Lecture – The Darien Jungle: A Natural Frontier as a Moral Alibi? Unraveling Political and Media Instrumentalization of Migration Crossing the Colombia-Panama Border

This talk presents the Darien Jungle, often termed the "Tapon del Darien," as a pivotal site where geopolitical and humanitarian narratives intersect. Situated between Colombia and Panama, the jungle serves as a natural border traversed by over 500,000 migrants in 2023, seeking passage to the United States. Despite its portrayal in political and media discourses as a perilous "green hell," the Darien Jungle is increasingly utilized as a moral alibi to justify stringent immigration policies.

This talk examines how the jungle's challenging terrain, and the experiences of migrants are shaped by a complex network of actors, including local guides, paramilitary groups, and international organizations like Interpol. By analyzing the discourse surrounding the Darien as a natural frontier, this talk critiques the ethical implications of using geographical features to justify abandonment, despite the potential for rescue efforts if prioritized, followed by filtering, control, and verification techniques. It underscores this contradiction, questioning the underlying priorities and values in border management and migration policies, aiming to broaden discussions on border realities beyond dichotomies of nature versus culture.
 

18 December 2024, 4.00-5.30pm
Online lecture (Zoom)
Lecture in English
 

Registration here  

Marilou Sarrut is a doctoral candidate in Geography with an anthropologically grounded approach. She conducted over 7 months of ethnographic fieldwork at the Colombia-Panama border, focusing on both the entry and exit points of the Darien Jungle crossing in 2022 and 2023. Drawing from shared migrant experiences and an analysis of daily life at the jungle's edge, her research explores the role and responsibility attributed to nature in this migratory passage toward the "American dream". Funded by the Institute Convergence Migrations, she conducts her research within the CESSMA laboratory (Up. Cité).

The lecture is part of the lecture series: “Border Realities: Beyond Nature and Culture”

The series is organized by Lola Aubry (UniGR-Center for Border Studies, University of Luxembourg) and Anne-Laure Amilhat Szary (Pacte, CNRS, Université Grenoble Alpes).