Central American refugees flee violence

The Refugee Voice from Jesuit Refugee Service USA

Migration from the Northern Triangle of Central America — El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras — has risen steadily as violence has increased. Mary Small of Jesuit Refugee Service/USA and Shaina Aber of the United States Jesuit Conference explain what is driving people to flee for their lives. Learn more at http://www.jrsusa.org Youth gang violence has intensified in the last decade, and as drug trafficking routes have shifted to Central America, violence associated with the drug trade has risen as well. Honduras has the highest homicide rate in world; from 2005-2012, murders of women and girls have increased 346% while murders of men and boys are up 292%. In all three countries, rates of impunity are over 90%. Child advocates, especially from Honduras and El Salvador, report accounts of children and teenagers subject to assaults and intimidation from gangs, and of children being forcibly recruited by gangs who have "join or die" polices. In a survey conducted by UNHCR of 404 Central American children detained at the border in 2013, UNHCR found that 58% of the children might be in need of international protection. Information cited in the video comes from: Acre, Alberto. "Acusan a Policía De Honduras De Operar Escuadrones De La Muerte." El Heraldo. Publicaciones Y Noticias S.A. (PUBLYNSA.), 17 Mar. 2013. Web. 01 Aug. 2014. http://bit.ly/1rWU6j5 Avalos, Jessica, and Suchit Chavez. "The Northern Triangle: The Countries That Don't Cry for Their Dead." InSight Crime: Organized Crime in the Americas. Fundación InSight Crime, 23 Apr. 2014. Web. 01 Aug. 2014. http://bit.ly/1u7ik8g Cantor, David. "The New Wave: Forced Displacement Caused by Organized Crime in Central America and Mexico." Refugee Survey Quarterly 33.2 (2014): n. pag. Oxford Journals. Web. 1 Aug. 2014. http://bit.ly/1nZiNK5 Centro De Derechos De Mujeres. "Status of Violence against Women in Honduras." Americas Program. Center for International Policy, July 2014. Web. 01 Aug. 2014. http://bit.ly/Wex49W El Heraldo. "Repudio E Indignación Por Crimen De Sicarios En Capital De Honduras." El Heraldo. Publicaciones Y Noticias S.A. (PUBLYNSA.),, 7 Feb. 2013. Web. 1 Aug. 2014. http://bit.ly/1zDXd0j Kennedy, Elizabeth. "No Childhood Here: Why Central American Children Are Fleeing Their Homes." Immigration Policy Center. American Immigration Council, 1 July 014. Web. 05 Aug. 2014. http://bit.ly/1pHC3Nz Malkin, Elisabeth. "Honduran President Ousted in Coup." The New York Times. The New York Times, 28 June 2009. Web. 01 Aug. 2014. http://nyti.ms/1m5HGy4 Mejia, Thelma. "Military Given Full Powers to Fight Crime in Honduras."Inter Press Service News Agency. Inter Press Service, 4 Sept. 2013. Web. 01 Aug. 2014. http://bit.ly/1AHV3yj Torres, Carolina. ""LAS CIFRAS DE HOMICIDIOS NO DEBEN MANIPULARSE": SOCIÃLOGA LETICIA SALOMÃN." Presencia Universitaria: El Periódico De La Reforma. Universidad Nacional Autonoma De Honduras, 17 Mar. 2014. Web. 01 Aug. 2014. http://bit.ly/1pMz3tq Trucchi, Giorgio. "Honduras Is Combating Its Homicide Epidemic With Militarization." VICE News. VICE, 16 Apr. 2014. Web. 01 Aug. 2014. http://bit.ly/1oWcxSq United Nations. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Cocaine from South America to the United States. United Nations, n.d. Web. http://bit.ly/1qVrQxz United Nations. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Research and Trend Analysis Branch. Global Study on Homicide 2013. Ed. Jonathan Gibbons. United Nations, 10 Apr. 2014. Web. 1 Aug. 2014. unodc.org/gsh/en/index.html Yagenova, Simona V., comp. La Violencia Contra La Mujeres-El Caso De Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Y Nicaragua. Rep. Observatorio De Seguridad Ciudadana De Las Mujeres, 2013. Web. 1 Aug. 2014. http://bit.ly/1nSIafs