For inside Decápolis Hotel wey get money for Panama City, two girls dey hold paper for window wey get message wey say: “Abeg help us.” The hotel dey serve clients with rooms wey fit see sea, get two nice restaurants, swimming pool, spa and private motor. But now e don turn ‘temporary custody’ place wey dey keep 299 migrants wey no get papers wey dem wan deport from US, so the government talk on Tuesday. Some migrants dey raise dem hands and cross am for wrist to show say dem no get freedom. Others dey hang small signs wey get messages like: “We no dey safe for our country.” Trump government don promise say dem go deport plenty people wey cross illegally enter US. Those wey dey for the Panama City hotel land for three flights last week after President José Raúl Mulino agree say Panama go be ‘bridge’ country for deportees.
But o, among di 299 migrants wey no get documents – from India, China, Uzbekistan, Iran, Vietnam, Turkey, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka – only 171 don gree go back to their country. Di rest dey face uncertain future, na di Panamanian authorities get control over wetin go happen next. According to di government, dem go move dis group to one camp for Darién, wey dey temporarily hold migrants wey dey cross di jungle go US. Normal day, tourists fit enter and come out for Decápolis Hotel easy, but now, heavily armed members of di Panamanian National Aeronaval Service dey enforce strict security for inside and outside di building. From di street, you fit see clothes dey hang for window. One of di clothes na yellow Los Angeles Lakers basketball jersey with di number 24, wey di legendary player Kobe Bryant don wear before. For anoda window, one group of adults and three children dey raise dem arms with dem thumbs for dem palms – na di international symbol for people wey need help. “Help us,” dey written for di glass with red letters. And two children wey cover dem faces dey hold paper against di glass wey get di message: “Please save di Afghan girls.”
One Iranian woman wey don dey live for Panama for some years talk to BBC say she dey waka with one of di migrants for di hotel. She talk say dem dey “fear” sey dem fit carry dem go back Iran. Di woman wey no wan make dem know her name talk say she go di hotel to help as Farsi translator but dem tell am say dem don get one already. But she talk say di people for di hotel say dat one no be true.
With secret phone wey dem no go see, di Iranian babe talk say di migrant tell am say plenty pikin dey for di hotel, dem refuse dem lawyer and dem no fit waka comot from dia room even to chop. After dem report di story of deportees wey dem dey hold for di hotel on Tuesday, dem tighten security and cut off di migrants’ internet, di woman talk.
But Panama Minister of Public Security, Frank Ábrego, talk say migrants no fit go outside di hotel because dem government need protect di safety and peace of Panamanians. Video wey dey trend for social media show one migrant wey dey talk Farsi, how dem detain am after e cross di border enter US, dem promise say dem go take am go Texas, but e land for Panama instead. Di woman for di video talk say her life go dey danger if she go back Iran because di government fit vex for am. She say her plan be to ask for political asylum. Analysts dey talk say dis one dey hard to get without lawyer – e go even hard when di Panamanian government don talk say dem no go give lawyer access to deportees.
