ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Artemis Ghasemzadeh is an Iranian asylum seeker who has fallen victim to US President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. In Iran, her crime was leaving Islam for Christianity. She sought safety and freedom in the US, but instead of sanctuary, she was detained and deported to Panama.
“I just want a normal life like the other people," Ghasemzadeh sighed. "Just I want to have a chance to live safe, pray to God, be free, [not be] scared of anybody. Just like that.”
To reach the US, Ghasemzadeh flew to Mexico, crossed the border, and asked for political asylum. She was detained for about a week, then without warning or consent, she says, she was transferred to Panama.
“They said we wanted to change your place and send you to Texas. We go to the airport and they use [an] army plane and they send us to Panama," she told Rudaw.
Since Trump took office, deportations of Iranians have surged. US media reports say Washington struck a secret deal with Tehran to send hundreds of Iranians back. One plane full of people has already gone.
The Trump administration insists no specific nationality has been targeted, calling the mass deportations part of a broader effort to discourage illegal migration, especially along the southern border, where millions try to cross each year. But human rights activists are alarmed about the deportation of Iranians.
“Earlier this month, we had deportation to Iran for the first time with an agreement between Iran and the US," said Ali Herischi, a human rights lawyer in Washington DC.
In the US Congress, Ghasemzadeh’s name is on a proposed bill to prevent people from facing expedited removals from the country, even as she continues to live in Panama, far from her homeland and the country she once dreamed of. These days, she goes to church, prays for a better future, and reads the first Persian-language Bible she received years ago in Turkey.
“Everybody thinks being a migrant is really easy," she said. "But you know you should leave all things in your country: your language, your family, your friends. Maybe it’s easy to say ‘I flee my country’ but behind that it’s a lot of pain.”
Ghasemzadeh has a one-year visa in Panama. Four months have passed and she still does not know what her future holds.
Namo Abdulla contributed to this article