The man who has been living at an airport terminal for 62 days
For the past 62 days, a man has been trapped in Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
The Syrian marketing manager, Hassan Al Kontar, spent the past decade working in the United Arab Emirates.
Eventually, he was summoned to fight in Syria’s civil war and after he refused, the Syrian embassy in the UAE did not renew his passport in 2012.
Without his passport, he could not renew his work permit, so he also lost his job. He went into hiding in the UAE for six years, but he was later detained by authorities and sent to Malaysia with a three-month work permit.
After the three months ended, Hassan tried to fly to Ecuador, as the country allows Syrian nationals to enter visa-free.
“I saved up enough money to buy a plane ticket on Turkish Airways. But for some reason, they did not allow me on the flight and I found myself back at square one,” he told the BBC.
He then received a fine for “overstaying” in Malaysia and was “black-listed”, blocking him from legally entering the country.
Hassan then tried to go to Cambodia, as Syrians can obtain a visa on arrival, but was refused entry. He was then flown back to Kuala Lumpur and has been stranded at the airport ever since.
He sleeps under staircases and showers in the public bathrooms after midnight.
What dose it mean to be a Syrian.. My story#airport_is_my_home #syrian_stuck_at_airport @tomhanks #Syria @guardian @TheEconomist @AP @TIME @washingtonpost @nytimes #Rampage #Trump #KeerthySuresh #BlackBuck #AvengersInfinityWar #AvengersInfinityWar #MTVBRKPOPEXO #Mercury pic.twitter.com/WiSWuuEZtS
— Hassan Al Kontar (@Kontar81) April 5, 2018
Hassan is reliant on airport staff for supplies and a generous airline gives him packets of rice and chicken.
His savings are quickly running out, but occasionally he treats himself to McDonald’s at the airport food court.
“I am just counting days here, with no hope,” he said in a video posted on March 23.
“I don’t know why I keep doing these videos; maybe somewhere deep inside my feelings or my heart I need someone who cares, someone who may [be] able to help, [but] somewhere I know it’s hopeless. It’s a false hope.
“I don’t know what to do. It seems like it will be my home for a while.
“It’s a difficult situation. There’s no place to shower, there’s no place to sleep. I’m even sick but there is no medicine.”
Recently, Hassan's situation is looking brighter. The United Nations Refugee Agency has been in contact with him and has been working with Malaysian officials to review his situation.
However, a group of residents from Canada could really turn his situation around.
After Canadian woman Laurie Cooper came across Hassan’s story on Twitter, she began to send him money for food. She also started researching his options.
“Originally we were just trying to find a safe place for him to go,” said Laurie.
“But when we started researching his options, there really weren’t any good [ones] and it occurred to us that probably the simplest thing to do was to sponsor him to come here.”
Laurie and her friends have now raised enough money to sponsor Hassan and have him set up with a job and accommodation in Canada.
The residents have sent a request to the Canadian immigration minister, asking him to allow Hassan to travel to Canada while his application for a temporary resident permit is processed.
In the meantime, Hassan is waiting at terminal two at Kuala Lumpur hopefully awaiting a new home in Canada.
“I am a highly-qualified professional, desperate for a place where I can be safe, legal, not looking over my shoulder or being on the run,” he said.
“A place where I can work and prove myself.”