2 Guinean children are abandoned in Colombian airport as African migrants take new route to US
ABC News
Colombian authorities say two children from the West African nation of Guinea were abandoned in Bogota’s airport and taken into government custody this week after spending several days on their own in the international departures terminal
BOGOTA, Colombia -- Two children from the West African nation of Guinea were abandoned in Bogota’s airport and taken into government custody this week after spending several days on their own in the international departures terminal, Colombian authorities said Tuesday.
Colombia’s national immigration department said the children, aged 10 and 13, had been travelling with separate groups and were left in the airport by their relatives earlier this month for reasons that have not been clarified.
The discovery of the two children comes as migrants from Africa increasingly use South American and Central American airports as stepping stones on the long route to the United States.
Last year, more than 12,000 Africans crossed the roadless Darien jungle between Colombia and Panama on their way north after taking flights to Brazil, according to statistics published by Panamanian officials.
But this year, the number of Africans making the grueling trek across the jungle fell by 25% as an air route that begins in Turkey and takes migrants to countries north of the Darien appears to have become more popular.
