The refugee Mehran Karimi Nasseri, who spent 18 years in a Paris airport, has died. In 1988, the Iranian Mehran Karimi Nasseri was deprived of his citizenship in the country and, as a stateless person, tried to get to Great Britain, where he had previously lived.
But neither the British, nor then Germany, the Netherlands and France, granted him an entry permit, because he lacked ID documents.
On a layover at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, Nasseri disembarked, determined to stay there, in Terminal 2F. And he did that for 18 years, helped by staff and travelers, who donated food and medicine.
After eleven years, in 1999, he received refugee status and permission to stay in France. But he was hesitant to leave the airport.
Only seven years later did he leave the airport.
Mehran Karimi Nasseri became famous worldwide in 2004 after Steven Spielberg made a film, “The terminal”, based on his fate. In the film, Tom Hanks played the role of a refugee without a home, but Nasseri’s real life did not have a Hollywood ending.
According to Le Figaro, he received the equivalent of SEK 2.5 million for the film rights, and settled in a hostel in Paris. And after living off the movie money, he returned a few weeks ago to Terminal 2F at Charles de Gaulle Airport.
He died there on Saturday morning, according to the airport, of natural causes. Mehran Karimi Nasseri was 77 years old.
In the player above: See pictures from the airport.