Drug Gang Wars & Lawlessness Why People Fleeing Central America for the U.S.

While most media is focused on the refugee crisis in the Middle East, especially Syria, spilling over into the European Union, another large-scale migration crisis in Central America gets far too little attention with many seeking to flee Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua for the United States.

If the war in Syria is the root of much of the migration crisis confronting the EU, unrestrained violent gang culture and drug wars with staggering rates of impunity in these Central American countries explain why so many are desperate to escape and seek a better life. Indeed the rates of impunity are almost unimaginable - 99% in the case of Honduras; El Salvador at 92% and Guatemala 80%. So desperate has the situation become that thousands of even unaccompanied children - some as young as 6 or 7 - are now risking their lives to catch a ride on what has become known as the "Beast" - a dangerous train - in a bid to join their families or simply seek freedom in the United States.

It is worth underlining that much of the massive upsurge in gang violence and drugs wars in Central America is attributed to the large-scale and some suggest heavy handed mass deportations from the United States in the 1990s. Indeed, far from controlling illegal immigration into the US such deportations - with still growing gang violence and rising rates of impunity - seem to have accelerated rates of illegal migration. Given Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump advocates more of the same this suggests instability and lawlessness in Central America could become even more serious, with little prospect that the desperate flow of people seeking refuge will decline.

The Central American migration crisis was addressed at a special conference Trinity College Dublin to mark the 20th Anniversary of LASC- Latin America Solidarity Campaign on Saturday, April 23, 2016. The meeting was chaired by the well known peace activists Caiomhe Butterly.

Anne Daly, Co-Founder of Esperanza Productions attended the conference and provided this report.

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Esperanza Productions was co-founded by award winning documentary filmmakers Ronan Tynan and Anne Daly.

web: www.esperanza.ie

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