Colombian town transformed into limbo for Cuban migrants
The Colombian government is shooing out the Cubans who have taken refuge in Turbo before passing into Panama and embarking on the next leg of their journey to the US
Until last Friday, the Cubans swore they would resist and persevere, but as time passes, their spirits are falling. Many have already begun to leave for a road through the Tapón del Darién jungle – which, they hope, will deposit them in Panama after days of walking. In the past five days, more than 400 migrants have vacated their temporary dwellings because of renewed threats of deportation from the Colombian government.JUAN CARLOS ZAPATAAs of right now, 14 Cubans staying in hotels in Turbo have been deported back to the homeland. However, the government has increased pressure, distributing pamphlets informing Colombians that housing the migrants is a legal offense. William Patiño, Antioquia’s Director of Migration, explains that they are taking these measures so that residents have clear the law’s stance on the immigration. The remaining Cubans say that if they leave, it will be by boat; they’re not eager to risk deportation.JUAN CARLOS ZAPATAAlthough the exact number isn’t clear, there could be more than ten pregnant women. Some have experienced medical complications because of the difficult conditions they’ve endured during these past days, although certain Turbo residents have opened their homes to the expecting mothers.JUAN CARLOS ZAPATAWhile there’s no concrete figure, at least 50 Cuban children are living in the make-shift neighborhood, awaiting the humanitarian gesture that will allow them to continue on their route to the United States. The jungle route is precarious, but there are no other options. “It’s not what we want, but if it’s the only way out, we would rather die there than go back to Cuba,” says one of the migrants.JUAN CARLOS ZAPATA (JUAN CARLOS ZAPATA)Carrying the Colombian and Cuban flags, citizens of the two countries come together through a symbolic march to ask the Colombian government to consider authorizing a shuttle service that will help the migrants arrive safely in the United States. The government shows no sign of adopting the plan.JUAN CARLOS ZAPATAFriday afternoon, the Cubans stepped out of their bodega to thank the people of Turbo for the support and solidarity that they’ve shown for their temporary neighbors. Some lawyers have also come to the region, “motivated by what the media is showing,” according to one of them, Juan Estevan Montoya, from Medellín. He made the trip of his own volition. “We’re here to guard the rights to due legal process that the Cubans deserve,” he says. “They are infringing on human rights here. Nobody can be deported to their home country without an administrative process, and without being guaranteed that, upon returning, nothing is going to happen to them, that there won’t be some kind of retaliation.”JUAN CARLOS ZAPATAThe Cubans that have decided to leave on their own account in order to avoid deportation have had to abandon the community they managed to build in Turbo. Few were able to bring more than a bag of the basics. Ariel Jaca, 42-years-old, has brought a machete, rainboots, cookies, saline solution, and a rope.JUAN CARLOS ZAPATAWhile the Turbo residents’ help has been significant, during the period of over two months that the Cubans lived in the town, there were days where they went without food. Many report that they almost reached the point of malnutrition. Liduine Zumpolle, a Dutch woman who has been working in human rights in Colombia for decades, has followed the migrants’ plight. She reports that addition to the dangerous jungle conditions that await them, the so-called “coyotes” (people who charge migrants $2000 to help smuggle them across the Mexico-US border) have only worsened the situations of those trying to get their piece of the American dream. “It’s like a mafia that often has been established with the complicity of authorities.” She remarks that the coyotes don’t just let anyone pass, blocking the route, stealing the little that the migrants have brought with them, and often ultimately abandoning them.JUAN CARLOS ZAPATAThe Cuban population in Turbo took to the streets to beg the authorities not to deport them. However, they did not receive the answer they were hoping for, and now small groups have begun leaving the town. The Colombian government insists that its responsibility for the migrants terminates once they disembark in Capurgarná. And what happens after that? Only those brave enough to continue on the dangerous route to the US know.JUAN CARLOS ZAPATA
