‘Tom Hanks’ returns on grateful X’mas visit

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga — Remember Clark airport’s “Tom Hanks” who was stranded here for six months?

Last year, Ghana football player Ayi Nii Aryee, 19, spent a lonely Christmas at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) where he was stranded starting July last year after his legal status, by quirk of strange fate, vanished.

The other day, Aryee, who was dubbed as Tom Hanks by airport employees for his fate similar to that of the Hollywood actor in the movie “Terminal,” was back to the airport on a nostalgic Christmas visit and to thank all those who had helped him cope with his virtual detention for about half a year.

Aryee is now studying at the University of the Philippines in Diliman taking up BS Kinetics and will also take BS Philosophy. He’s currently playing with the UP Varsity Team.

He also told his friends here more good news: He has been invited for a tryout in France next year and could possibly join the big league in the european soccer circle.

“I’m feeling great and by God’s grace I’m now back to say ‘hi and ‘thank you’ to my friends, titos (uncles) and kuyas (elder brothers) in Clark for their support and help,” Aryee said, amid a warm welcome from his friends at the DMIA’s crash fire and rescue office where he had stayed and spent the last Christmas.

Aryee first arrived in the country on July 13, 2006, landing at the DMIA from Singapore where he was invited to play football. He was to visit a relative in Cavite. On his return to Singapore, he was denied entry as his application for a student permit in the state was denied. He was sent back on the same airplane that he took from Clark.

Without any Singaporean immigration stamp on his passport, Immigration authorities at the DMIA could also not stamp Aryee’s passport, thus depriving him of any legal status in the country that led to his virtual detention at the airport here.

It was during his stay that he decided he even wanted to become a Filipino citizen. He earned friends, and the publicity created event by his unusual fate triggered sympathetic visits from Filipinos, including one offer of marriage to a Filipina.

With the help Filipino professional football players and former Bulacan Rep. Willie Villarama who were impressed with his football skills, however, Aryee was able to fly back to his native country early last January so that from there, he could facilitate his legal return back to the Philippines.

After spending a few weeks with his siblings, as they are already orphaned, Aryee came back, this time with all the required documents for his stay in the country where he was provided support by Filipino friends who had helped him in his immigration problems.