Fatal Journeys: Tracking Lives Lost during Migration
in the first six months of 2014 (UNHCR, 2014b). Other incidents this year have occurred near Indonesia and Malaysia, with victims mainly Indonesian. Central Americans are the main group dying along the United States–Mexico border, with the largest share coming from Mexico. For cases in which nationality could be determined, the vast majority of those who have died have been Mexican, accounting for 86 per cent of cases examined between 1990 and 2012 by the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner (PCOME) in Arizona (BMI, 2013). Changes in place of origin can be seen over the past 15 years, with a growing share of non-Mexican Central Americans, and changes in the region of origin of Mexican migrants (ibid.). Less frequent but still of concern are deaths occurring in the Caribbean. Of deaths known to IOM in 2014, all have been Haitians and Dominicans who drowned while sailing towards Puerto Rico and Florida. Reports suggest elevated numbers of Cubans have also been migrating through irregular channels to Mexico this year (Reuters, 2014). Sex of migrants and other basic data In a large number of cases, basic information about the identities of missing migrants and cause of death is simply unknown, even in regions with relatively good data. For example, in the United States records kept by the PCOME contain basic profiles of the deceased, location of death, time after death when remains are found, condition of body/remains when found, and cause of death. Nonetheless, in over one third of cases between 1990 and 2012, the identities of the deceased remain undetermined, and cause of death could not be established in 36 per cent of cases in this time period (BMI, 2013). Of deaths in 2013, cause of death could not be determined for 63 per cent of cases, primarily due to the limitations of examination of decomposed remains (PCOME, 2014). In PCOME’s data, precise information on age is possible only for migrants who are identified. In cases involving rescue at sea, rough estimates of the average ages of the deceased may be possible based on the ages of survivors and survivors’ accounts, although what information does exist is not systematically recorded or published. Highlighting the paucity of detailed information on the deceased, in the data compiled by IOM information on sex of the deceased is not available for the majority of migrants who lost their lives in 2014. Of the estimated 4,077 deaths, data on sex is available for only 171 people. The limited information available, however, suggests that by far the majority of the deceased are male (138 out of 171 cases) (see Figure 1.5). Deaths of males are also more likely when looking at data along the United States–Mexico border, although to a lesser extent. Of the 97 dead thus far in 2014 investigated by PCOME, 33 were identified as male and 4 as female (12%) (IOM calculation based on data from PCOME). Data over time support this finding – with females comprising an estimated 18 per cent
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