Panama City [Panama], February 20: In a room at the luxury Decapolis Hotel in Panama City, two girls hold a piece of paper to the window with a written message. "Please help us," it reads.
The hotel has now become a "temporary custody" centre housing 299 undocumented migrants deported from the US, the Panamanian government said.
Some migrants raise their arms and cross them at the wrists to indicate that they are deprived of their freedom. Others hang small signs with other messages such as: "We are not safe in our country." Those in the Panama City hotel arrived on three flights last week, after President Jose Raúl Mulino agreed that Panama would become a "bridge" country for deportees.
However, of the 299 undocumented migrants - from India, China, Uzbekistan, Iran, Vietnam, Turkey, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka - only 171 have agreed to return to their countries of origin. (Agencies)
Source: Qatar Tribune
