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Travel Weekly > Aviation > This man has lived in an airport for two months
Aviation

This man has lived in an airport for two months

alexandra
Published on: 10th May 2018 at 12:14 PM
alexandra
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3 Min Read
Silhouettes of three men waiting at KL airport
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A Syrian man has reportedly spent 62 days stranded in the transit section of a Malaysian airport.

According to The BBC the man, Hassan al-Kontar, left Syria in 2006 to avoid military service and is still subject to an arrest warrant there.

He moved to the UAE, where he was employed as a marketing manager until he lost his working permit and was deported from the UAE to Malaysia.

He is now unable to enter Malaysia and airlines are refusing to let him fly out.

al-Kontar’s plight became known to the world when he began posting videos of himself on Twitter.

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

The 36-year-old spends his days wondering around terminal two, sleeping under staircases and showering in public bathrooms, according to News.com.au.

His only meals are supplied by airport staff who provide him with packets of rice and chicken, but he occasionally treats himself to Macdonalds in the airport food court, although his savings are running out.

“I’m desperate for help. I can’t live in this airport any longer, the uncertainty is driving me crazy. It feels like my life hit a new low,” he told the BBC.

He was deported to a Malaysian holding centre in 2017 where he received a three-month tourist visa.

“I decided that I wanted to try to go to Ecuador so 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 said.

From there, he travelled to Cambodia but wasn’t allowed to enter.

“I was deemed illegal in Malaysia so I chose to fly to Cambodia but they confiscated my passport upon arrival,” he told the BBC.

On March 7 was sent back to Kuala Lumpur and has been stuck there since.

He said he was forced to pay a fine for overstaying his visa and was “blacklisted” in Malaysia, so he is now unable to leave the airport.

“The authorities here are interviewing me and I have filled out some reports,” he said.

“I don’t know what to do. I have no-one to advise me on where I can go. I really need help because I believe the worst is yet to come.”

According to the BBC, the UN high commissioner for Refugees said the organisation was aware of his case and had “reached out to the individual authorities.”

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