As Panama adjusts to the arrival of over 300 deportees from the U.S., a palpable sense of confusion and fear fills the air. Many of these individuals, who hail from countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Cameroon, and Uzbekistan, find themselves overnight guests in a converted school gymnasium, stripped of their dignity and left to navigate their uncertain fates.
After being initially confined to a hotel and then moved to a guarded camp at the edge of a dense jungle, the migrants were released following legal intervention by human rights advocates. Now, they are physically free but mentally entrapped in a state of limbo, asking, “Where am I going to go?”
From the onset, the conditions were dire. Reports surfaced of individuals arriving needing urgent medical attention, including HIV treatment, insulin, and care for seizures. Their liberation from detention brought no relief, as many confront a harsh reality in a country that feels inhospitable.
With their futures hanging in the balance, these deportees—a collective voice representing untold suffering—call out for assistance while trying to make sense of their new surroundings. Although local aid organizations have stepped in to provide support, the overwhelming lack of resources looms large, raising ethical questions about the treatment of displaced people caught in the web of severe immigration policies.
As they lie on makeshift beds, surrounded by fellow displaced migrants, their collective question echoes in the dimly lit gymnasium: **What comes next?**
