Fatal Journeys: Tracking Lives Lost during Migration
were more likely to die than men. Seventy-seven per cent of the men on board drowned, whereas 93 per cent of the women and 95 per cent of the children on the boat drowned (Pickering and Cochrane, 2013:41). This brief comparison of deaths across regions and the profile of migrants at risk, suggests that there are significant differences in the absolute numbers of migrants dying in different parts of the world. It is not clear to what extent such differences can be explained by the higher scale of irregular migration in some regions – thus, not necessarily higher rates of death – better reporting of deaths, or policies that have been effective in lowering fatality rates. Available information can also provide some understanding on the sex and origin of migrants most at risk. As explained in the next section, there are still large gaps in information that limit our understanding of both the number and profile of migrants dying while in transit.
1.4 Challenges of collecting data on migrant deaths 1.4.1 Invisibility There are inherent challenges involved in tracking the deaths of irregular migrants and even the best counts will have gaps. For one, the very nature of irregular travel – that the objective is to avoid detection – makes tracing deaths, and identifying bodies, extremely challenging. Even when the most “newsworthy” sinkings occur, often the number of passengers on board is unknown, making accurate estimates of deaths near impossible. Many who die do not carry identity documents. When migrants travel in groups, survivors who reach their destinations undetected may be afraid of reporting deaths of fellow travellers due to fear of apprehension by authorities. For similar reasons, families may not report missing relatives. In the case of migrants fleeing gang violence in Central America and Mexico, survivors may refrain from reporting deaths and disappearances for fear of retribution to family members remaining in origin countries (see Chapter 2). 1.4.2 Remote topography and challenging environments In addition to the clandestine nature of irregular migration, the topography through which migrants travel, again the choice of routes being motivated by the desire to remain undetected, presents challenges for documenting deaths. For one, migrant trails often pass through remote areas, far from the eyes of the State and the media. The tough ecologies of land passages can mean that remains may be quickly destroyed by arid climates and wild animals, or may be lost in crevices or swept down rivers. Those remains that are found may be at such an advanced state of decomposition that even basic demographic information on the deceased is not possible (BMI, 2013; PCOME, 2014). In the sea, without an accurate count of passengers, finding the bodies of all those
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