The group was then made to cross the Panama jungles.”Here we were told by fellow travellers that if we ask too many questions, we could be shot. For 13 days, we moved through the treacherous route that included 12 canals. Crocodiles, snakes… we had to bear all. Some were given sticks to deal with the dangerous reptiles,” he said.”We ate half-baked ‘rotis’ and sometimes noodles, as proper food was a distant thing. We used to travel 12 hours a day,” Mandeep said.The group made a halt at Costa Rica after crossing Panama, and then began their journey to Honduras, where, Mandeep said, “We got to finally eat some rice.”But we did not get to eat anything while crossing through Nicaragua. In Guatemala, however, we were lucky to get some curd rice to eat. By the time we reached Tijuana, my beard was trimmed forcibly,” Mandeep said.On the morning of January 27, they were arrested by the Border Police after they were made to cross the border to sneak into the US, he said.”The authorities told us that we will be deported. We were put in a detention centre for some days before we were sent back,” he said.On February 5, the first US military aircraft carrying 104 illegal Indian immigrants landed at the Amritsar airport.
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