A recent study conducted by British NGO Save the Children shows that most of the children and teenagers living in Central American nations such as Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras would rather remain in their home countries than migrate to escape from violence and poverty.
The survey collected the opinions of 122 people between 7 and 19 years of age and found that 43 percent of the respondents “intend to stay” where they were born, against 24 percent who have a “clear intention” to leave.
The report highlights that the decision is consistent even in “very poor and unsafe areas, where people suffer the most.”
Save the Children Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean Victoria Ward cited “family roots” and “ties to the local community” among the main reasons why young people would rather stay.
According to Unicef, the dangers for young migrants have multiplied during the pandemic — something laid bare by the discovery of a tractor-trailer in San Antonio, Texas on Monday, filled with the bodies of at least 46 migrants believed to have been traveling into the U.S. from Mexico.
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