A similar situation to that of The Terminal is happening at an airport in Bangkok at this moment. I kind of doubt that the airport in Bangkok is as big as the one in The Terminal, meaning that the family that is stranded there can’t just disappear now and again as Tom Hanks did, but it would appear that they’ve been frequent fixtures around the place for months now. Their situation was similar to that of Victor in The Terminal but not quite the same as their country was in a state of unrest before they left, not when they were making their way through the airport.
Victor had to find out about the change in his country’s regime via TV images since he couldn’t understand the language and was unable to communicate with anyone. The family from Zimbabwe had made their way to Thailand before the coup and only refused to go home after President Mugabe was ousted from office, citing that they were afraid for their lives due to the civil unrest that was going on in their country. Unlike Victor they were afraid to go home, as in the movie, Hanks’ character would have loved to complete his trip and then return home, as he states that he is not afraid of his home no matter what.
Thailand apparently is great because they offer visas when a person arrives, but once their visas were expired the family couldn’t stay in Thailand and they couldn’t move on to other countries until they were granted another visa. Their plan was to move onto Ukraine or Spain where they could perhaps settle for a while and escape the pressures of their home, but that won’t be possible until they’re able to procure the needed paperwork and documents.
In the meantime they’ve been residents, more or less, of the terminal and have gained a great deal of notice during their time. Some of the airlines have felt sorry enough for them to provide the family with meals, someone was even kind enough to provide the children with Christmas presents. It’s a great outpouring of emotion and support on behalf of the family as they continue to wait on their business with the U.N. so that they might find refuge in a place that isn’t Thailand or Zimbabwe.
This would be a hard situation for any family to deal with, especially those that are afraid to go home. Home is somewhere that a person shouldn’t be afraid of no matter what, and yet in many cases around the world going home means going back to the horror and unrest that awaits anyone foolish enough to step into the flames. These people likely made the right choice to not want to go home, but one can only hope that they’ll find better luck elsewhere in the world. Not being able to go home for fear of what might happen is simply horrifying.
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