Iranian man who lived there for over 18 years dies at Paris airport
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Mehran Karimi Nasseri, an Iranian who had lived at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport for over 18 years, died on November 12 at terminal 2F.
According to a spokesman for the Paris airport, the Iranian died as a result of a heart attack on the airport grounds around noon. The police and medical team provided him with all the necessary assistance, but they could not save him.
Nasseri claimed throughout his life that he had British citizenship, but it is believed that he was born in 1945 in the Iranian province of Khuzestan. He lived in Terminal 1 of Charles de Gaulle Airport from 1988 to 2006. Initially, he ended up there in the so-called legal vacuum due to the lack of necessary documents, and later decided to stay of his own free will.
After his saga became widely known, first Belgium and then France offered Nasseri citizenship, but he refused. In 1999, the French authorities nevertheless granted the Iranian refugee status and the right to remain in the country, but he did not immediately leave the airport. According to his lawyer Christian Burge, he was simply afraid to do it.
His story inspired composer Jonathan Dove to write an opera, as well as director Steven Spielberg to create the movie Terminal. Although the production company paid Nasseri royalties for the copyright of his story, his name was not included in the credits or in any official promotional merchandise.
At Charles de Gaulle Airport, he reportedly spent most of his time on the red bench on the lower floor of Terminal 1, refusing donations and gifts and only occasionally accepting food vouchers from airport staff.
In 2003, when asked by a journalist if he was angry because he lost 15 years of his life at the airport, Nasseri replied: “I’m not angry. I just want to know who my parents are.”
The author is Philip Oltermann.
Source – The Guardian
Translation – Daniil Prilepsky, Moskovskaya Pravda.
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