A father and son burst into tears when they were reunited for the first time in 15 years, after the son ran away from their Bangkok home when he was about ten years old.
The 25-year-old son didn’t even know his real name, only that he had the nickname “Am.” Fifteen years ago, Am and his friend took a bus away from their homes in the Bang Sue area and headed for Old Town. His friend abandoned him once they arrived. Not knowing how to get back home, Am began a life of begging in the Khaosan and Sanam Luang areas.
“Sometimes I sat outside a restaurant, and foreigners gave me money. On some days I lived inside a temple and got to know children around my age,” Am spoke about his experiences over the past 15 years at a press conference yesterday.
“I hung out with those kids, and they invited me to work with them — sometimes we sold old stuff from their homes. Then I got a labor job in Hua Hin.”
Seeing his co-workers going home to their families, Am started to miss his and decide to look for them with help of Mirror Foundation.
Am only remembered that he grew up near a train track with a canal and market nearby, Daily News reported.
The Mirror Foundation worked with the community in Bang Sue area and found Am’s father, Boontham Plaimoon, 54.
It turns out that his father spent years waiting for his son to come home. He thanked the people who brought his son back to him.
“Sometimes when I was sick, I’d think of my grandmother because she used to take care of me,” Am spoke of his grandmother, who has now passed away.
“I’d like to apologize to my grandma for running away, for not taking care of her. I only wanted to play [with my friend]. I didn’t mean for this to happen,” the young man said.
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