A portion of the Darien Gap in Panama’s Darien province. Credit: UrbanUnique/Shutterstock.
Apartado, Colombia, Aug 16, 2021 / 06:01 am (CNA).
Three Latin American ecclesial organizations on Wednesday asked for help for the thousands of migrants on their way to the US who are stranded in the Darien Gap, a jungle region at the Panama-Colombia border.
The migrants are exposed to criminal gangs and the risks typical of the jungle environment.
The Colombian Bishops’ Conference; the Latin American and Caribbean Ecclesial Network on Migration, Displacement, Refuge and Human Trafficking; and the Bishops’ Secretariat of Central America published a joint statement Aug. 11 proposing actions to be taken to address the humanitarian crisis in the border region.
According to data from the Panamanian authorities, more than 10,000 migrants are in transit in the Colombian-Panamanian border area through the Darien jungle. So far this year more than 40,000 migrants have crossed the border.
In addition, thousands of migrants have arrived at the Colombian port of Necoclí waiting for boats to take them to the border with Panama in order to cross the Darien jungle. The migrants are mainly from Haiti and Cuba, but also from Venezuela, Senegal, India, Pakistan, Congo, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Eritrea.
In July more than 212,000 migrants were detained at the US-Mexico border, the highest monthly figure since April 2000.
In their statement, the bishops representing the organizations warned of “the difficult humanitarian situation in the Gulf of Urabá Antioqueño, Colombia, and the Darien border region between Panama and Colombia, as a result of the arrival of a significant number of people from several countries, who intend to cross the Darien Gap.”
“The lack of knowledge about the harsh reality of the jungle, its natural environment and the presence of armed gangs controlling the area, we are being warned of a scenario of imminently increasing risks to their protection and the potential violation of the rights of this migrant population in transit through Colombia, Panama and Central America,” the prelates said.
They pointed out that in this border area the migrants “are exposed to countless risks, a situation that poses significant challenges in terms of emergency medical care and safe migratory transit.”
They also recalled the call of Pope Francis to governments “to be prudent and welcome all refugees and migrants,” and asked that “under a merciful gaze” migrants, refugees, displaced persons, and victims of trafficking “be received with a welcoming attitude” since “in addition to enduring the difficulties due to their very condition, they are frequently subjected to negative judgements, since they are considered responsible for social ills.”
“Their reality constitutes an alarm signal, which warns us of the moral decadence we face if we continue to give space to the throwaway culture,” they said.
The bishops also requested that “joint work be carried out between governments, governmental organizations and civil society, institutions and the host communities themselves, to humanize the care and treatment of migrants and guarantee minimum assistance in food, healthcare and coexistence.”
They also called “communities to be in solidarity with the migrants who are in transit” on the Colombian-Panamanian border, and requested “the ongoing and coordinated presence of the authorities in the municipalities and communities affected by the migratory flow, the adoption of national and regional measures for the implementation of humanitarian corridors that guarantee legal entry and safe, orderly and regular transit through the territories.”
They also asked that the basic rights of these people “in our territories” be guaranteed.
They also requested “the issuance of humanitarian visas to people in particularly vulnerable situations, as well as the evaluation of cases where the international protection of refugees applies.”
The archbishops said that it is necessary to establish temporary reception centers for migrants and refugees that meet “the minimum conditions to guarantee fundamental rights and thus avoid violations such as human trafficking.”
“Finally, we call for working together for the migrants who are crying out for support to continue their transit, starting with understanding their situation and recognizing them as human beings in an emergency that drives them to be on the move in a situation full of risks, necessities and constant challenges.”
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Another political stunt.
SOL,
I expect some people got inspired to participate in this for political reasons but still, good for the KC helping these folks at Christmas time.
I don’t like immigration used as a tool to gain political power & a larger constituency for Democrats either, but you know without it we’re going to be in the same kind of demographic implosion as Europe & Japan face. Look at the current US birth rates. Pretty dismal.
The strategy should be to attract honest, hardworking Christian folk from South of the border & not alienate them so that they run straight into the arms of liberal politicians who want to use them to overturn conservative states like TX.
I don’t believe liberal Democrats have the immigrants’ best interest-witness their campaign to abort migrant girls’ infants. But liberals claim to & they don’t publicly show the hostility that many of our conservatives do. We might could learn something from that.
Why not try the novel idea of increasing the native American birthrate? There are many valid reasons to declare an immigration moratorium and no good ones for continuing mass Third World immigration.
Tony,
Amen to your comments. And if demographic trends continue, the majority population will eventually be traditional Catholics, Amish, orthodox Jews, and others who bother to reproduce themselves. But that may take some time.
Mrscracker, the groups you list will be swamped by the dispararte (they are hardly all Latin American or Christian) Third World mob that is being ushered into this country by a treasonous elite. They will be united, temporarily, anyway, by their resentment of the country that was foolish enough to let them in. When the remnant middle class backbone of Americais finally vanquished, the war of all against all that is barely being suppressed today, will begin in earnest. May I ask if you at least oppose Muslim immigration into Western countries?
Mrscracker,
In an age of the ongoing collapse of industrial systems predicated upon cheap energy and easy access to resources, the problem of population implosion will eventually take care of itself, as those who are willing to surmount the hardship and reproduce will replace those who cannot.
The case for increasing the population through the reception of immigrants is one predicated upon infinite growth, which is not sustainable, and as you noted, aids the leftist revolutionaries. Immigrants are already alienated in so far as they have and seek to maintain a different identity and wishful thinking will not cause integration or their voluntary abandonment of their identity. And hostility by those being overwhelmed by them is a natural and just response. Violence is more likely than not if their numbers continue to increase. At this point the consequences are probably already in motion and very little can probably be done to prevent them. What can be done though is for Roman Catholics to preserve the credibility of their church and religion, but their bishops are ignorant of the dangers of the current situation and they are content to think the status quo can eventually favor their institution.
In continuing their current course Latin bishops will discredit themselves and their religion if and when there is a reaction to the status quo and the elites behind it.
Well stated, SOL. Based on their extreme leftist position on immigration alone, it is very hard for this practicing Catholic to regard the great majority of the Church hierarchy as being anything other than an enemy of my family, country and civilization.
SOL,
Thank you for your comments too.
Our plummeting fertility rates don’t foretell anything like infinite growth. More likely shrinking and aging. Without immigration that’s going to happen a whole lot sooner.
A smaller population isn’t the problem as much as an age imbalanced population. If you take a look at the demographic data and projections you see increasing numbers of elderly and fewer and fewer young people entering the workforce.
Birth rates are falling globally in all but a couple regions. One day we may wish we had more Christian immigrants to fill the empty places in our nation.
I don’t believe mass immigration is a good idea nor do I believe in open borders but Americans seem to have so little appreciation of their own culture that they can’t be bothered to create another generation to pass it down to.
The economic system and the decisions of the elites are based on the fantasy of infinite growth.
“but Americans seem to have so little appreciation of their own culture that they can’t be bothered to create another generation to pass it down to.”
I suspect this may be more true of blue urban areas than red rural areas, which have other difficulties.
See this link for more on infinite growth: https://psmag.com/.amp/magazine/fallacy-of-endless-growth
Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem to comply with the census. How many people were in the same boat and were there because of the census? The story of Mary and Joseph not finding a room at an inn could be a story of a community overwhelmed by there being more people than the community could handle at one time.
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The USA may be a rich powerful nation, but it does not have unlimited resources. There are only so many people that the USA can admit at one time while maintaining an orderly immigration process. A responsible host doesn’t invite more guests than the host can provide hospitality for. Illegal immigrants are gate-crashers. The mess at the Southern border is what happens when you have a large number of gate-crashers.
SOL,
Thank you very much for the link to that article.
I think that illustrates exactly what the misconceptions are about population. People are still basing their fears on theories from the 1970’s. It’s not 1972 anymore and things have changed dramatically.
Population implosion is what we need to be concerned about in the coming decades.
Though it’s certainly not a Catholic book and the author doesn’t hold our views on contraception, etc., I’d really recommend reading “Factfulness ” by Hans Rosling. Things really have changed globally and will continue to change. Not necessarily for the better, but not what was predicted in 1972 either.
God bless!