A Zimbabwean family has been marooned at Bangkok’s main airport for two months, Thai immigration police said yesterday, in a holiday season ordeal that has drawn widespread sympathy from Thais.
The family, four adults and four children — who are between the ages of two and 11 — have been trying to leave Thailand since late October.
But, since they lacked visas for onward travel, refused to return to Zimbabwe, and are denied re-entry to the kingdom after overstaying, they are trapped in limbo in the airside area of the airport.
Their predicament first emerged after a Thai Facebook user, and airport employee, Kanaruj “Artt” Pornspolt, posted a photo of himself giving one of the children, identified only as “Mashia,” a Christmas present.
“This small girl from Zimbabwe has been living at the airport with her brother and family for almost three months now because of instability in their home country,” he wrote in Thai in his post. “They’re staying strong. Sometimes they’re playful like children are, but they’re not naughty or crybabies. I promised to bring her a Christmas present today,” reported Khaosod English
Comparisons were quickly made with the 2004 film “The Terminal,” in which a man played by Tom Hanks finds himself stuck in a New York airport after his government collapses, rendering his papers useless.
Immigration police said the family entered Thailand in May on tourist visas.
On Oct. 23, they tried to fly to Spain via the Ukraine, but were denied by the airline as they lacked Spanish visas.
Since they had overstayed their Thai visas by several months, they were banned from re-entering the country, as is standard procedure.
They are trapped since they have also “refused to return to Zimbabwe citing their fear for their for their safety due to unrest in Zimbabwe,” the official said, requesting anonymity.
Airlines have been providing them with free food.
Zimbabwe’s military pushed out 93-year-old despot Robert Mugabe in November paving the way for a transition from decades of mismanagement and authoritarian rule.
But there has been little unrest and the new president has encouraged Zimbabweans who fled under Mugabe’s rule to return home.
The family have applied for asylum hoping to be resettled outside of Thailand, which does not formally accept refugees.
Vivian Tan, a spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency in Bangkok said the UNHCR was “currently exploring potential solutions” for the family but could not provide more details for confidentiality reasons.
With visa-on-arrival agreements with many countries, Thailand has long been a destination for those fleeing civil strife and poverty.
But it does not allow refugees to legally settle in the kingdom, meaning those seeking asylum need to a find a third country option.
