Syrian refugee, stranded 7 months in Malaysia airport, lands in Canada

During his months in Terminal 2 of Kuala Lumpur airport he lived on airline meals

Hassan Al Kontar meets supporters after arriving at an airport in Vancouver, British Columbia, after flying from Kuala Lumpur, Monday, Nov. 26, 2018. Al Kontar, a Syrian man who was stranded for seven months at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, arrived in Vancouver on Monday night. (Ben Nelms/The Canadian Press via AP)
Powered by automated translation

A Syrian man who spent seven months stranded at a Malaysian airport arrived in Canada this week, ending an ordeal that highlighted asylum seekers' often bizarre quest for refuge.

Hassan Al Kontar got stuck at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in March after his Malaysian tourist visa expired and he was not allowed to board a flight to another country.

Mr Kontar, 37, who left Syria before its civil war erupted in 2011, had worked in the UAE for several years but had to leave after his visa expired. He said he could not return to his homeland because he refused to serve in the military.

During his months in Terminal 2 of Kuala Lumpur airport, he lived on airline meals while trying to find a country that would give him a visa. While documenting his travails on social media, thousands started to follow his fate online.

He showed himself knitting, and celebrated when the sun peeked through the window or when, momentarily, a few fluorescent lights went off.

Documenting his ordeal "was a need", he told Reuters by phone on Tuesday, because people "are in the dark when it comes to the refugee crisis".

His plight caught the eye of Canadians who sought to privately sponsor him as a refugee.

"When we noticed he had this issue, he was stranded in the Malaysian airport and no place to go, nobody is accepting him, I offered: 'We have space. We can bring him in to sponsor him,'" said Shawkat Hassan, with British Columbia's Muslim Association, which helped sponsor Mr Kontar.

The paperwork took months. During that time, Mr Kontar was taken into Malaysian immigration detention and threatened with deportation to Syria.

_______________

Read more:

Stateless Syrian on way after six-month Malaysian airport stay

Syrian refugee arrested after living in Malaysian airport for months

_______________

On Monday night, he arrived at Vancouver International Airport wearing flip-flops and a T-shirt. He became a permanent resident on landing in Canada because the country had already recognised him as a refugee and not a migrant.

His sponsor, Laurie Cooper, drove him to her home in Whistler, British Columbia, where he is staying until he gets his bearings.

Mr Kontar said he had been too excited since his arrival to sleep. "In real life, there are moments that are more beautiful than the dream itself."

He said the first thing he did on stepping out of the Vancouver airport into the rain was to breathe in his new surroundings.

"For me, walking on the street again and smelling the fresh air, it's not a normal thing: It's the sound and smell of freedom."