Mateo’s story

Mateo*, originally from Colombia, used to live with his mother and abusive father in Panama. Three years ago, the Global Assistance Fund assisted Mateo’s mother in returning to Colombia to escape the domestic violence she suffered for decades, but Mateo wished to stay in Panama. However, he exceeded his stay in the county and became an irregular migrant when he was still a minor. This not only worsened his chances of finding any means to sustain himself but also turned him into a target for community discrimination and abuse. He would be often threatened that he would be taken to detention centers and be deported as soon as he would not be a minor. People would scream “migrant, migrant!” on the street. Mateo says that he had to start walking a much bigger distance home to avoid meeting certain people who would mistreat him in the streets. When he was 13 years old, he was detained and reports that he was abused psychologically and physically. 

In 2020, Mateo reached out to IOM to ask for assistance to return home to join her mother in Colombia, who is HIV positive and was in a very delicate health situation. Besides, Mateo did not feel safe in Panama anymore. The COVID-19 pandemic and his irregular status in the country made it impossible for him to find work, and he feared that he would be detained since he has reached the age of majority now.

The Global Assistance Fund provided him with accommodation and meals for four months in Panama while travelling was not possible due to the pandemic, and then provided him with a flight back to Colombia and granted him money for reintegration assistance and psychosocial support services post-arrival.

*Name modified for the purpose of anonymity.