaker 20: last week we had a meeting perhaps on National Reality, 2958 02:44:58,800 --> 02:45:01,960 Speaker 20: and we touched on on the subject of immigrants, and 2959 02:45:02,400 --> 02:45:05,880 Speaker 20: the first reaction was, no, it's not the state that 2960 02:45:06,040 --> 02:45:07,480 Speaker 20: pays the fare of the migrants. 2961 02:45:07,920 --> 02:45:10,560 Speaker 10: It's not that I mean, they pay their own fare. 2962 02:45:12,000 --> 02:45:14,039 Speaker 3: After a week of my interview requests being declined by 2963 02:45:14,160 --> 02:45:17,360 Speaker 3: NGOs and government offices, I found my talk with Father 2964 02:45:17,400 --> 02:45:20,120 Speaker 3: Alifs refreshing. It's nice to know that you're not the 2965 02:45:20,160 --> 02:45:22,520 Speaker 3: only one who sees the system as it is, which 2966 02:45:22,560 --> 02:45:26,360 Speaker 3: is fundamentally flawed and entirely propped up by misinformation, hatred 2967 02:45:26,400 --> 02:45:28,800 Speaker 3: and ignorance. But I don't want to get bogged down 2968 02:45:28,840 --> 02:45:32,240 Speaker 3: on that. Father Alias told me that when he sees migrants, 2969 02:45:32,320 --> 02:45:34,560 Speaker 3: he sees God. In them, and that he experiences his 2970 02:45:34,600 --> 02:45:37,760 Speaker 3: faith by helping others. My early experienced religion came in 2971 02:45:37,879 --> 02:45:39,879 Speaker 3: high school from a priest who was a teacher who'd 2972 02:45:39,879 --> 02:45:42,080 Speaker 3: been part of the anti apartheid movement in South Africa. 2973 02:45:42,879 --> 02:45:45,320 Speaker 3: I'm not a religious person in myself, but I can 2974 02:45:45,400 --> 02:45:47,240 Speaker 3: understand how seeing God and other people is not that 2975 02:45:47,360 --> 02:45:50,120 Speaker 3: far from my own politics. Lifit seeing God and know 2976 02:45:50,120 --> 02:45:52,840 Speaker 3: other people that impels people stand up against apartheid or 2977 02:45:52,879 --> 02:45:55,280 Speaker 3: to dedicate their lives to helping migrants, then I respect that. 2978 02:45:56,120 --> 02:45:58,080 Speaker 3: So after we come back, I want to try and 2979 02:45:58,160 --> 02:46:01,160 Speaker 3: answer the question that pytheay Alias are ask what can 2980 02:46:01,240 --> 02:46:24,400 Speaker 3: you do? Huge humor on us at the prop of 2981 02:46:24,440 --> 02:46:31,200 Speaker 3: the hill we ran into them. Yeah. After getting back 2982 02:46:31,200 --> 02:46:33,600 Speaker 3: from the Dad end and hearing the migrants share their 2983 02:46:33,600 --> 02:46:36,120 Speaker 3: struggles as they waited in Mexico for an outlest designs 2984 02:46:36,120 --> 02:46:38,760 Speaker 3: to lay and discourage them, I really struggled to come 2985 02:46:38,800 --> 02:46:41,720 Speaker 3: to terms with everything I'd seen and was hearing a 2986 02:46:41,800 --> 02:46:45,280 Speaker 3: bit to plenty of dangerous places I've seen war, state violence, 2987 02:46:45,320 --> 02:46:48,720 Speaker 3: and terrorism. I know the tragedy of death and violence, 2988 02:46:49,240 --> 02:46:52,080 Speaker 3: but the slow, deliberate suffering inflicted on migrants for people 2989 02:46:52,080 --> 02:46:54,240 Speaker 3: who lied to us every day on television is particularly 2990 02:46:54,280 --> 02:46:56,680 Speaker 3: hard to bear for me. As I mentioned at the 2991 02:46:56,720 --> 02:46:59,400 Speaker 3: start of this series, I think the grim reality of 2992 02:46:59,440 --> 02:47:02,760 Speaker 3: our migration system. On my first day in Bahajiqito, little 2993 02:47:02,800 --> 02:47:05,680 Speaker 3: girl's head hanging limply from a makeshift stretcher a strangers 2994 02:47:05,720 --> 02:47:09,720 Speaker 3: carried her into town. It's also cruel, so deliberate, and 2995 02:47:09,879 --> 02:47:14,280 Speaker 3: so unnecessary, and it felt so disempowering. But that doesn't 2996 02:47:14,320 --> 02:47:16,720 Speaker 3: mean there's nothing you can do. It doesn't mean there's 2997 02:47:16,760 --> 02:47:17,320 Speaker 3: nothing I can do. 2998 02:47:19,320 --> 02:47:23,040 Speaker 22: All right, So basically what we're gonna be doing is 2999 02:47:23,120 --> 02:47:26,119 Speaker 22: we're gonna go this way. I mean, we're gonna start, 3000 02:47:26,120 --> 02:47:28,280 Speaker 22: We're gonna go down into this well. We're gonna go 3001 02:47:28,360 --> 02:47:29,960 Speaker 22: that way and see where the light break is on 3002 02:47:30,000 --> 02:47:32,880 Speaker 22: them of the hill in between those hills running cut up. 3003 02:47:33,760 --> 02:47:34,680 Speaker 22: I'm not up in that area. 3004 02:47:35,480 --> 02:47:38,000 Speaker 3: That's James card Era of Border Kindness, sitting at the 3005 02:47:38,080 --> 02:47:40,040 Speaker 3: roof of a group of five of us set out 3006 02:47:40,160 --> 02:47:42,240 Speaker 3: on a water drop in the mountains east of Okumba. 3007 02:47:42,720 --> 02:47:45,320 Speaker 3: It's an area called Valley of the Moon, where boulders 3008 02:47:45,360 --> 02:47:48,200 Speaker 3: the size of trucks stack up against each other, where 3009 02:47:48,240 --> 02:47:51,480 Speaker 3: people have been crossing the border for decades. This is 3010 02:47:51,520 --> 02:47:54,080 Speaker 3: a remote area and not unlike the Daddy End. Much 3011 02:47:54,120 --> 02:47:56,080 Speaker 3: of it is nearly impossible to access in a car. 3012 02:47:57,080 --> 02:47:59,600 Speaker 3: To get water out here, we have to walk. And 3013 02:47:59,640 --> 02:48:01,920 Speaker 3: if you out of water or injure yourself so you 3014 02:48:01,959 --> 02:48:04,440 Speaker 3: can't walk out of here, it's possible you'll die, just 3015 02:48:04,480 --> 02:48:07,360 Speaker 3: like the migaants do in the jungle. People get robbed here, 3016 02:48:07,640 --> 02:48:09,440 Speaker 3: just like in the dad Enn And if it wasn't 3017 02:48:09,480 --> 02:48:11,400 Speaker 3: for the five of us with our backpacks full of water, 3018 02:48:12,080 --> 02:48:14,360 Speaker 3: people could die of thirst here just like they do 3019 02:48:14,600 --> 02:48:17,560 Speaker 3: in the jungle. I thought I was packing water bottles 3020 02:48:17,560 --> 02:48:19,920 Speaker 3: into my frame pack. I thought about little kids I've 3021 02:48:19,959 --> 02:48:22,959 Speaker 3: met in Baho Chiquito. This isn't the place for children either, 3022 02:48:23,560 --> 02:48:25,520 Speaker 3: but over the last eighteen months, I've met hundreds of 3023 02:48:25,560 --> 02:48:28,160 Speaker 3: them out here. I've given them my jackets and hats, 3024 02:48:28,720 --> 02:48:31,440 Speaker 3: warmed up milk for babies in my camping stove, and 3025 02:48:31,560 --> 02:48:33,680 Speaker 3: even wrapped the little girl up in a milar blanket 3026 02:48:33,800 --> 02:48:36,480 Speaker 3: with me to warm her up last year. Just like 3027 02:48:36,560 --> 02:48:38,880 Speaker 3: the Dadienne. The suffering here is out of sight and 3028 02:48:38,959 --> 02:48:41,400 Speaker 3: out of mind for most Americans, And in a year 3029 02:48:41,440 --> 02:48:44,400 Speaker 3: where we're constantly being told democracies under threat, I think 3030 02:48:44,400 --> 02:48:46,600 Speaker 3: a bear is mentioning that migrants are treated as humans 3031 02:48:46,640 --> 02:48:49,560 Speaker 3: without rights even when they're inside this country, and that 3032 02:48:49,640 --> 02:48:51,920 Speaker 3: their lives are seen as dispensable so long as whoever 3033 02:48:52,040 --> 02:48:55,080 Speaker 3: is in office can look quote tough on migration and 3034 02:48:55,200 --> 02:48:58,520 Speaker 3: make TV pundits and big money don't as happy. There 3035 02:48:58,560 --> 02:49:00,600 Speaker 3: weren't any TV pundits or big money doon is on 3036 02:49:00,640 --> 02:49:03,160 Speaker 3: our water drop, just a few of us everyday people. 3037 02:49:03,560 --> 02:49:06,000 Speaker 3: Some people come out here because their family members across 3038 02:49:06,120 --> 02:49:09,240 Speaker 3: the desert. Some come out because everyone who crosses a 3039 02:49:09,240 --> 02:49:12,320 Speaker 3: desert is part of our family. Like Bonnio said, in 3040 02:49:13,480 --> 02:49:16,200 Speaker 3: all humans are brothers, and none of us want our 3041 02:49:16,200 --> 02:49:19,000 Speaker 3: brothers or sisters to die in their mountains, whatever their 3042 02:49:19,040 --> 02:49:23,840 Speaker 3: passport might say. And so nearly every weekend, people all 3043 02:49:23,920 --> 02:49:27,040 Speaker 3: along the border load up heavy bags for supplies. On 3044 02:49:27,160 --> 02:49:29,600 Speaker 3: this drop. Each of us filled our packs with water, 3045 02:49:30,160 --> 02:49:34,600 Speaker 3: cans of tuna, pineapple soup, some warm clothing, and in 3046 02:49:34,680 --> 02:49:41,280 Speaker 3: this case an audio recorder recording recording in progress. Rhyme, 3047 02:49:42,800 --> 02:49:44,680 Speaker 3: of course, just gave me an opportunity to discuss my 3048 02:49:44,720 --> 02:49:48,320 Speaker 3: life's calling. Ensuring the correct fit of backpack harness systems. 3049 02:49:51,800 --> 02:49:54,080 Speaker 3: It just doesn't wrap the straps. You'd either have to 3050 02:49:54,160 --> 02:49:57,400 Speaker 3: drop the waistbelt or like these have adjustable frames, so 3051 02:49:57,480 --> 02:49:59,360 Speaker 3: you can make them fit with those of the days. 3052 02:50:00,080 --> 02:50:05,840 Speaker 3: For that, that's really pretty with everyone suitably adjusted and 3053 02:50:05,959 --> 02:50:08,640 Speaker 3: ergonomically optimized. We twisted on the audio record as I 3054 02:50:08,680 --> 02:50:10,800 Speaker 3: had attached the straps of our packs and set off. 3055 02:50:11,120 --> 02:50:13,520 Speaker 17: I just feel bad for you, because a lot of 3056 02:50:13,560 --> 02:50:14,199 Speaker 17: dumb ship. 3057 02:50:21,760 --> 02:50:23,360 Speaker 3: From the edge of the dirt road. We took our 3058 02:50:23,400 --> 02:50:24,480 Speaker 3: first steps into the desert. 3059 02:50:25,280 --> 02:50:32,160 Speaker 22: The first part is gonna be a little slippery. You 3060 02:50:32,280 --> 02:50:34,199 Speaker 22: eat Shit's okay, don't be embarrassed. It happens. 3061 02:50:39,120 --> 02:50:40,640 Speaker 3: This part of the border isn't that far from a 3062 02:50:40,720 --> 02:50:43,000 Speaker 3: Cumba where this time last year, James and I spent 3063 02:50:43,080 --> 02:50:45,879 Speaker 3: a freezing night trying to keep people alive, running our 3064 02:50:45,920 --> 02:50:48,800 Speaker 3: camping stoves on full blast, giving away our own jackets 3065 02:50:49,040 --> 02:50:51,760 Speaker 3: who needed them more than us. At that time, I 3066 02:50:51,920 --> 02:50:53,800 Speaker 3: just returned from a trip to North and East Syria, 3067 02:50:54,280 --> 02:50:57,680 Speaker 3: which was stressful in its own way, and seeing both 3068 02:50:57,760 --> 02:50:59,760 Speaker 3: what people are leaving and how we treat them when 3069 02:50:59,800 --> 02:51:03,440 Speaker 3: they're here really pissed me off. A year later, with 3070 02:51:03,520 --> 02:51:06,080 Speaker 3: bags full of water, JMS and I spoke about things 3071 02:51:06,600 --> 02:51:08,680 Speaker 3: and how they got so much worse in the last 3072 02:51:08,720 --> 02:51:12,680 Speaker 3: two years, but press coverage and more Importantly, donations have 3073 02:51:12,760 --> 02:51:15,800 Speaker 3: been way lower. It's same story up and down the border, 3074 02:51:16,240 --> 02:51:21,320 Speaker 3: record deaths, newer and harder migration routes, different migration patterns, 3075 02:51:21,959 --> 02:51:24,320 Speaker 3: and the people who cried outside ice detention centers in 3076 02:51:24,360 --> 02:51:29,400 Speaker 3: Trump's first term cheering for more walls and bigger DHS budgets. Meanwhile, 3077 02:51:30,040 --> 02:51:32,560 Speaker 3: unlike the Trump era, we don't have the support of 3078 02:51:32,680 --> 02:51:36,040 Speaker 3: thousands of liberal people in California's big cities. After the 3079 02:51:36,120 --> 02:51:39,240 Speaker 3: Democrats cynically use migrant suffering in their twenty twenty campaign, 3080 02:51:39,480 --> 02:51:42,800 Speaker 3: they abandoned them upon acquiring power, and their supporters have 3081 02:51:42,879 --> 02:51:45,960 Speaker 3: mostly followed them. So that left five of us this 3082 02:51:46,080 --> 02:51:48,680 Speaker 3: particular morning to load up bags and do the life 3083 02:51:48,720 --> 02:51:51,680 Speaker 3: saving work of dropping water. On top of all the 3084 02:51:51,720 --> 02:51:54,440 Speaker 3: state violence, there's been more and more interference with the 3085 02:51:54,520 --> 02:51:56,600 Speaker 3: water drops, and as we got further into our route, 3086 02:51:56,800 --> 02:51:59,720 Speaker 3: we made the increasingly common discovery that someone had taken 3087 02:51:59,760 --> 02:52:08,400 Speaker 3: it up on themselves to destroy our supplies. S man 3088 02:52:08,440 --> 02:52:14,400 Speaker 3: of ice, sick. That's probably though. These are slash slash. 3089 02:52:14,160 --> 02:52:16,640 Speaker 22: Ye try by the person's trinking a smirnof ice. 3090 02:52:16,800 --> 02:52:21,080 Speaker 3: Yeah, here's wrong. Yeah, they are fluns matterfuckers. 3091 02:52:22,240 --> 02:52:23,640 Speaker 22: I mean, I'm assuming it's a person who brought the 3092 02:52:23,640 --> 02:52:27,600 Speaker 22: smirnoff Ice because it seems like a smirnoff Ice activity Feller. Yeah, 3093 02:52:28,720 --> 02:52:30,640 Speaker 22: I don't see a VP agent rolling brew with a 3094 02:52:30,680 --> 02:52:31,360 Speaker 22: smirnoff Ies. 3095 02:52:32,879 --> 02:52:35,879 Speaker 3: This isn't unique to border kindness. Someone has been shooting 3096 02:52:35,879 --> 02:52:38,600 Speaker 3: supplies left by Borderlands Relief Collective half an hour west 3097 02:52:38,640 --> 02:52:42,080 Speaker 3: of here recently, up and down the border. The combination 3098 02:52:42,200 --> 02:52:45,200 Speaker 3: of total liberal and attention a xenophobic right wing hate 3099 02:52:45,240 --> 02:52:47,959 Speaker 3: whipped up by streamers who I won't name, and pseudo 3100 02:52:48,040 --> 02:52:51,720 Speaker 3: journalistic grifters who I will name, like Bill Maluganlugan, of course, 3101 02:52:51,840 --> 02:52:54,000 Speaker 3: was previously famous for claiming that the cop had a 3102 02:52:54,080 --> 02:52:57,360 Speaker 3: tampon dropped in his coffee in twenty twenty. Spoiler alert, 3103 02:52:57,400 --> 02:52:59,959 Speaker 3: if you're not familiar, this wasn't true. Belugan now works. 3104 02:53:00,000 --> 02:53:02,680 Speaker 3: It's a quote I'm quote Border reporter for Fox News, Danny, 3105 02:53:02,680 --> 02:53:03,240 Speaker 3: good morning to you. 3106 02:53:03,320 --> 02:53:05,520 Speaker 23: We are in Santa Siegro, a part of San Diego 3107 02:53:05,640 --> 02:53:08,040 Speaker 23: right now, where hundreds of illegal immigrants have just been 3108 02:53:08,160 --> 02:53:11,360 Speaker 23: massed street released from border patrol custody. This bus you 3109 02:53:11,480 --> 02:53:16,320 Speaker 23: see right here is apparently an NGO or Volunteer organization bus. 3110 02:53:16,360 --> 02:53:19,240 Speaker 23: They've all just gotten off a border patrol bus. Two 3111 02:53:19,320 --> 02:53:22,360 Speaker 23: of them. Actually, they're now waiting to board this bus. 3112 02:53:22,440 --> 02:53:25,960 Speaker 23: I've talked to several of them from Peru, from India, 3113 02:53:26,080 --> 02:53:28,400 Speaker 23: from Colombia. The group from Peru told me they are 3114 02:53:28,440 --> 02:53:31,640 Speaker 23: here to work. They are going to Atlanta and Minneapolis 3115 02:53:31,680 --> 02:53:32,840 Speaker 23: to see if we can talk to some of them 3116 02:53:32,879 --> 02:53:38,040 Speaker 23: real quick. Old espanon the so Ecuadora, don't US and 3117 02:53:40,560 --> 02:53:41,720 Speaker 23: New York going to New York. 3118 02:53:41,800 --> 02:53:44,160 Speaker 3: They're do on the so On. They're on the so 3119 02:53:45,120 --> 02:53:49,520 Speaker 3: Costa Rica. Don't live US? And lost Atlanta, New Jersey, 3120 02:53:50,000 --> 02:53:52,959 Speaker 3: don the New Jersey, New Jersey, dont theyve US? 3121 02:53:53,040 --> 02:53:54,520 Speaker 15: In Chicago? 3122 02:53:54,800 --> 02:54:02,840 Speaker 23: Chicago, Colombia, Columbia, Kereen, Trabaja, No no asilo yet they 3123 02:54:02,879 --> 02:54:04,520 Speaker 23: say they want asylum. They don't want to work. 3124 02:54:05,080 --> 02:54:11,240 Speaker 3: They've done their own Well, where are you from? Sag Sanag? 3125 02:54:11,400 --> 02:54:13,720 Speaker 23: I think Senegal? From Senegal? We saw a lot of 3126 02:54:13,800 --> 02:54:15,920 Speaker 23: Senegalese in Lukeville, Arizona. 3127 02:54:16,400 --> 02:54:17,560 Speaker 3: Where in the US do you want to go to? 3128 02:54:17,640 --> 02:54:18,040 Speaker 9: What city? 3129 02:54:19,959 --> 02:54:21,080 Speaker 3: Francis France? 3130 02:54:21,520 --> 02:54:21,800 Speaker 23: France? 3131 02:54:23,640 --> 02:54:27,360 Speaker 3: France, France speak France. Oh, he speaks French. I obviously 3132 02:54:27,440 --> 02:54:30,320 Speaker 3: do not speak French. The Loogan's lack of language competency 3133 02:54:30,360 --> 02:54:32,560 Speaker 3: isn't the only issue here. It's a holy ecosystem of 3134 02:54:32,640 --> 02:54:35,520 Speaker 3: media built up of yuristically filming migrants without giving them 3135 02:54:35,520 --> 02:54:38,160 Speaker 3: a chance to humanize themselves. And it's not just a 3136 02:54:38,280 --> 02:54:39,000 Speaker 3: right wing issue. 3137 02:54:39,120 --> 02:54:41,640 Speaker 24: This week, each day has been marked by new daily 3138 02:54:41,720 --> 02:54:44,959 Speaker 24: records of migrants, both crossing the southern border and landing 3139 02:54:45,120 --> 02:54:47,680 Speaker 24: in custody. The federal government is struggling to keep up. 3140 02:54:47,800 --> 02:54:51,120 Speaker 24: Three Homeland security official say Customs and Border Protection is 3141 02:54:51,200 --> 02:54:54,880 Speaker 24: holding about twenty seven thousand migrants and processing facilities as 3142 02:54:54,959 --> 02:54:58,200 Speaker 24: of yesterday. President Biden spoke with Mexico's president about the 3143 02:54:58,280 --> 02:55:02,160 Speaker 24: issue earlier today see News Homeland Security Corresponding Julia Ainsley 3144 02:55:02,200 --> 02:55:05,040 Speaker 24: joins me now to dig into this trend. So, Julia, first, 3145 02:55:05,200 --> 02:55:08,120 Speaker 24: just give us some perspective here. How is Customs and 3146 02:55:08,200 --> 02:55:11,119 Speaker 24: Border Protection operating right now? And what are your sources 3147 02:55:11,160 --> 02:55:13,720 Speaker 24: saying about this historic rise in migrants at the border. 3148 02:55:14,840 --> 02:55:17,520 Speaker 25: Well, in some ways, there's actually a small victory here, 3149 02:55:17,600 --> 02:55:19,400 Speaker 25: is in Clay when you look at the fact that 3150 02:55:19,560 --> 02:55:22,480 Speaker 25: CBP is seeing a record number of migrants, that they've 3151 02:55:22,480 --> 02:55:24,320 Speaker 25: been at a record high now for three days in 3152 02:55:24,400 --> 02:55:27,240 Speaker 25: a row. They broke the record of twelve thousand, maintained 3153 02:55:27,360 --> 02:55:30,600 Speaker 25: that and There are now almost twenty seven thousand migrants 3154 02:55:30,600 --> 02:55:33,640 Speaker 25: in CBP custody. When we got to just about twenty 3155 02:55:33,720 --> 02:55:36,560 Speaker 25: thousand and twenty nineteen under the Trump administration, there were 3156 02:55:36,600 --> 02:55:38,960 Speaker 25: migrants who were there for weeks and couldn't lie down 3157 02:55:39,360 --> 02:55:41,920 Speaker 25: to sleep because they were so overcrowded. Now, because of 3158 02:55:41,959 --> 02:55:44,480 Speaker 25: the technology, they're actually able to not even hold people 3159 02:55:44,520 --> 02:55:47,360 Speaker 25: past seventy two hours and very quickly release them. But 3160 02:55:47,840 --> 02:55:49,640 Speaker 25: the tragedy comes after that. There are a lot of 3161 02:55:49,760 --> 02:55:52,000 Speaker 25: migrants who are being released on the streets without being 3162 02:55:52,080 --> 02:55:54,880 Speaker 25: taken to nonprofits, and some of them don't exactly know 3163 02:55:54,879 --> 02:55:57,600 Speaker 25: where they're supposed to go, even though CBP does try 3164 02:55:57,640 --> 02:56:00,760 Speaker 25: to coordinate with the cities where they are released. That's 3165 02:56:00,800 --> 02:56:04,960 Speaker 25: definitely happening in the Tucson, Arizona area and Eagle Pass, Texas. 3166 02:56:05,080 --> 02:56:07,480 Speaker 25: Even though they are scrambling as fast as they can 3167 02:56:07,640 --> 02:56:11,160 Speaker 25: to release migrants, that are still thousands who remain in 3168 02:56:11,280 --> 02:56:13,440 Speaker 25: the field, a lot of them crowded under a bridge 3169 02:56:13,440 --> 02:56:16,560 Speaker 25: an Eagle Pass, just waiting for CBP to take them in. 3170 02:56:16,800 --> 02:56:19,800 Speaker 25: The reason a lot of people can give you different reasons. One, 3171 02:56:19,920 --> 02:56:22,840 Speaker 25: perhaps Mexico is interdicting as many migrants as they were 3172 02:56:22,920 --> 02:56:25,520 Speaker 25: earlier in the year. They're now lower on funds because 3173 02:56:25,560 --> 02:56:28,480 Speaker 25: of these record highs. Another reason sometimes migrants will say 3174 02:56:28,520 --> 02:56:31,360 Speaker 25: that they're worried about a future Republican administration or a 3175 02:56:31,400 --> 02:56:34,160 Speaker 25: future Trump administration that might be harder ANDed, so they 3176 02:56:34,200 --> 02:56:35,560 Speaker 25: think now is the time to come. 3177 02:56:36,160 --> 02:56:38,720 Speaker 3: Two minutes into this report and we haven't actually heard 3178 02:56:38,800 --> 02:56:42,160 Speaker 3: from a single migrant. All we hear is numbers. We 3179 02:56:42,240 --> 02:56:44,800 Speaker 3: also haven't heard about or detention, which is the time 3180 02:56:44,840 --> 02:56:47,880 Speaker 3: this was released with at its peak. Again, it's just 3181 02:56:48,080 --> 02:56:52,040 Speaker 3: numbers and CBP statements. I should also point out that 3182 02:56:52,200 --> 02:56:54,000 Speaker 3: lots of people are held for more than seventy two 3183 02:56:54,040 --> 02:56:57,440 Speaker 3: hours or three days. The Department of Homeland Security office 3184 02:56:57,440 --> 02:57:00,600 Speaker 3: who inspected general report published in November twenty twenty three, 3185 02:57:00,920 --> 02:57:03,240 Speaker 3: a month before the new segment that you just heard, 3186 02:57:03,720 --> 02:57:05,880 Speaker 3: said that fifty six percent of people were held for 3187 02:57:06,000 --> 02:57:08,040 Speaker 3: longer than that, for some people being held for more 3188 02:57:08,080 --> 02:57:11,360 Speaker 3: than a month. This information is publicly available and even 3189 02:57:11,400 --> 02:57:13,200 Speaker 3: had a press release. I found it very quickly and 3190 02:57:13,240 --> 02:57:15,800 Speaker 3: I reported on at the time. But NBC chowse not 3191 02:57:15,920 --> 02:57:19,960 Speaker 3: to seeing migrants as a quote homeland security issue, not 3192 02:57:20,080 --> 02:57:23,160 Speaker 3: as people. It's fundamentally the problem and the way we 3193 02:57:23,280 --> 02:57:27,760 Speaker 3: fix that is showing up as people to help. Despite 3194 02:57:27,800 --> 02:57:30,080 Speaker 3: the massive media focus on the border in the last year, 3195 02:57:30,520 --> 02:57:32,920 Speaker 3: I very rarely see other journalists actually at the border. 3196 02:57:33,400 --> 02:57:35,640 Speaker 3: To give him credit. Malgan does sometimes show up, but 3197 02:57:35,720 --> 02:57:38,080 Speaker 3: he doesn't stay long, and he doesn't really have the 3198 02:57:38,160 --> 02:57:41,000 Speaker 3: capacity to interview migrants, even if you wanted to. The 3199 02:57:41,080 --> 02:57:44,240 Speaker 3: border is vast and mostly empty. It's a place I've 3200 02:57:44,280 --> 02:57:45,840 Speaker 3: come to know and come to love in my time 3201 02:57:45,959 --> 02:57:50,440 Speaker 3: dropping water and recreating and doing other mutilaid projects out here. 3202 02:57:51,240 --> 02:57:53,240 Speaker 3: Now they have a better understanding of the journeys people 3203 02:57:53,320 --> 02:57:55,600 Speaker 3: go through to get here, even more determined to make 3204 02:57:55,640 --> 02:57:58,600 Speaker 3: this small part of their trip less dangerous. And besides, 3205 02:57:58,840 --> 02:58:00,960 Speaker 3: I get to see cool rocks. Oh say, with mister 3206 02:58:01,000 --> 02:58:02,840 Speaker 3: potato here, it looks like he's dying off. 3207 02:58:03,280 --> 02:58:09,400 Speaker 22: Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, God no, I 3208 02:58:09,480 --> 02:58:13,360 Speaker 22: see that. Well, now you say it like that, it 3209 02:58:13,400 --> 02:58:15,560 Speaker 22: looks very Yeah, the eyes are real close to each other. Yeah, 3210 02:58:17,000 --> 02:58:18,560 Speaker 22: it's a very melting potato. 3211 02:58:21,360 --> 02:58:24,480 Speaker 3: Among the cool rocks. Last weekend I found a mini 3212 02:58:24,560 --> 02:58:28,000 Speaker 3: mouse doll. It reminded me of Miami, the little girl 3213 02:58:28,000 --> 02:58:31,520 Speaker 3: I'd met him. Boo. I give my number to hundreds 3214 02:58:31,560 --> 02:58:35,480 Speaker 3: of people before leaving Panama and heard from dozens, but 3215 02:58:36,040 --> 02:58:38,160 Speaker 3: up until that I hadn't heard from Miami and her mum. 3216 02:58:39,040 --> 02:58:43,039 Speaker 3: I heard of people being kidnapped, robbed, raped, and ransomed 3217 02:58:43,760 --> 02:58:46,039 Speaker 3: in Mexico. Some of them have been caught by authorities 3218 02:58:46,080 --> 02:58:48,920 Speaker 3: and pushed back to Chiapas, and others have been unable 3219 02:58:48,959 --> 02:58:52,600 Speaker 3: to leave Tapatula after having all their money stolen. I 3220 02:58:52,760 --> 02:58:55,760 Speaker 3: wanted which, if any of these fates had before been Miami, 3221 02:58:55,920 --> 02:58:57,880 Speaker 3: and if she was still having a pepper pig adventure. 3222 02:58:58,800 --> 02:59:01,560 Speaker 3: Sadly between where I met her or where I found them, 3223 02:59:01,560 --> 02:59:05,280 Speaker 3: Mini mouse Doll, There's nothing else I can do. They're 3224 02:59:05,280 --> 02:59:07,560 Speaker 3: here in the mountains outside San Diego, where the wind 3225 02:59:07,600 --> 02:59:10,200 Speaker 3: blows so strong sometimes you can barely stand up. I 3226 02:59:10,320 --> 02:59:14,920 Speaker 3: can do something without the ability to do something, something 3227 02:59:14,959 --> 02:59:18,200 Speaker 3: which I know is meaningful. I don't know how I'd 3228 02:59:18,240 --> 02:59:20,800 Speaker 3: managed to stay on this beat. It's just too heartbreaking 3229 02:59:20,879 --> 02:59:24,440 Speaker 3: to meet good people, share meals and laughter, in deep 3230 02:59:24,520 --> 02:59:26,960 Speaker 3: conversations with them, and then see them fed into a 3231 02:59:27,040 --> 02:59:29,600 Speaker 3: teeth of a machine that robs, brutalizes, and kills them. 3232 02:59:29,640 --> 02:59:31,520 Speaker 3: So that Joe Biden can stand on a podium and 3233 02:59:31,560 --> 02:59:34,600 Speaker 3: say that border crossing to down this month they are down, 3234 02:59:34,879 --> 02:59:37,760 Speaker 3: and that's allowedly due to enforcement in Mexico. But I 3235 02:59:37,840 --> 02:59:39,640 Speaker 3: want to make sure that everyone who does cross the 3236 02:59:39,720 --> 02:59:42,240 Speaker 3: border can do so safely and they don't have to 3237 02:59:42,320 --> 02:59:44,920 Speaker 3: die on US soil after fighting so hard to make 3238 02:59:44,959 --> 02:59:47,640 Speaker 3: it here. This hasn't been the case for everyone this year. 3239 02:59:48,320 --> 02:59:50,280 Speaker 3: My friends up and down the border have carried far 3240 02:59:50,400 --> 02:59:54,000 Speaker 3: too many little memorial crosses into the mountains. And depending 3241 02:59:54,040 --> 02:59:56,160 Speaker 3: on the election results next week, what we're doing might 3242 02:59:56,200 --> 03:00:00,480 Speaker 3: be illegal soon, but that'll never make it wrong. Since 3243 03:00:00,520 --> 03:00:02,840 Speaker 3: early September, nine people have died in a little part 3244 03:00:02,879 --> 03:00:05,600 Speaker 3: of southern California alone. My friends who searched for them 3245 03:00:05,959 --> 03:00:09,240 Speaker 3: sometimes found their remains and undertaken the thankless task of 3246 03:00:09,320 --> 03:00:12,920 Speaker 3: sharing the bad news with their families, then constructive memorials 3247 03:00:12,959 --> 03:00:15,640 Speaker 3: in their memory. This is just one of the many 3248 03:00:15,720 --> 03:00:18,760 Speaker 3: dangerous parts of the migration route north, but it's the 3249 03:00:18,840 --> 03:00:21,280 Speaker 3: one that I can help with. If you're nearby are 3250 03:00:21,320 --> 03:00:23,560 Speaker 3: visiting for a while, there are several organizations dropping water 3251 03:00:23,640 --> 03:00:27,039 Speaker 3: on the border. Border Angels, Border Kindness and Borderlands Relief 3252 03:00:27,040 --> 03:00:31,440 Speaker 3: Collective here in San Diego, Arho, Samaritans, noms Perthes in Arizona. 3253 03:00:31,959 --> 03:00:35,480 Speaker 3: Groups you search and rescue as well. Obviously, not everyone 3254 03:00:35,560 --> 03:00:37,680 Speaker 3: lives here at the USA is Southern border, but more 3255 03:00:37,720 --> 03:00:39,640 Speaker 3: than half of the population does live within one hundred 3256 03:00:39,680 --> 03:00:41,720 Speaker 3: miles of a border. Even if you don't live in 3257 03:00:41,760 --> 03:00:43,760 Speaker 3: the USA, or maybe you do but you don't live 3258 03:00:43,760 --> 03:00:46,480 Speaker 3: anywhere near the border, I guarantee there are migrants in 3259 03:00:46,520 --> 03:00:49,520 Speaker 3: your community. In the last year, I've worked with migrant 3260 03:00:49,560 --> 03:00:52,760 Speaker 3: welcome committees in Maryland, church groups in the rural south, 3261 03:00:53,160 --> 03:00:55,720 Speaker 3: Sikhs on the West Coast, occurred on the East Coast, 3262 03:00:55,720 --> 03:00:58,160 Speaker 3: to name just a few. Without a type of fanfare, 3263 03:00:58,200 --> 03:01:00,480 Speaker 3: people all over this country are making space their homes 3264 03:01:00,480 --> 03:01:03,840 Speaker 3: and their hearts for strangers, feeding them, housing them, and 3265 03:01:03,920 --> 03:01:06,440 Speaker 3: helping them get set up in a new place. For 3266 03:01:06,520 --> 03:01:10,000 Speaker 3: the most part, it doesn't get coverage you a democratic administration. 3267 03:01:10,120 --> 03:01:13,000 Speaker 3: It doesn't get much public support either, but that doesn't 3268 03:01:13,040 --> 03:01:16,440 Speaker 3: mean it isn't necessary. Aside from all the reasons it's important, 3269 03:01:16,800 --> 03:01:18,680 Speaker 3: dropping water on the border is also fun for me. 3270 03:01:19,360 --> 03:01:21,320 Speaker 3: It's helped me learn more about where I live. I 3271 03:01:21,440 --> 03:01:24,040 Speaker 3: appreciate the desert and make new friends who generally share 3272 03:01:24,080 --> 03:01:26,520 Speaker 3: my outlook on the world. I love being outdoors, and 3273 03:01:26,560 --> 03:01:29,120 Speaker 3: I'd be outdoors anyway, but it's way. My hiker is 3274 03:01:29,120 --> 03:02:00,280 Speaker 3: about much more than myself. Yeah yeah. 3275 03:02:01,480 --> 03:02:01,640 Speaker 20: Yeah. 3276 03:02:01,680 --> 03:02:03,560 Speaker 3: What does that mean when you get somewhere with signal? 3277 03:02:04,760 --> 03:02:06,480 Speaker 3: Yeah yeah, please do all of you? Please share it. 3278 03:02:06,840 --> 03:02:09,280 Speaker 3: I'd like to follow your journey if that's okay, and 3279 03:02:09,400 --> 03:02:14,880 Speaker 3: maybe we can talk again when you're in America. I 3280 03:02:14,959 --> 03:02:17,120 Speaker 3: gave my number to hundreds of people in the Daddy Inn, 3281 03:02:17,600 --> 03:02:19,880 Speaker 3: as well as some websites they might find useful. Wan 3282 03:02:19,920 --> 03:02:22,880 Speaker 3: to NGOs explained the CBP one app are the ones 3283 03:02:22,920 --> 03:02:25,680 Speaker 3: that might direct them to resources along their route. Last 3284 03:02:25,720 --> 03:02:28,039 Speaker 3: Sunday night, as I was absent by and least thumbing 3285 03:02:28,040 --> 03:02:30,040 Speaker 3: through a shotgun reloading manual in my living room as 3286 03:02:30,080 --> 03:02:33,280 Speaker 3: I love to do, my phone started buzzing. It's done 3287 03:02:33,320 --> 03:02:36,720 Speaker 3: this so many times in the last months. Mostly it's 3288 03:02:36,760 --> 03:02:39,320 Speaker 3: a photo of someone I met updating me on their journey, 3289 03:02:40,000 --> 03:02:41,720 Speaker 3: or one of the little wooden animals that they give 3290 03:02:41,760 --> 03:02:43,880 Speaker 3: to children, which has made its way to Mexico and 3291 03:02:43,959 --> 03:02:46,760 Speaker 3: hopefully giving them some comfort along the way. Often it's 3292 03:02:46,840 --> 03:02:49,880 Speaker 3: less positive news someone's been robbed or simply run out 3293 03:02:49,879 --> 03:02:52,280 Speaker 3: of money and they need help. But I got two 3294 03:02:52,320 --> 03:02:56,160 Speaker 3: messages this Sunday which lifted my spirits. No Emi, the 3295 03:02:56,160 --> 03:02:58,040 Speaker 3: Little Girl who had an adventure like Pepper Pig in 3296 03:02:58,120 --> 03:03:00,880 Speaker 3: the jungle. Why did you know how it's And she 3297 03:03:01,000 --> 03:03:02,840 Speaker 3: sent me a photo of the tiny stone bear that 3298 03:03:02,879 --> 03:03:04,960 Speaker 3: I'd given her. She also wanted to know if we 3299 03:03:04,959 --> 03:03:06,640 Speaker 3: could still go to see Minnie Moles, who she came 3300 03:03:06,680 --> 03:03:09,360 Speaker 3: to America, which I assured her we could. I think 3301 03:03:09,360 --> 03:03:10,959 Speaker 3: it would be quite apt to visit a place which 3302 03:03:11,000 --> 03:03:13,560 Speaker 3: builds itself as the happiest place on Earth, where someone 3303 03:03:13,640 --> 03:03:15,360 Speaker 3: I met in one of the most desperate parts of 3304 03:03:15,400 --> 03:03:18,640 Speaker 3: the planet. The second message was from one of the 3305 03:03:18,720 --> 03:03:20,959 Speaker 3: migrants i'd met in the jungle, telling me she'd made 3306 03:03:20,959 --> 03:03:23,480 Speaker 3: it to America, not just to America, but to a 3307 03:03:23,560 --> 03:03:25,440 Speaker 3: part of the border where I've been dropping water with 3308 03:03:25,520 --> 03:03:27,600 Speaker 3: my friends. Just a few weeks before I left for Panama, 3309 03:03:28,360 --> 03:03:30,000 Speaker 3: she sent me a photo of a rock with a 3310 03:03:30,040 --> 03:03:33,040 Speaker 3: message on it one way, which I'm very familiar. She 3311 03:03:33,160 --> 03:03:35,720 Speaker 3: told me about her walk, one which I've made myself, 3312 03:03:36,120 --> 03:03:38,120 Speaker 3: and she taught me how hard it was. I said, 3313 03:03:38,160 --> 03:03:40,400 Speaker 3: I knew, but really I don't know, because I wasn't 3314 03:03:40,400 --> 03:03:43,680 Speaker 3: carrying months of trauma with me on the mountain. She's 3315 03:03:43,720 --> 03:03:46,080 Speaker 3: the only person out of one hundred son I met 3316 03:03:46,320 --> 03:03:49,480 Speaker 3: who's made it here. Most of them are in Mexico now, 3317 03:03:49,879 --> 03:03:51,840 Speaker 3: and most of them will remain there or maybe get 3318 03:03:51,920 --> 03:03:54,800 Speaker 3: sent back home, or maybe they'll make a desperate attempt 3319 03:03:54,800 --> 03:03:56,920 Speaker 3: across this week. As you hear this before the election, 3320 03:03:57,920 --> 03:04:00,240 Speaker 3: it made me so happy to see someone safely here, 3321 03:04:00,760 --> 03:04:03,320 Speaker 3: one person out of hundreds. For so many of the 3322 03:04:03,400 --> 03:04:06,520 Speaker 3: migrants I met, America was a dream, and the journey 3323 03:04:06,560 --> 03:04:09,680 Speaker 3: with a nightmare. Since the series began airing, I've seen 3324 03:04:09,760 --> 03:04:12,160 Speaker 3: videos of people I care about clinging to freight trains 3325 03:04:12,800 --> 03:04:15,720 Speaker 3: that bruce bodies after being beaten. I've helped them find 3326 03:04:15,800 --> 03:04:18,080 Speaker 3: healthcare after they were sexually assaulted, and tried to find 3327 03:04:18,160 --> 03:04:21,879 Speaker 3: room at overcrowded shelters. I've helped trans ladies navigate all 3328 03:04:21,920 --> 03:04:25,880 Speaker 3: of this and transphobia and misogyny, and tried to find 3329 03:04:25,920 --> 03:04:29,720 Speaker 3: resources in French and English and Portuguese for non Spanish speakers. 3330 03:04:30,680 --> 03:04:32,680 Speaker 3: I'd hope that I'd finished this series with a single 3331 03:04:32,720 --> 03:04:36,080 Speaker 3: good story, a story of someone who made it, who's 3332 03:04:36,120 --> 03:04:38,680 Speaker 3: living the American dream that people died for in the jungle. 3333 03:04:39,480 --> 03:04:41,960 Speaker 3: But I can't, because even the people who made it 3334 03:04:42,080 --> 03:04:45,640 Speaker 3: here are here temporarily. I'm broadcasting anything about their journey 3335 03:04:45,720 --> 03:04:48,440 Speaker 3: would put them at risk whoever wins the election next week. 3336 03:04:49,640 --> 03:04:51,200 Speaker 3: So instead I want to end with how you can 3337 03:04:51,240 --> 03:04:53,800 Speaker 3: make a difference, and I'll start with a story and 3338 03:04:53,920 --> 03:04:57,840 Speaker 3: how little things can make big differences. One day in Baljuquito, 3339 03:04:58,200 --> 03:05:01,119 Speaker 3: of sitting around with a few Venezuelan kids, probably four 3340 03:05:01,200 --> 03:05:03,720 Speaker 3: to eight years old, ripping pages out of my right 3341 03:05:03,760 --> 03:05:05,840 Speaker 3: in the rain note book to make paper aeroplanes. Before 3342 03:05:05,840 --> 03:05:08,680 Speaker 3: I interviewed their parents, I asked him about the jungle. 3343 03:05:08,959 --> 03:05:11,120 Speaker 3: They said it was scary and they had nightmares. Now, 3344 03:05:12,040 --> 03:05:13,920 Speaker 3: I often find kids in these places get scared of 3345 03:05:13,959 --> 03:05:15,720 Speaker 3: the dark, and I used to bring these crappy little 3346 03:05:15,720 --> 03:05:18,080 Speaker 3: electric lights for them, but they're bulky and they're not 3347 03:05:18,200 --> 03:05:21,240 Speaker 3: very good. Recently, I've been carrying the little packets of 3348 03:05:21,280 --> 03:05:24,400 Speaker 3: fishing glow sticks instead. They gasped about ten bucks for 3349 03:05:24,440 --> 03:05:26,680 Speaker 3: maybe one hundred of the little green lights. So I 3350 03:05:26,760 --> 03:05:29,920 Speaker 3: poured out my glove sticks, cut my hands and snapped one. 3351 03:05:30,680 --> 03:05:33,400 Speaker 3: The children amaze of the little glowing road. So I 3352 03:05:33,440 --> 03:05:35,560 Speaker 3: gave them the rest of the packet. I told them 3353 03:05:35,560 --> 03:05:36,959 Speaker 3: they could keep them for any time they were scared 3354 03:05:37,000 --> 03:05:40,000 Speaker 3: of the dark. Nearly a month later, I sometimes get 3355 03:05:40,000 --> 03:05:41,640 Speaker 3: a message on my phone with a photo of a 3356 03:05:41,680 --> 03:05:44,959 Speaker 3: little tiny glow stick on a note of thanks. One 3357 03:05:45,000 --> 03:05:47,760 Speaker 3: thing that Father Elia said that really impacted me is 3358 03:05:47,800 --> 03:05:49,879 Speaker 3: that when he meets migrants, he asked what he sees 3359 03:05:49,920 --> 03:05:52,040 Speaker 3: of God in them, and his work for them is 3360 03:05:52,120 --> 03:05:55,080 Speaker 3: where he finds what there is of God and himself. Think. 3361 03:05:55,080 --> 03:05:57,560 Speaker 3: I've struggled so much with this serious impart because I've 3362 03:05:57,600 --> 03:06:00,200 Speaker 3: seen so much of the best of other people, indeed 3363 03:06:00,240 --> 03:06:03,520 Speaker 3: the best of myself, into such hard places. I always 3364 03:06:03,520 --> 03:06:05,920 Speaker 3: struggle a little to readjust after trips like this, but 3365 03:06:06,040 --> 03:06:09,240 Speaker 3: this one's been particularly hard. In the jungle, I saw 3366 03:06:09,280 --> 03:06:11,880 Speaker 3: people helping, and in a sense, we were all in 3367 03:06:11,959 --> 03:06:14,960 Speaker 3: it together. When it rained, we all got wet, and 3368 03:06:15,040 --> 03:06:17,120 Speaker 3: when it got hot, we all huddled together in the shade. 3369 03:06:18,080 --> 03:06:20,760 Speaker 3: We shared bottles of water, We sat at the same 3370 03:06:20,840 --> 03:06:24,240 Speaker 3: tables and ate together. I can't really begin to experience 3371 03:06:24,280 --> 03:06:26,760 Speaker 3: a full, varily inexperience because I've been lucky enough never 3372 03:06:26,840 --> 03:06:29,480 Speaker 3: to have anything that bad to run away from. Better, 3373 03:06:29,560 --> 03:06:32,240 Speaker 3: have experienced incredible solidarity and kindness for the people who 3374 03:06:32,280 --> 03:06:35,560 Speaker 3: went through it. I've also experienced the incredible indifference of 3375 03:06:35,600 --> 03:06:38,400 Speaker 3: people at home, and indeed of the states and governments 3376 03:06:38,440 --> 03:06:41,960 Speaker 3: of the world. The Colombian friends I met Las Blancas 3377 03:06:41,959 --> 03:06:45,480 Speaker 3: and Barjigito, who are handcuffed and deported and ripped from 3378 03:06:45,480 --> 03:06:48,360 Speaker 3: their families, have already invited me to come and stay 3379 03:06:48,400 --> 03:06:51,320 Speaker 3: in their homes in Colombia, but if their families make 3380 03:06:51,360 --> 03:06:54,520 Speaker 3: it here, they won't encounter that kind of hospitality. Just 3381 03:06:54,680 --> 03:06:56,960 Speaker 3: last week, I helped to translate for a Venezuelan family 3382 03:06:57,000 --> 03:06:59,400 Speaker 3: living on the street in San Diego. Some of my 3383 03:06:59,480 --> 03:07:02,320 Speaker 3: friends do sponsor migrants, and that's something anyone can do 3384 03:07:02,840 --> 03:07:05,000 Speaker 3: if you're able to. It's an incredible thing you can 3385 03:07:05,040 --> 03:07:06,920 Speaker 3: do to change someone's life, and I can't encourage you 3386 03:07:07,000 --> 03:07:09,680 Speaker 3: enough to do so. I really do see the best 3387 03:07:09,720 --> 03:07:12,000 Speaker 3: of myself, of my friends, and of humanity, and I 3388 03:07:12,120 --> 03:07:14,600 Speaker 3: work to help migrants. I would say that on reflector. 3389 03:07:14,640 --> 03:07:17,560 Speaker 3: And I wasn't really an anarchist until twenty eighteen, when 3390 03:07:17,560 --> 03:07:19,520 Speaker 3: I watched a state to the world abandoned thousands of 3391 03:07:19,600 --> 03:07:22,560 Speaker 3: migros in Tijuana and climbed a fence with my friends 3392 03:07:22,640 --> 03:07:25,240 Speaker 3: to take care of them, and specifically to distribute three 3393 03:07:25,400 --> 03:07:27,800 Speaker 3: huge backpacks full of waffles and another friend had sent 3394 03:07:27,920 --> 03:07:31,640 Speaker 3: from his waffle factory. I'd stopped believing in the benevolence 3395 03:07:31,680 --> 03:07:34,080 Speaker 3: of the state a long time before, but it wasn't 3396 03:07:34,120 --> 03:07:36,200 Speaker 3: really until then that I really understood the power of 3397 03:07:36,240 --> 03:07:40,000 Speaker 3: people organizing horizontally to provide each other with dignity. Ever 3398 03:07:40,120 --> 03:07:42,280 Speaker 3: since then, I've drawn a lot of hope for humanity 3399 03:07:42,360 --> 03:07:44,640 Speaker 3: in the same place as I despare for people. Maybe 3400 03:07:44,680 --> 03:07:47,640 Speaker 3: that's why I keep going back. Since then, at the border, 3401 03:07:47,680 --> 03:07:51,119 Speaker 3: I've seen people die. I've held crying babies and crying parents. 3402 03:07:51,760 --> 03:07:54,000 Speaker 3: They've also shared meals with people from around the world, 3403 03:07:54,320 --> 03:07:57,320 Speaker 3: made friends for life, and learned curdish disco songs about 3404 03:07:57,360 --> 03:08:00,160 Speaker 3: killing people. I've danced around campfires with Pep. But I 3405 03:08:00,200 --> 03:08:02,920 Speaker 3: couldn't imagined meeting when I first made my own journey here. 3406 03:08:03,959 --> 03:08:06,080 Speaker 3: Last Christmas, when i'd normally be at the bar with 3407 03:08:06,160 --> 03:08:09,039 Speaker 3: my friends, I stand the rock in the desert, eating 3408 03:08:09,120 --> 03:08:11,760 Speaker 3: a cold vegan m Marie with an Ecuadorian family and 3409 03:08:11,840 --> 03:08:14,840 Speaker 3: some of my friends. And all the Christmases I can remember, 3410 03:08:15,240 --> 03:08:16,800 Speaker 3: I never felt so much like I was in the 3411 03:08:16,879 --> 03:08:20,000 Speaker 3: right place, doing the right thing, with the right people. 3412 03:08:21,080 --> 03:08:21,120 Speaker 18: What. 3413 03:08:21,200 --> 03:08:22,879 Speaker 3: I've seen a lot of terrible things at the border 3414 03:08:22,959 --> 03:08:26,400 Speaker 3: in the jungle, and I'll never forget those. More importantly, 3415 03:08:26,760 --> 03:08:29,400 Speaker 3: I've seen that together we can do incredible things, and 3416 03:08:29,520 --> 03:08:32,279 Speaker 3: we can make the state irrelevant, especially in the places 3417 03:08:32,320 --> 03:08:35,240 Speaker 3: it's chosen to be absent. I don't think we should 3418 03:08:35,280 --> 03:08:37,600 Speaker 3: make demands of a state anymore. It's simply not in 3419 03:08:37,640 --> 03:08:40,040 Speaker 3: its nature to care. But I do think we should 3420 03:08:40,040 --> 03:08:42,840 Speaker 3: make demands of ourselves. I don't believe in God, and 3421 03:08:42,840 --> 03:08:45,240 Speaker 3: I've written a whole dissertation about people who burn churches. 3422 03:08:45,879 --> 03:08:47,960 Speaker 3: But I think I see something that's just as special 3423 03:08:48,000 --> 03:08:50,560 Speaker 3: to me in the experience of mutual aid, and in 3424 03:08:50,680 --> 03:08:53,040 Speaker 3: a way it fulfills not only people's material needs but 3425 03:08:53,120 --> 03:08:56,280 Speaker 3: also our human desire for dignity and mutual respect. When 3426 03:08:56,320 --> 03:08:58,840 Speaker 3: I drop water at the border or carry someone's bags 3427 03:08:58,840 --> 03:09:01,640 Speaker 3: in the jungle, I see myself in them, and I 3428 03:09:01,720 --> 03:09:04,520 Speaker 3: hope they see themselves a little bit of me. But 3429 03:09:04,640 --> 03:09:07,360 Speaker 3: right now, asylum system is so broken the very few 3430 03:09:07,360 --> 03:09:09,160 Speaker 3: people even make it far enough to drink the water 3431 03:09:09,240 --> 03:09:11,760 Speaker 3: I leave at the border, And despite the border featuring 3432 03:09:11,800 --> 03:09:14,120 Speaker 3: heavily in this year's election, there seems to be no 3433 03:09:14,320 --> 03:09:17,119 Speaker 3: national concern about the way our tax dollars brutalize people 3434 03:09:17,120 --> 03:09:19,680 Speaker 3: across the continent. So I want to end by asking 3435 03:09:19,760 --> 03:09:22,080 Speaker 3: you what you can do. It might be coming to 3436 03:09:22,200 --> 03:09:24,760 Speaker 3: unhere to drop water. It might be sending some money 3437 03:09:24,840 --> 03:09:27,480 Speaker 3: to one of the links I include the description. It 3438 03:09:27,560 --> 03:09:30,240 Speaker 3: might be offering to translate for asylum seekers. It might 3439 03:09:30,280 --> 03:09:32,760 Speaker 3: just be talking to people and helping to change the narrative. 3440 03:09:33,800 --> 03:09:36,400 Speaker 3: You can vote or not next week, but there isn't 3441 03:09:36,400 --> 03:09:37,920 Speaker 3: a box you can take that will change the things 3442 03:09:37,920 --> 03:09:41,160 Speaker 3: I saw in the jungle. Trump wanted to deport millions 3443 03:09:41,240 --> 03:09:43,959 Speaker 3: more people. Harris wanted to pass a bill that will 3444 03:09:44,040 --> 03:09:46,920 Speaker 3: kill more people. You can't pass your commitments off to 3445 03:09:47,000 --> 03:09:49,440 Speaker 3: someone whose box you take every four years. You have 3446 03:09:49,560 --> 03:09:52,000 Speaker 3: to take them on for yourself. The way we change 3447 03:09:52,040 --> 03:09:54,360 Speaker 3: things is in a way we do things every day, 3448 03:09:54,920 --> 03:09:59,160 Speaker 3: every week. No one's every four years. I want to 3449 03:09:59,240 --> 03:10:01,920 Speaker 3: end with noise and have a message to the American people. 3450 03:10:02,760 --> 03:10:04,120 Speaker 3: I also want to ask if anyone of those how 3451 03:10:04,120 --> 03:10:06,200 Speaker 3: to get cheap tickets to Disneyland, because I have just 3452 03:10:06,280 --> 03:10:08,280 Speaker 3: looked that up and I cannot stress enough ho but 3453 03:10:08,360 --> 03:10:09,080 Speaker 3: I am to afford it. 3454 03:10:15,000 --> 03:10:17,480 Speaker 11: Please excuse us because we know that we are knocking 3455 03:10:17,560 --> 03:10:19,360 Speaker 11: on that door. There are a lot of us, but 3456 03:10:20,280 --> 03:10:23,160 Speaker 11: we are desperate because complaining about the president we have 3457 03:10:23,560 --> 03:10:27,880 Speaker 11: is not helping us. No, he's doing almost nothing. So 3458 03:10:27,959 --> 03:10:31,160 Speaker 11: our children have no future, and our country won't support us. 3459 03:10:32,480 --> 03:10:36,040 Speaker 11: It's not easy to leave our parents, our friends, our relatives, 3460 03:10:36,160 --> 03:10:39,119 Speaker 11: our grandparents, and we do not know if we will 3461 03:10:39,160 --> 03:10:41,360 Speaker 11: ever return or if we will ever see them again. 3462 03:10:42,080 --> 03:10:44,400 Speaker 11: It is not easy. But we also think about a 3463 03:10:44,440 --> 03:10:46,520 Speaker 11: future for our children. And I do not know what 3464 03:10:46,640 --> 03:10:50,000 Speaker 11: has happened, but we feel like living in a dictatorship. 3465 03:10:50,280 --> 03:10:53,200 Speaker 11: We are living something very unpleasant and we do not 3466 03:10:53,280 --> 03:10:56,800 Speaker 11: get any help. But those who help us, we want 3467 03:10:56,840 --> 03:10:59,680 Speaker 11: to say thank you. They opened that door for us. 3468 03:11:00,080 --> 03:11:03,480 Speaker 11: They've opened many doors for many Venezuelans, and well we 3469 03:11:03,640 --> 03:11:05,960 Speaker 11: hope in faith that they will open them for us. 3470 03:11:13,800 --> 03:11:15,720 Speaker 3: I want to take this opportunity to thank a few 3471 03:11:15,720 --> 03:11:18,879 Speaker 3: people who made this possible. Firstly, Daddy and a Brusse 3472 03:11:19,160 --> 03:11:22,440 Speaker 3: I fix her. She was incredible. Secondly, I want to 3473 03:11:22,480 --> 03:11:26,200 Speaker 3: thank iHeart for paying for this. Like I said, it's 3474 03:11:26,320 --> 03:11:28,960 Speaker 3: been nearly a decade that I've been asking to do 3475 03:11:29,040 --> 03:11:31,680 Speaker 3: this story and I'm just really happy that they trusted 3476 03:11:31,720 --> 03:11:34,640 Speaker 3: me to do it. Thirdly, I want to thank everyone 3477 03:11:34,840 --> 03:11:38,320 Speaker 3: who trusted me with their stories, everybody who stayed in 3478 03:11:38,440 --> 03:11:41,800 Speaker 3: touch as they've come north. I want to thank Border 3479 03:11:41,879 --> 03:11:44,480 Speaker 3: Kindness and Borderland Relief Collective who have both welcomed me 3480 03:11:44,560 --> 03:11:46,520 Speaker 3: on their drops, and it's not always easy to be 3481 03:11:46,560 --> 03:11:49,320 Speaker 3: around a journalist. It's not easy to let someone record 3482 03:11:49,440 --> 03:11:51,960 Speaker 3: everything you're doing out there and their inherent risks to that, 3483 03:11:52,120 --> 03:11:55,120 Speaker 3: and I really appreciate them trusting me. I want to 3484 03:11:55,160 --> 03:11:57,240 Speaker 3: thank dutch Ware Hammocks, who rush shipped to me a 3485 03:11:57,320 --> 03:12:00,400 Speaker 3: hammock when my old one tore right before I left. 3486 03:12:01,240 --> 03:12:03,600 Speaker 3: And I think most of all, I want to thank 3487 03:12:03,600 --> 03:12:06,520 Speaker 3: all of you for listening, taking the time, and all 3488 03:12:06,560 --> 03:12:08,800 Speaker 3: the listeners who have reached out to say they're listening 3489 03:12:08,840 --> 03:12:10,480 Speaker 3: to the series, people who have reached out to ask 3490 03:12:10,560 --> 03:12:13,040 Speaker 3: how they can help. I would love to organize a 3491 03:12:13,080 --> 03:12:15,000 Speaker 3: way to help the people I've spoken to. I spoke 3492 03:12:15,040 --> 03:12:17,480 Speaker 3: to someone just this morning who's still stuck in Tapachula 3493 03:12:17,560 --> 03:12:20,200 Speaker 3: because she was robbed and her and her daughter are 3494 03:12:20,200 --> 03:12:23,280 Speaker 3: five hundred bucks short for the bus to ride north 3495 03:12:23,320 --> 03:12:26,800 Speaker 3: to Tijuana. I don't have the capacity to organize that 3496 03:12:27,080 --> 03:12:29,680 Speaker 3: right now, but if someone else does, they should reach 3497 03:12:29,720 --> 03:12:32,240 Speaker 3: out to me, because I would really like to help 3498 03:12:32,280 --> 03:12:35,400 Speaker 3: these people who have become my friends and who I 3499 03:12:35,480 --> 03:12:38,200 Speaker 3: care about, and who are right now stuck in a 3500 03:12:38,320 --> 03:12:42,120 Speaker 3: very dangerous place because someone in Washington, d C. Has 3501 03:12:42,160 --> 03:12:45,039 Speaker 3: made a choice to treat them with cruelty and not kindness. 3502 03:12:45,480 --> 03:12:47,480 Speaker 3: So if that's you, if you're the person who could 3503 03:12:47,480 --> 03:12:50,000 Speaker 3: to minister that, please let me know. Thanks, and I 3504 03:12:50,080 --> 03:12:51,000 Speaker 3: hope you enjoyed the series. 3505 03:12:53,840 --> 03:12:57,000 Speaker 2: Hey, We'll be back Monday with more episodes every week 3506 03:12:57,080 --> 03:12:58,959 Speaker 2: from now until the heat death of the Universe. 3507 03:12:59,280 --> 03:13:01,760 Speaker 11: It Could Happen Here is a production of cool Zone Media. 3508 03:13:01,959 --> 03:13:04,959 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from cool Zone Media, visit our website 3509 03:13:05,080 --> 03:13:08,600 Speaker 1: coolzonmedia dot com, or check us out on the iHeartRadio app, 3510 03:13:08,720 --> 03:13:12,280 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can 3511 03:13:12,360 --> 03:13:14,640 Speaker 1: now find sources for It Could Happen Here, listed directly 3512 03:13:14,680 --> 03:13:16,960 Speaker 1: in episode descriptions. Thanks for listening.