Women, mothers, migrants: Stories of resilience across borders

"My mother was the source of my strength to cross the Darien jungle so I could help her in Cuba, where she is facing many difficulties," says Mayra Hernandez, a 56-year-old Cuban migrant woman. She has just arrived at the Southern Migration Station (EMISUR) on the Costa Rican-Panamanian border with her son and husband, after four long and difficult days crossing the inhospitable Darien jungle. 

She does not hesitate to say that this has been one of the saddest and most complicated moments she has faced in her life, as she almost lost her life in a water current. She survived thanks to the solidarity and courage of a Venezuelan migrant who rescued her.

This is not the first time Mayra has migrated to another country. 10 years ago, she left her country of origin due to economic difficulties and migrated to Ecuador. After eight years working in the culinary sector, she was unable to get a formal job due to her status as an irregular migrant. She then went to Colombia with the desire to improve her family's living conditions but would face the same difficulties there. Now in Costa Rica, her goal is to reach the United States, where she hopes to obtain legal documentation and residency that will allow her to work formally and financially support her mother in Cuba. 

Costa Rica is considered a transit country for people traveling by land from South America to North America, mainly towards the United States. In recent years, the number of people in transit through the country has increased considerably, a situation that led to its government declaring a National Emergency due to the migratory crisis in September 2023.

According to the National Migration Service (SNM) of Panama, in 2023 more than half a million people entered the Americas in a mobility situation and transited through Costa Rica. Approximately 36% of them were women of different nationalities, mostly Venezuelan. 

Yannibeth Bencomo Araujo is one of them. Like Mayra, she migrated to Ecuador fleeing violence and lack of employment in Venezuela. With effort and dedication, she managed to start a small business, but due to extortion from criminal groups she was forced to migrate again. 

Despite her fear of crossing the Darien jungle, Yannibeth joined a group of friends to travel to Colorado in the U.S., where she hopes to reunite with some family members and start a new life away from the violence and insecurity that have haunted her for so long. 

Yannibeth says that she deeply admires all the women who brave the Darien jungle with their children, risking their lives to have a more dignified life in another country.  

Near Yannibeth is Edinne, a Haitian woman in her 30s, accompanied by her husband and their young daughter Rodinne.

This Haitian family has migrated multiple times in recent years. In 2014, they decided to leave Haiti for Brazil due to the lack of opportunities and high levels of violence in their community. Three years later, they migrated to Chile, since the income they were earning was not enough to cover their needs and support their families back in Haiti. In Chile, they faced various difficulties due to their irregular migratory status, so two years later they are in the process of migrating again. This time, they hope to obtain better working conditions in the United States. 

The family’s young daughter says that for her, her mom is the “most beautiful” in the world, because she takes care of her, feeds her and gives her affection. "Thank you for everything mom," says Rodinne as she hugs her mother. 

The stories of Mayra, Yannibeth and Edinne, represent the challenges and experiences of the thousands of women in transit through Costa Rica, who experience adversity, discrimination, and violence on their way, as they continue in their struggle to achieve a better quality of life for themselves and their loved ones. 

The United Nations System, led by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), works in coordination with the central government, local governments and civil society organizations to ensure that the needs of migrant women in transit are adequately considered and included in humanitarian planning and implementation, in order to prevent, mitigate and respond to the protection risks they face on their migratory route.