Punjab man deported via Panama: ‘Wanted to return from Mexico… but donkers forced us to cross the border at gunpoint’

“We were forced to cross the border as the agents feared that they would have to return our money if we won’t,” said Jatinder, who crossed the US border illegally via the Dunki route.

“Donkers” is an informal term for the aides of travel agents who facilitate illegal immigrants to reach the US border. Donkers are spread across different countries via which the Dunki route passes.

With four more deportees from Punjab landing home Sunday, a total of 131 individuals from the state have been deported by the US this month. However, the four who landed Sunday were among the batch of 12 Indian nationals who were first sent to a hotel in Panama and then sent to Delhi in a commercial flight, and further four from Punjab were flown to Amritsar. The three previous batches were sent directly to Amritsar in a US military plane.

Jatinder sold his family’s 3 acres of fertile land to pay his agent Rs 45 lakh who had promised him “US work permit” and “legal entry in America via flights”. But what actually happened with him was nothing less than a “nightmare”, he says.

“I crossed at least seven small/big rivers to pass through the borders of several countries illegally. I also crossed the river in the Panama jungle at least 70-80 times. I saw death in front of my eyes at least ten times throughout the route,” says Jatinder, who previously worked at an iron cutting factory, earning Rs 8000 a month in Punjab. “After a co-worker lost his three fingers while cutting iron, I decided to leave that risky job and left home in September last year to reach the US,” he says.

After travelling for at least five months via several countries through the illegal dunki route, Jatinder crossed the US-Mexico border on February 6, a day after the first batch of deportees had landed in Amritsar on February 5.

Recalling “horrifying” days spent at the US detention centre in California’s San Diego, Jatinder said: “They would force us to take a bath at 2 am in the night with cold water. We were given a handful of chips to eat. We just wore a T-shirt in chilling rooms and there were no blankets but just plastic bags to cover ourselves. They would not let us sleep and would knock on the door every two hours. They would not let us die but then also mentally torture to an extent that it felt horrible.”

Jatinder says that after he and his group members had crossed the border by jumping over the wall on February 6, they kept “sitting at a spot for over two hours” before being arrested by the US police.

“After being kept at the centre till February 14, we were handcuffed and shackled and made to board a military plane. We got to know that we had reached Panama after seeing the local army after the landing. In Panama, we were kept in a hotel where living conditions were better than the detention centre and we got some rice/dal to eat after many days. But cops were deployed outside our hotel rooms,” he said.

“Those who had passports were sent back to India in a commercial flight. Those left back in Panama hotel do not have passports. They will be issued emergency certificates by the Embassy and will return soon. There were at least 30-35 of them left in the hotel,” he added.

Jatinder adds that what his Patiala-based agent did to him was nothing less than mere eyewash. At least thrice since he left Punjab, he was sent back to either Delhi or Mumbai as the agent failed to “make a setting” for the flights ahead.

“I first reached Delhi and then went ahead to Dubai. But I was called back to Delhi. I was then sent to Mumbai and again called back to Delhi. I then again went to Dubai and then to Mumbai where I lived for 15 days. I was then sent to Ahmedabad from where I was again sent to Delhi and finally I took a flight for Amsterdam to Panama city. Then I was then taken to Guyana from where donkers picked me from airport, confiscated my passport and demanded Rs 20 lakh. They would collect money in tranches from my family back home and torture me on entire route,” he said.

Jatinder said that at one point, the donkers clearly told him that no flight can be arranged so he had no option but to cross the countries illegally to reach the US border. “We then crossed a river to reach Brazil from Guyana. At Brazil also, I demanded that I should be given a return ticket for India but they refused. They (donkers) would always carry a weapon and would threaten to shoot if anyone would object. We crossed another river via boat to reach Bolivia from Brazil and then took taxi to reach Peru and further Ecuador and Colombia. We then took two boat rides and crossed two islands to reach Panama jungles. After walking for 2.5 days and crossing the river 70-80 times, we then reached Panama city. Further we traveled via Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala to reach Mexico. We crossed another river from Costa Rica to Nicaragua. Then we sat on wooden planks attached with rubber tubes to cross another river from Guatemala to Mexico,” said Jatinder.

“All that my family is left now is with 2-3 bighas of land. We sold our 3 kilas of fertile land to pay Rs 45 lakh to the agent. He is now luring me that he will send me abroad again. But I do not want to go anywhere now. I will open some small business in Punjab. If he fails to return my money, I will be filing case against him soon,” said Jatinder.