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Palau Muslims await detainees' arrival
At the call to prayer, the men turn one by one down a narrow path through the jungle, marked only by a towering coconut tree.
- AP
- Published: 23:52 June 19, 2009
Koror, Palau: At the call to prayer, the men turn one by one down a narrow path through the jungle, marked only by a towering coconut tree.
Hidden at the end of the dirt track stands the sole mosque in Palau, the tiny Pacific nation that has agreed to take in a group of Chinese Muslim detainees from Guantanamo Bay.
For the small group of about 500 Muslims in this predominantly Christian nation, this is a spiritual sanctuary.
Most are workers from Bangladesh, who began landing on this remote archipelago over a dozen years ago, seeking better jobs and peace.
Reflecting local sentiment, they expressed mixed feelings yesterday about the expected arrival of 13 Guantanamo detainees.
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