SPONSORED: 331.5 B837c INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MIGRATION Paths of Light and Shadow: Stories of migrant children and adolescents migrants / Ani Brenes, Laura Delgado, Daniela Álvarez Keller. – 1 ed. – San José, Costa Rica : Brenes Herrera Ani. Delgado Tenorio Laura. Álvarez Keller Daniela International Organization for Migration , 2016. 104 p. : il. ; 22 X 28 cm. ISBN: 978-9968-542-68-5 1. IMMIGRANT - PERSONAL STORIES. 2. MIGRATION. 3. CHILDREN. I. DELGADO, LAURA. II. ALVAREZ KELLER, DANIELA. III. TITLE. AUTHORS WITH TWO NAMES 1) ANI BRENES HERRERA 2) LAURA DELGADO TENORIO 3) DANIELA ALVAREZ KELLER. Produced by: International Organization for Migration (IOM) Text authors: Ani Brenes Herrera, Laura Delgado Tenorio and Daniela Alvarez Keller Translator: J. Ashley Gagné Edition: Sofía Salas Monge and Mercedes Alvarez Rudín (IOM) Illustrations, layout and design: Casa Garabato (Ruth Angulo Cruz and Jeannina Carranza Castro) Programme Coordinator: Sofía Salas Monge (IOM) This is a publication of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Costa Rica Office Avenida Central, Calles 27 and 29, Barrio La California, San José. Postal code 122-2050 Tel. 506 22-12-53-00 Fax: 506 22-55 16 64. E-mail: [email protected] IOM thanks the Social Welfare Secretariat of the Presidency (SBS) of Guatemala, the Salvadoran Institute for Integral Development for Children and Adolescents (ISNA), Casa Alianza in Honduras, Casa del Migrante de Tecún Umán in Guatemala and Sin Fronteras IAP in Mexico, for their invaluable contribution to this effort by collecting stories about the actual experiences of migrant children and adolescents in Mesoamerica. This publication has been produced in collaboration with the US State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) through the IOM’s Regional Programme to Strengthen Capacities to Protect and Assist Vulnerable Migrants in Mesoamerica, implemented since 2010. TABLE OF CONTENTS •  Prologue 9 •  Alicia 14 •  Nahil 18 •  Eduardo 23 •  Mónica 28 •  Daniela 32 •  Ana 37 •  Lili and Josué 43 •  Sergio 49 •  Álvaro 54 •  Carlos 58 •  Pablo 64 •  Maya 69 •  Carolina 76 •  Micael 81 •  Lucas 88 •  Jorge 92 •  Mosaic 100 PrESENTATiON M igration affects millions of girls and boys around the world. The Central America-Mexico-United States corridor had gained attention, as studies show that the number of children and adolescent migrants recorded there has increased tenfold in recent years.1 Despite their growing participation, a lack of accurate statistical information exists about the number of minors involved in international migration processes.2 Among the available data, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported that 38,759 children and adolescents were apprehended at its southwestern border in 2013, while from October 2014 the number increased to 68,541. Despite a temporary lapse in the numbers in 1 Regional Study on Children and Migration in Central and North America: Causes, policies, practices and challenges, led by the University of California and the University of Lanús, 2015. 2 Human Rights Council. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants. A/ HRC, 2011. 9 early 2015, apprehensions rose 117 per cent by the end of that year. As of March 2016, apprehension numbers reflect seasonal trends observed in prior years. However, prior to 2012, official data indicates that the great majority (more than 75%) of unaccompanied minors originated from Mexico. This changed in 2014 when nearly 75 per cent of all minors who arrived at the United States’ southern border originated from Honduras (28%), Guatemala (24%) and El Salvador (21%), with a substantially reduced portion (only 25%) from Mexico.3 Concerning gender, despite the higher number of migrant boys than girls, 2014 saw a greater increase in the percentage of girls (140%) than of boys (100%) among apprehensions of children under twelve. The truth is that behind these figures lie stories and realities, the complexity and particularity of which merit attention. Because the human being – whether girl, boy or adolescent – suffers real trauma, and deserves protection and recognition. In this context, the IOM’s Regional Programme to Strengthen Capacities to Protect and Assist Vulnerable Migrants in Mesoamerica has undertaken a series of efforts to improve assistance to and protection of the rights of minors and women migrating in vulnerable conditions, victims of trafficking and sexual violence, refugees and 3 Official figures from the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), 2014. 10 asylum-seekers, extra continental migrants, and indigenous and LGBTI migrant populations, among others. Collecting the stories of migrant youth throughout the region is part of IOM’s mission to increase visibility of this human calamity and to sensitize and invite reflection on the harsh reality facing these populations. The IOM, through its Regional Mesoamerica Programme (with PRM funds), hopes that this book serves as a tool for building the capacities of government and civil society institutions in the Mesoamerican region. However, more so, it hopes that the tumultuous paths of the sixteen migrant youths illuminated herein, will strengthen readers’ commitment to working through the approaches of human rights, gender, diversity, and multiculturalism, thereby enhancing the quality of children’s lives and serving their best interests. Elaboration of this book was made possible by the invaluable collaboration of institutes that serve children and adolescents throughout the Mesoamerican region, as well as by civil society organizations, shelters and centres that care for minors and work in close proximity to the harsh realities they face on a daily basis. In keeping with the principle of confidentiality, information that could compromise the privacy and safety of the minors whose stories are reconstructed in these pages has been omitted. Roeland de Wilde Chief of Mission, IOM Costa Rica 11 civil, albergues y centros de atención de niñas, niños y adolescentes, que por su labor cotidiana, tienen mayor proximidad con la realidad de estas personas. En resguardo del principio de confidencialidad, se ha omitido toda aquella información o detalles que pudiesen de cualquier manera comprometer la privacidad y seguridad de las personas menores de edad cuyas historias se reconstruyen en estas páginas. Roeland de Wilde Jefe de Misión, OIM Costa Rica Stories Historias 12 13 13 “I hope to cross all borders that separate my father and me, return to school, and help him and my family a little bit.” 14