The Darién Gap is a 150 km stretch of mountainous wilderness on the border of Colombia and Panama – home to drug traffickers, kidnappers, wild jaguars and lethal snakes.
It’s an area controlled by Colombia’s anti-government guerilla fighters known as FARC and a known corridor for the movement of weapons.
As migrant access to the United States becomes increasingly limited, people from Africa, Asia and the Middle East are now heading to South American countries and making their way north. The Darién Gap jungle is the only break in the Pan-American Highway running over 30,000 km from Alaska to Argentina.
Never successfully crossed by a TV crew, Dateline attempts the life or death journey, by boat and on foot – hiking through unknown wilderness alongside desperate migrants already making the trek.
During the journey Dateline’s team and the migrants they follow, face fear, hunger and de-hydration. They lose their way in the maze of wilderness and are confronted by venomous snakes, disease, machete wielding guides and a sudden border closure, intended to stop migrant crossings.
Dateline uncovers the risks migrants are prepared to take in the hope of a better life – documenting their perilous journey.
In this two-part special, Dateline’s Jason Motlagh undertakes this grueling physical and deeply personal journey. Jason’s father was an Iranian migrant who took his own gamble in order to reach the United States. Fleeing Iran in the 1970s and unable to get a US visa, his father faked an illness during a flight layover in New York. As he was transported to a medical clinic he escaped, becoming an illegal immigrant, but also forging a privileged life for himself and his family in the US. Jason says if it were not for his father’s efforts – his life would be very different.
Watch part one of The World’s Most Dangerous Journey on Dateline, Tuesday 13 September at 9.30pm on SBS. Part two will air on Tuesday 20 September at 9.30pm on SBS.
Dateline is available after broadcast, anytime, on your favourite device via SBS On Demand
