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. 2024 Apr 20:9:100230.
doi: 10.1016/j.jmh.2024.100230. eCollection 2024.

Borders and liminality in the right to health of migrants in transit: The case of Colchane in Chile and Necoclí in Colombia

Andrea Carolina Jaramillo Contreras  1 , Báltica Cabieses  2   3 , Michael Knipper  1 , Teresita Rocha-Jiménez  4   5
Affiliations

Borders and liminality in the right to health of migrants in transit: The case of Colchane in Chile and Necoclí in Colombia

Andrea Carolina Jaramillo Contreras et al. J Migr Health. .

Abstract

The absence of the right to health of migrants in transit has evolved into a significant global health concern, particularly in the border regions thus, this study aims to improve knowledge in this area by exploring the effects of the spatio-temporal liminal characteristics at borders in the achievement of the right to health of migrants in transit moving across two of the most transited and dangerous borders in Latin America: Colchane (Chile-Bolivia) and the Darién Gap (Colombia-Panamá). Through a qualitative descriptive multi-case study, we implemented 50 semi-structured interviews (n = 30 in Chile and n = 20 in the Darién/Necoclí) involving national, regional, and local stakeholders. The findings highlight that the fulfilment of the right to health of migrants in transit is hindered by liminal dynamics at the borders. These dynamics include closure of borders, (in)securities, uncertainty and waiting, lack of economic resources, lack of protection to all, liminal politics, and humanitarian interventions. These findings surface how the borders' liminality exacerbates the segregation of migrants in transit by placing them in a temporospatial limbo that undermines their right to health. Our study concludes that not just the politics but also the everyday practices, relationships and social infrastructure at borders impedes the enjoyment of the right to health of distressed migrants in transit. The short-term humanitarian response; illicit dynamics at borders; migratory regulations; and border and cross-border political structures are some of the most significant determinants of health at these borderlands.

Keywords: Borders; Distress migration; Liminality; Migrants in transit; Right to health.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Map 1
Map 1
Border Colombia-Panamá and Border Chile-Bolivia (ArcGis 8.1).
Map 2
Map 2
Capurganá, Gulf of Urabá, Colombia (ArcGis 8.1).
Map 3
Map 3
Arica, Parinacota and Tarapacá, Chile (ArcGis 8.1).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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