Connecting Threads (WRD 2024)

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Journeying through jungles and deserts, people often risk everything to travel to the northern Mexican border.

Along the way, the route demands hyper vigilance as the threat of robberies, kidnappings, torture, and sexual violence by armed groups or even authorities looms large.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) provides desperately-needed medical care and aid along the migration route.

Connecting Threads features photographs by Juan Carlos Tomasi. Through Tomasi's lens, we bear witness to the strength and determination of people navigating harsh terrain and unpredictable circumstances.

These images convey the struggles and resilience of migrants and asylum seekers across the Americas, as well as the crucial role of humanitarian aid and the urgent need for a more caring and compassionate response to this crisis.

Crossing the Darién Gap

One of the most traveled migration routes in the world is the Darién Gap. It is a roadless, dense jungle that must be traveled on foot.

As the numbers of people embarking on this dangerous journey have increased, so too has the level of violence.

Despite the level of danger, people continue to risk their lives in order to escape the situations in their home countries.

Listen to the first-hand testimonies of people who survived the Darién Gap:

In Panama, MSF has provided medical and psychological care for people who have witnessed and survived assaults, robberies, and sexual violence while traveling through the jungle.

From January to October 2023, MSF teams in Panama provided:

51,500

medical consultations

2,400

mental health consultations

397

treatment cases of sexual violence

MSF was forced to suspend medical activities in Panama in March 2024. As one of the few organizations who was working in southern Panama, this will be devastating for migrants exiting the treacherous Darién Gap.

Providing Care on the Migration Route

People fleeing for safety face more barriers stopping them from accessing health care as they travel the rest of the migration route through Central America and Mexico.

And the threat of robberies, extortion, kidnappings, and sexual violence persists by organized crime groups, human traffickers, and some public officials.

In Panama, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico, MSF staff members are a lifeline for people beyond the Darién Gap.

Migrants Need Care

“Measures to deter migration in the region have put people on the move at greater risk,” says Camilo Velez, Deputy Mission Chief in Mexico and Central America.

Right now, thousands of people seeking asylum in the US are stranded in Northern Mexico border cities. Many do not have proper access to shelter, clean water, and health care.

Adriana, Jhonny, and their four small children left their home in Venezuela in 2024.

Hear about their journey through the Darién Gap jungle and Central America as they apply for asylum in the United States (YouTube):

While our medical activities in Panama are suspended, MSF is assisting people at different points along the migration route between South America, Central America, Mexico, and the United States.

People seeking asylum need health care. As MSF continues to demand for more humane immigration policies, we’re providing essential care for our migrant patients.