Like the character in the movie "The Terminal" a Montagnard tribesman is unable to return to his homeland in Vietnam. Linguistic difficulties and a lack of papers are holding him at LAX.

By Kristin S. Agostoni
Daily Breeze

Inside a small sterile room at Los Angeles International Airport, the man sat calmly on a fold-out bed, scanning the pages of a pocket-size black Bible.

A shopping bag at his feet held blankets and pillows donated from the airlines, and a handful of paper towels for wiping his face. Bottled drinks and ramen noodles were set out on a counter top, along with a Ziploc bag of wet washcloths near the sink.

For days the 47-year-old Vietnamese refugee has made the Tom Bradley International Terminal his temporary home, nearly the real-life equivalent of the stranded passenger played by Tom Hanks in the movie, "The Terminal."

He has accepted donations of fast food and home-cooked meals from Travelers Aid volunteers, and airport workers opened the small room for him to wash up and sleep. He smooths down his black hair and rubs his hands wearily over his face.

"So many people in the terminal had seen him and noticed him around," said airport spokeswoman Nancy Castles. "Everybody's been feeding him ... there are a lot of people who feel concern."

continued here