The first group of Latin American migrants deported from the United States to the Democratic Republic of Congo has arrived in Kinshasa, under a controversial US scheme to transfer undocumented foreign nationals to third-party countries. They told RFI they feel "scared" in DRC.
The group of 15, from Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, arrived last Friday in the central African country and are now being housed in Venus Village – run-down hotel complex on the outskirts of the capital.
Granted one-week visas on arrival, they must now decide whether to return to their home countries or remain in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
None of them speak French – the country's official language.
The DRC – one of a number of African nations that have agreed to take in deported migrants – is one of the world's 15 poorest countries, thousands of kilometres from the Americas.
“For now, my living conditions are stable. I have a room to sleep in, three meals a day and, at this stage, I feel fine,” Hugo Palencia, a 25-year-old Colombian, told RFI. He said he spent five months in US detention before being deported to DRC.
“I don’t go out – not on the streets or anywhere else. But for now, I'm OK,” he added.
Others, who chose to speak anonymously, told of their detention in US immigration centres, being given less than 24 hours warning of deportation and a rushed departure from Louisiana.
They spoke of a 27-hour flight with stopovers in Dakar and Accra, arriving at N’djili airport in the middle of the night, in heavy heat and humidity, before being taken to Venus Village.
Since then, they've rarely left the site.
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'More scared here than in Colombia'
Kinshasa said in a statement earlier this month that the operation would be entirely financed by the US, without impacting the Congolese public treasury.
In addition to DRC, the US has signed deportation agreements with Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ghana, Rwanda and South Sudan.
“I don’t understand why the United States makes agreements with African countries,” said Palencia.
“With all due respect, DRC is less developed than the US or our countries. There's extreme poverty here and more insecurity than in Colombia, where the situation is already difficult.”
Many said they were worried about what comes next.
A woman named Paola said they have until Friday, 24 April to decide whether to stay and apply for asylum in DRC, or to opt for voluntary return. The process could take several months.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), which takes charge of the deportees once they have obtained short-stay visas, told French news agency AFP it can offer "assisted voluntary return to migrants who request it".
Some have already made their choice.
“Honestly, I don’t intend to stay,” said Palencia. “I want to return to my country to see my son, my family, my father and my mother. They're waiting for me. With all due respect to DRC, I am more scared here than in Colombia.”
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Palencia said he is now in contact with the Colombian authorities and is waiting for travel documents.
“I want the foreign ministry or the Colombian consulates to contact the organisation in charge of us as soon as possible. We saw a statement from our president, Gustavo Petro, who wants us to return as quickly as possible.”
But he remains angry about his deportation. He claims he was protected by a US court ruling issued shortly before he was expelled.
Others made similar claims – Paola said she was also covered by a court decision.
Palencia says he does not understand how US immigration authorities were able to put him on a flight to Kinshasa without his consent – and despite a judge’s ruling.
This article was partially adapted from the original version in French by Pauline Zidi.
