The Paris airport had a permanent resident, Mehran Karimi Nasseri. The Iranian, stuck in the "international space," settled there for 18 years.
He washed himself in a public toilet and had food brought to him by airport workers. He also earned money by cleaning restaurants and delivering passengers' trolleys. Why was no country able to help the man whose story inspired Steven Spielberg?
France, Charles de Gaulle Airport. In the passage to Terminal 1, on a red sofa by the window, a man is sleeping. Around him lie suitcases, clothes arranged in cubes, a few half-eaten sandwiches. On the floor, right next to his head, a mug with toothpaste and a toothbrush in it. A little further on, crosswords with filled-in entries. And besides, a few trinkets, a night lamp, some newspapers, half-drunk coffee.
The man is turned to face the passengers running past him. Covered with a purple and blue checkered blanket, he wakes up every now and then, opens his eyes and watches people rushing to catch the plane. This is Mehran Karimi Nasseri, an Iranian citizen who has been living at the Paris airport for 18 years.
Wandering around European airports
To understand what really happened, let's go back to 1973. Nasseri left Iran for England. He began studying at Bradford University. His country had been in a state of war for years. After the government arrested the opposition cleric, Ruhollah Khomeini, riots broke out. Nasseri also fled Iran for political reasons. So he kept an eye on the situation in the country. In Bradford, he took part in a demonstration against the last Shah of Iran.
Information that Nasseri was involved in the opposition to the Iranian authorities reached the country's rulers. After five years of studies, the man wanted to return to Iran. He arrived, but due to his political activities in England, he was not allowed in.
The man began to seek political asylum in Europe. He moved from country to country. Since he spent his college years in England, he decided that he would seek refuge there. In 1988, he flew to London. He set off from France.
Citizen without a state
However, it turned out that in the meantime he had been attacked and robbed of all his documents. England was also unable to receive him, so Nasseri returned to Paris.
And here more trouble arose. Due to the lack of documents, the airport authorities were not allowed to let the man out. Nasseri was stuck in the transit zone of the Paris airport. The legislative stalemate meant that he had to stay in Terminal 1. This area of the airport is considered "international space" and does not belong to any state. Nasseri became a stateless person. He had to live at the airport.
He took a couch in the terminal and made himself a bed. He used public toilets and ate in airport bars. To earn money, he helped clean and transport passengers' luggage carts. The airport employees took care of him. Someone brought him a blanket, someone else bought him a pillow. The cleaning ladies delivered leftovers from dinner. Passengers stopped by him for a while, talked, left change or books so that Nasseri wouldn't get bored.
The last documents Nasseri had were issued by the Belgian government. However, to get them back, the man would have to go to the appropriate offices in person. That was impossible, because he was legally barred from crossing the border.
Shipping address: Paris airport terminal
His case was attempted by a French lawyer, a human rights specialist, Christian Bourguet. For over 10 years, the lawyer tried to help Nasseri. At the same time, the Belgian government insisted that it could not send the appropriate documents and address the envelopes to the airport terminal in Paris. Finally, Brussels officials gave in. They prepared the appropriate documents and wanted to give them to the man to free him from the airport.
However, this did not happen. People who had known him for years concluded he had serious mental problems, which had deepened as a result of his long stay in confinement. Nasseri refused to accept the documents, claiming they were false.
His adventure ended only in 2006. The man fell seriously ill and was forcibly taken to hospital. It was the first time in 18 years that he left the airport. After hospitalisation, he agreed to settle his legal situation.
He inspired Steven Spielberg
The story of an Iranian refugee stuck at the airport in Paris inspired Steven Spielberg to shoot the cult film, The Terminal, with Tom Hanks as an immigrant from the non-existent Krakozhia. The main character of the film, Viktor Navorski, is stuck at the International Airport, John F. Kennedy in New York. This happened precisely at the moment when his country suffered a political collapse as a result of the civil war.
The filmmakers asked Nasseri for permission to use his story, and it was rumoured that the man—who was still living in the terminal when the film was released— was paid a fee of $300,000.
Over the next years, the Iranian lived in various hostels, spending the money he earned after agreeing to the film adaptation of his story. At the end of 2022, Nasseri returned to Paris airport. He died there on November 12 of the same year. Death occurred from natural causes. Several thousand euros in cash were found next to his body.
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This article was originally published on Onet Travel.