Hassan al-Kontar spend seven months in Kuala Lumpur International Airport’s Terminal 2 before his bid for asylum was granted by the Canadian government.
While sleeping under stairwells and eating in-flight leftovers — drawing comparisons on social media to Tom Hank’s character in The Terminal — Kontar documented his days in Twitter video diaries and gained the sympathy of people around the world.
When life tries to mock you !!!! this is what I read every day. 😅🛫
🤔🤔You should consider adding two more words for more precision, everyone can fly "EXCEPT HASSAN"
Can the situation be more ironic !!! 😏😏#syrian_stuck_at_airport #mystory_Hassan #airport_is_my_home pic.twitter.com/G1yA1FU8xk— Hassan Al Kontar (@Kontar81) July 9, 2018
He first fled Syria and flew to the the United Arab Emirates in 2006 to avoid mandatory military service. In 2011, the country exploded in civil war and he feared if he returned, he would be forced to fight.
“I’m not a killing machine and I don’t want any part in destroying Syria,” he told the BBC. “I don’t want blood on my hands.”
He stayed in the U.A.E. for several years working under the table until he was arrested and forced to leave the country. Kontar then flew to Malaysia where he was denied access to the country for reasons that are still unclear.
Nothing much just training & walking my pet around🤗
Meet Miss. Crimson ladies & gentlemen 🙆♂️🙋♂️
She is a good company, clean, quite & unique 😍
Neither a Horse🐎 Camel🐫 Giraffe🦒or Lama🐩, yet she is a size of a rabbit 🐇😅
She is red & that what it's all Matter ❤😘 pic.twitter.com/pi4OSaB8VQ— Hassan Al Kontar (@Kontar81) August 4, 2018
For months he posted to twitter, scrounged for food, used the moving walkways as a treadmill and walked a stuffed animal on a leash to entertain himself until a Canadian stranger stepped in to help, according to The Washington Post.
Laurie Cooper of British Columbia rallied her friends to raise the $13,600 required for citizens to privately sponsor a refugee for resettlement through a crowdfunding campaign and waited.
This Sunday, finally, Kontar contacted Cooper to let her know his plea was granted and that he would be arriving in Vancouver late Monday night.
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