It looks like any carefully curated image you might scroll past on an influencer’s social media profile. Throwing her arms above her head as she poses barefoot in a jungle stream, actress Yvonne Pferrer plugs a discount code to her 1.6 million followers.
“Feeling blessed, never stressed,” the 29-year-old exclaims, as she encourages her supporters to snap up a 10 per cent discount from a brand she had partnered with. Only the German influencer is not posing against the backdrop of Bali or Thailand, but , a region which has one of the world’s most deadly migration routes. Hundreds of thousands of migrants risk their lives each year to make the perilous journey through around 60 miles of dense jungle connecting Colombia and Panama.
Many are trying to reach US soil. Those who make the difficult journey must grapple with difficult terrain, fast-flowing rivers, disease, dangerous animals, kidnappings and sexual violence at the hands of criminal gangs. So far this year 96 migrants have died or disappeared while making the crossing, according to the International Organisation for Migration.
This is likely an underestimation, they said, given many deaths go unreported. A further 10 migrants drowned in a flooded river near Panama’s coastal community of Carreto in July, while making the perilous journey. Meanwhile, tour agencies have run “epic” treks costing up to £3,500 during which tourists hike through the jungle that more than half a million people have crossed, many .