Migrant girls are exposed to more dangers during their journey to the US

Migrant girls, especially those traveling alone, face serious dangers on their way to the United States such as rape, abuse and human trafficking, a tragedy that non-governmental organizations seek to address in order to give minors a life free of violence.

“My country is full of gangs and they are dangerous, because they are killing. And even a boy wanted to hit us,” says this Friday to Efe María, an 11-year-old Salvadoran girl who uses this fictitious name for safety and is attended by the NGO Plan International.

Accompanied by her mother, the youngest embarked weeks ago on a journey from El Salvador to the city of Tapachula, in Mexico, an intermediate point before arriving at the northern border and, if her dreams are fulfilled, cross to the United States.

The region has experienced a large migration wave since 2018, when tens of thousands of people left by caravan from Central America to the United States, in a northward flow that, despite attempts to control the problem, has not stopped.

Mexico deported more than 114,000 foreigners in 2021, according to data from the Ministry of the Interior.

In addition, the Mexican Commission for Refugee Aid (Comar) received a record 131,448 refugee applications in 2021. Of these petitioners, more than 51,000 are Haitians.

For Maria, the trip was even more complicated because she did it only with her mother.

With few words, the result of her age and also of her difficult experience, the girl tearfully explained that during the route they were in danger and she, for example, was very afraid when walking along the train tracks for several days she heard noises that she could not interpret.

The girl's mother, Ana (fictitious name), explained that they fled their country because of the gangs, who took away even the little wealth they had.

Without telling anyone, they left their country walking and clandestinely.

“It took us about 15 days on our journey, but the essential thing was to take care of my daughter and take her to a safe place,” the woman explained.

Still frightened by crime in her country, she said that even when they arrived in Mexico they feared for gangs.

After crossing the border with Guatemala, they reached a small Mexican community and there, as a reflection of these dangers, they departed from the main road because they saw people using “drugs”.

They recommended “to go to the mountain and thank God we met a person who offered us a place to spend the night, and the next day we went to a hostel,” the woman said.

Like most parents who embark on the road accompanied by their children, the ultimate goal is to achieve a better life: “My dream is to see my daughter succeed, because we are in a country (Mexico) that gives opportunities if you look for them. Because in our country you don't have that for all gangs.”

Mother and girl now reside in Tapachula, a city located in the state of Chiapas, while they seek to regularize their situation in Mexico so that they can continue their journey.

In this city, thousands of migrants have previously reported living in precarious conditions after weeks and even months awaiting a response from the immigration authorities.

In this context, the help of NGOs — local and international — and even the support of churches and citizens is indispensable.

Ana explained that when they needed it most, the NGO Plan International gave them a kit and a card to buy a pantry that allows them to cover their basic needs.

Karla González, project coordinator for Plan International in Tapachula, explained to Efe that children — whether or not accompanied by their families — come to this country from different nations of the region for different reasons, from violence to the most extreme poverty, such as the troubled Haiti.

“It is a forced migration driven by the needs of your nations. Because of structural violence and organized crime that they and they encounter, minors who come alone or with their families,” explained the activist.

Plan International works with a local partner that provides care for individual cases to ensure the well-being of children and their environment, caring for about 1,000 minors from 2021 to date.

As González explained, many minors arrive in Tapachula with diminished health after weeks of crossing, with ailments ranging from dehydration to much more serious illnesses.

And in this municipality, which has been saturated for months, they face a lack of doctors, medicines and hospital supplies.

“Childhood is arriving with encephalitis or even with some kind of disability that requires much more adequate, more comprehensive care. Because there is no accompaniment, the risks increase for girls, boys, adolescents and women, since it is a group that is more vulnerable,” said Karla González.

Plan International, together with ChildFund International, EDUCO and other local partners is currently working with a program called Camino Protected, which is being developed in Guatemala, Salvador, Honduras and Mexico.

This plan seeks, in a comprehensive manner, to attend to minor migrants, alone or accompanied by their families through four lines of action: humanitarian assistance, training of actors at the community level, assistance in sexual and reproductive health and general information on migration procedures, among others.

The difficult journey is complicated, especially for unaccompanied minors.

According to data from the National Institute of Migration (INM) collected by Plan International, between January and September 2021, the flow of foreign children and adolescents traveling alone in Mexico was 9,585.

They came especially from Guatemala (4,815), Honduras (3,480), El Salvador (1,033) and, in a smaller proportion, from nations such as Haiti, Peru and Ecuador (257).

“With the issue of girls and adolescents there has been an increase (the dangers) in traffic. They have narrated abuse, both sexual and psychological, as well as mistreatment. (...) As irregular migrants, they pass through lost crossings, along dangerous roads” and the chances of being victims of some kind of crime increase even more, González said.

In the municipality of Puebla, the NGO Plan International, together with another local partner, Juconi, seeks to care for unaccompanied minors through “alternative care”.

“They have a model for providing accompaniment to unaccompanied children by inserting them into a family dynamic,” said Karla González.

EFE

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