Catherine Zeta-Jones starred alongside Tom Hanks in The Terminal He came from London not Krakozhia and Catherine Zeta-Jones was not waiting for him at customs.
But the tale of Robert Parzelski, a 44-year-old Pole "lost" inside Sao Paulo airport for 18 days, has captivated the Brazilian public and drawn comparisons with Steven Spielberg's film The Terminal.
In the film Viktor Navorski, of fictional Krakozhia, finds himself marooned inside New York's JFK after the US severs all ties with his homeland. Navorski (Tom Hanks) enjoys a lengthy but action-packed stay, dating a flight attendant (Zeta-Jones).
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The real-life story of Mr Parzelski, a London-based car electrician, began more mundanely. He reportedly landed at Sao Paulo's Guarulhos airport on June 17.But without a return flight, a word of Portuguese or a penny to his name, he decided not to venture outside. Instead, he set up camp on an airport bench and waited, supposedly for a friend who never came.
Alone and unable to communicate with others, Mr Parzelski did his best to make himself comfortable. Concerned airport cleaners began caring for the man they called "the German", bringing him water, yoghurt and cigarettes each day. Two empty bottles of vodka and an improvised toilet were located on airport property.
Several days into his stay, his case drew the attention of the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper. With airport police and officials seemingly uninterested in their guest, the paper called on a Polish doctor from the city to help.
After a quick chat on June 30, Mr Parzelski's story began to emerge. When the father of five from Krakow lost his job in London, a Polish friend proposed a trip to Sao Paulo. He was handed a one-way ticket and a mission: to return with two telephone sets.
Neither the doctor nor the newspaper were able to establish why somebody in London had commissioned two Brazilian telephones. With the case still shrouded in mystery, Mr Parzelski finally left Brazil on Tuesday, on board a flight to Zurich. From there he would return to London.
Guardian News & Media
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/travel/travel-news/polish-man-lost-inside-sao-paulo-airport-for-18-days-20110708-1h5lm.html#ixzz1RU6Ia200
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