KOROR, Palau — They’ve shaved off the long beards they wore at Guantanamo Bay, and they were angered at a local newspaper report that casually referred to them as terrorists. The six Chinese Muslim men were also relieved and thankful to be out of the U.S. prison and beginning new lives Tuesday in the Pacific island nation of Palau.
“We are extremely grateful to the president of Palau and the people of Palau who have graciously accepted us and given us this home,” said Abdul Ghappar Abdul Rahman, who along with the other members of China’s Uighur minority group spent about eight years in U.S. custody before being released without charge this week.
“We will study English here, look for a job and establish our new lives in this beautiful country,” he said, speaking through an interpreter.
The men made their first visit to Koror’s only mosque, and two joined in prayers. “I think they are good, and we are happy,” said one of the locals, Anowar Hussain. “They are our brothers.”
