Bangladesh to Central America: Aided by his uncles, a Bangladeshi student leaves school to journey to the US, via Central and South America.
Written by: The Journeys Project
Many young men from Bangladesh are full of spirit, energy, and confidence. Abdullah is no exception. And yet, his journey has certainly tempered his exuberance. Each time he described how he moved from one border to the next, his voice trembled. He fought back tears as he spoke about the path from Panama to Costa Rica. Nevertheless, he intends to finish his journey and reach the US. Abdullah does not identify as an economic migrant.
"Several of my uncles and cousins live in the US. They convinced my parents to allow me to go to the U.S. through the same channels that they had used. So, my parents were encouraged to let me go. I was studying in school. I was in the middle of a higher secondary examination when an uncle from the US and the agent [smuggler] from Bangladesh called and instructed my father: 'Go to Dhaka for the visa and passport.' My family had set aside savings for this purpose. My father had become sick a few years ago. So, we sold some of our land. After spending some money on my father's treatment, we had some left over. We kept this money in the bank and thought that when I go to the USA, we can use it. Though this was not sufficient because the contract with the agent was for about $26,000. My father borrowed some money to add to the savings and fund my journey.
"I flew to Dubai first, then to Brazil. I arrived in Rio de Janeiro on April 7." (The time of the interview was mid-May.) "I travelled to Brazil alone. An agent received me at the Brazilian airport and helped me shop for food and clothing. He left me at the airport after I boarded the plane to São Paulo. From there, we were taken to Peru by bus. The agent was waiting for us at the airport. Three Nepalis joined me at the airport.
"We were taken to a hotel in Lima, Peru. At the hotel, the agent had identified us by matching our photos on his phone with our faces. He visited our rooms to check. I saw Bangladeshi people from Noakhali and Sylhet districts in that hotel. I met people from India and Pakistan as well. We were 21 in total. The agent took us to a minibus, and we started our journey by road from there.
"When I started traveling, I started out alone. I made some friends when I arrived at different destinations. We were taken to Ecuador from Peru by bus. And then we crossed the border to reach Colombia. At the Peruvian border, the police arrested us and looked for our identity papers. As we didn't have any papers with us, the police asked us to give them our valuables, so they would let us go. I had to give my iPhone [6s]. My group mates also handed over their valuables. I also had to bribe the Colombian border police.
"I will never forget the journey from Colombia to Panama and then Panama to Costa Rica; the journey from Panama to Costa Rica was particularly horrible. I never thought that I would be able to come out from there [the Darién jungle] to talk to my family again. The agent took the money from us by saying that he would accompany us up to the border. But then he left us and told us to follow a walking trail. We lost our way. We kept walking for two days. One of our group members got sick. We encountered another group of people, mostly from India. They were also seeking to find the Costa Rican border. We had to leave one of our group members on the way, as he was too sick to walk. The jungle was full of snakes and other poisonous insects. Yet we continued our journey. Once I started to think that maybe I would never be able to get out of it. Maybe I would have to die here. I cried... every night. Actually, all of us cried together every night. Then we managed to reach the Panamanian camps. We also had to pay for food and accommodation at those camps.
"After staying there those few nights, we were handed over to the Costa Rican police. The Costa Ricans treated us well. They were really nice. We were taken to an office where they gave us papers that permitted us to stay in Costa Rica for 25 days. One lady mentioned that we could stay longer if we wished." (And we later found that often this is the case.) "But I wanted to go to Mexico, and then to the USA."
Asked what he should do if he gets arrested at the Mexican border with the US, Abdullah replied, "I will have to go to jail. But my agent and cousins will help me to get out of the jail, hopefully."
However, in the end, Abdullah said, "I wouldn't advise anyone to go through the jungle because it is a life-and-death experience."
📝 This article was originally published in a collection of biographies by the Henry J. Leir Institute at The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy and Tufts University.
You can Download the original collection below ⬇️