PBS NewsHour: Desperate Journey

The plight of migrants and refugees is often fraught with danger, but the Darien Gap, a treacherous and lawless 66 mile trail through the wilderness on the border of Columbia and Panama, might be the most dangerous path to freedom on the planet. Immigrants from all over the world make this perilous journey, braving everything from poisonous snakes and anti-government guerillas to death from starvation. PBS special correspondent Nadja Drost and videographer Bruno Federico put themselves at great risk to join this caravan to bring us “Desperate Journey,” a harrowing tale brought straight from its source. What could be more consequential, in helping viewers to understand the desperation of these migrants, than the image of them stepping over the skeletal remains of those who have gone before them and failed? For its courage and its power, and for its visceral telling of an urgent and necessary story, “Desperate Journey” is a Peabody winner.