Cambodian Boy Meets Kin After Years in Camp

A 12-year-old Cambodian boy was reunited with his family at Los Angeles International Airport this morning, two years after a relative discovered him in a Thai refugee camp where he had spent most of his life.

Phidel Hun was picked up and swung around by his uncle, Hanyou Gau, and two teen-age brothers as he emerged from a U.S. Customs check at the airport. “I want to introduce him to hamburgers, rock music, literature and computer software!” his 15-year-old brother, Delux, said.

Asked if there was a gift waiting at home, Delux said: “Just love.”

First on the agenda for Phidel was a reunion at the family’s home in Bellflower, then trips to Disneyland and a shopping mall.

Recognized by Deformed Hand

The boy--orphaned when his parents were killed in the bloody aftermath of the Cambodian civil war--was recognized by a relative visiting his refugee camp, who noticed the deformed hand Phidel suffered in an accident as an infant.

Nobody is sure how Phidel came to live in the Khao I Dang refugee camp in southeastern Thailand, just across the border from Cambodia, when he was 4 or 5. He was granted a special “humanitarian parole” earlier this year to join his brothers and other family members here.

This morning, Phidel, wearing a white T-shirt, blue jeans and white tennis shoes, broke into a wide grin as he was embraced by half a dozen relatives.

During the 10-minute, tearful reunion under the glare of television lights, the boy stared at the ground and fidgeted. Several times, his grandmother pushed his nose up so he would look into the cameras.

“I am happy. I will go to school and study,” said Phidel, who speaks no English--his uncle translated. “I want to meet my family.”

“His biggest obstacles will be English and his hand,” Gau said. “The biggest thing right now is to hope a plastic surgeon will help us.”