Stranded Migrants Low On Money In Tiny Colombian Port Town

Necocli, Colombia, Aug 5 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Aug, 2021 ) :Every year, thousands of migrants descend on the little coastal town of Necocli in northern Colombia, most with dreams of one day reaching the United States.

That influx dried up in 2020 due to Covid-19 restrictions and border closures, but Necocli was overwhelmed soon after Colombia opened its frontiers in May.

The town of 45,000 has been flooded with some 10,000 migrants waiting for a route out -- and rapidly running out of money.

Haitian Remi Wilford arrived in Necocli from Chile, where he had saved up $1,200 over the last four years working as a baker.

"I've only got $150 left ... it's going to be almost impossible to go any further," he said.

He took two weeks to arrive and has been waiting another two weeks to board a boat that will take him to the border with Panama.

There are 12 daily boat trips across the 60-kilometer wide Gulf of Uraba from Necocli to the border town of Capurgana.

It is in Capurgana where migrants begin the perilous journey through the ominous Darian Gap, a thick jungle infested with deadly snakes and murderous drug traffickers.

The only company in Necocli offering boat crossings simply cannot match demand, forcing migrants to spend their precious savings on food and lodging while waiting to move on.

In South America "you work for pesos and pay in Dollars" complained Nelson Courcelle, another Haitian, who is paying $25 a night for accommodation with his partner and seven-month-old baby.

The US Dollar is currently trading at record highs against the Colombian peso, hitting migrants even harder in the pocket.

Wilford, 34, paid $105 to enter Colombia illegally from Ecuador, another $200 for a four-day bus ride to Necocli, and more still to pay police bribes, he said.