Why did Mehran Nasseri spend 18 years of his life at the airport?

Mehran Karimi Nasseri could be pitied. Losing 18 years of your life - due to being stuck in the "neutral zone" of the airport, not having a passport with you! At that time - in the 80s - this story spread all over the world; and later - already in 2004 - the movie "Terminal" was shot on this topic. Do you remember it?

But in fact, Nasseri had a thousand opportunities to stop such an experiment on his life. However, he chose a different path. But first things first…

Mehran was born in 1942 in the Iranian city of Masjid Soleiman. This city in western Iran was under the influence of the British oil company. It was in this company that Mehran's father worked as a doctor. A native of Scotland worked as a nurse in the company. After their marriage, Mehran Nasseri was born.

After Mehran took part in protests in 1977, they wanted to arrest him, and he had to leave the country as a political refugee. He applied to different countries with a request to grant him asylum. And in 1981, a special UN commission gave him refugee status. In addition, at that time there was a war between Iran and Iraq, which also left its mark on the decision of the UN.

Immediately after that, Mehran went to Glasgow - to his mother's homeland. He couldn’t not obtain citizenship of this country quickly, and he decided to settle in Belgium temporarily - the country gave him citizenship as a refugee.

In 1988, our hero seemed to have received a letter from Britain, which stated that the country was ready to give him citizenship. After that, he receives a middle name - Alfred Mehran. Accordingly, he had to renounce Belgian citizenship. Mehran collected the necessary documents and decided to go to London via the Paris airport.

Further, incomprehensible events take place. On the way to the airport, Mehran's bag was stolen and most of the documents were lost. But at the same time, he was somehow let into the plane and he arrived in London. There, of course, he failed to pass passport control. He was put on a return flight and sent to Paris.

The French authorities could not let him into the country, as he did not have documents. It was also impossible to send him back, because in London he was no longer accepted. A vicious circle from which a native of Iran could not get out for 18 years: he stayed to live at the airport.

When the situation with Mehran received international publicity, the UN allocated a lawyer for him - a specialist in human rights, Christian Bourget. In 1992, he obtained permission for Nasseri to live in Paris as a stateless person, under the supervision of social services. But Mehran refused!

At the same time, the lawyer was in dialogue with the Belgian government. Initially, they refused to announce their decision, as a third party was talking to them. Belgium demanded that Mehran appear in person. But how to do this if France does not allow the exit? But Christian Bourget was still able to convince Belgium to give permission for his client to enter the country. But the resident of the Paris airport was again obliged to live under social supervision and without citizenship.

In addition, they pointed out that Mehran Nasseri is Iranian, and he denied his origin. As a result, Mehran also refused the Belgian offer. After that, Christian Bourget refused to continue cooperation, saying that his ward is living the life "that he wanted."

In terminal No. 1, Mehran Nasseri took a separate table, spread out his bed on several chairs at night. Soon there appeared a small table and a wooden chair with an armchair. His place began to resemble an office, only in the corner of the airport terminal.

The French and guests of the capital brought him food, clothes, books. The airport staff also did not stand aside: they brought tea, coffee, and the local doctor periodically checked his health. Nasseri studied languages, then economics, he wrote articles, kept a diary.

Mehran's frequent guests were journalists. Soon the whole world learned about the “refugee from Iran”. In the late 1990s, he began working on his memoirs. The British writer Andrew Donkin visited him, and it was he who edited and co-wrote Alfred Mehran's autobiography, which was published in 2004.

Back in the early 2000s, several documentaries about Alfred-Mehran Nasseri were released. So the famous director Steven Spielberg learned the story about the resident of the terminal. He wanted to film the story of an Iranian refugee. However, the decision was soon made to move away from the personality of Mehran, making a film about a completely different person, different circumstances, but with the same complexity: to be stuck for years in an airport terminal.

In 2004, the movie "Terminal" was released, starring Tom Hanks. Mehran Nasseri himself received $250,000 from Spielberg for the idea, as well as details of living in the terminal taken from his autobiography.

In July 2006, the unexpected happened: Alfred Mehran became seriously ill. The authorities gave permission for his admission to a local hospital. The Red Cross took care of him. While Mehran was being treated, his “place of residence” was dismantled.

After leaving the hospital, he was assigned a place to stay in a hotel. Soon the authorities transferred him to a social shelter. Until now, there is a dispute in the media: why such a difficult situation has developed - because of soulless bureaucrats or because of Mehran's principles?

Just think: the fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of the ussr, the war in Kuwait, the change of several presidents in Iran, the explosions of the twin towers in New York on September 11, 2001… All this is happening in the world, and Mehran Karimi Nasseri met these events at Charles de Gaulle Airport. Long 18 years of his life…