The remote Indigenous community of Bajo Chiquito in Panama used to be a quiet place.
AlJazeera reports that the town does not have paved roads leading to it. Instead, only dirt paths and the Turquesa River connect it to the outside world. Surrounding the community is a dense jungle filled with parrots and monkeys.
However, in the past few years, residents’ lives have been transformed. Over the last few years, the town has become one of the busiest migration routes in the Western Hemisphere. Thousands of people cross from Columbia into Panama using a narrow land bridge called the Darien Gap each year. Bajo Chiquito is at the northern edge of the most popular trail. The Columbian border is just 24km away from the town.
Now, the streets bustle with large crowds, like a city. Saray Alvarado, a 27-year-old local, said, “When I was a boy, it used to be silent here. A lot has changed.”
Last year was the busiest for Bajo Chiquito and the Darien Gap as a record 520,000 migrants and asylum seekers went through the long trek of Darien’s deadly terrain. They travelled from crisis-ridden countries like Haiti, Venezuela and Ecuador.
However, others came from as far away as Africa, Asia, and Europe. Due to immigration restrictions, they could not fly to the US and had to trek on foot.
The number of travellers has been increasing progressively in recent months. From just 8,500 migrants in 2020, it spiralled to 248,000 in 2022. The town receives over 1,000 migrants and asylum seekers daily, and Panamanian authorities process the new arrivals as they prepare to board boats to the nearest road, which is four hours away.
According to a January report from UNICEF, up to 4,000 people descend on the town in a day. Meanwhile, the town has a population of 500. Exhausted migrants and asylum seekers stay in tents along village paths.
Local businesses are thriving. The migrants need food, water, accommodations, electricity and internet access. There is even a Western Union facility.
Migrants and asylum seekers generally take two boat rides to pass through the town, each costing $25. They also need to buy basic facilities as they continue their trek north. Many residents are opening businesses, renovating houses, or building new ones. Others have bought new boats or invested in high-speed internet.
But the arrivals have their disadvantages. Although the migrants and asylum seekers spend a lot of money, residents are drifting from agricultural practices like growing plantain and rice. They would rather import processed food to satisfy their needs.
There is also the danger of the culture being diluted by outside influences. The community has become less self-sufficient. It relies more and more on outside goods and trade.
