Hassan Al Kontar
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Hassan Al Kontar ( ar, حسان القنطار; 13 July 1981) is a Syrian-born Canadian who was stranded at
Kuala Lumpur International Airport Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is Malaysia's main international airport. It is located in the Sepang District of Selangor, approximately south of Kuala Lumpur and serves the city's greater conurbation. KLIA is the largest and ...
from 7 March 2018 until his arrest on 1 October 2018. He has been in exile from Syria since 2011 because of his refusal to join the Syrian military and could face arrest if returned there. Since November 2018, he resides in
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, Canada. His plight has been compared to
Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...
's character in the film ''
The Terminal ''The Terminal'' is a 2004 American comedy-drama film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Stanley Tucci. The film is about an Eastern European man who is stuck in New York's John F. Kennedy ...
'', who was inspired by the real-life story of
Mehran Karimi Nasseri Mehran Karimi Nasseri ( fa, مهران کریمی ناصری pronounced ; 1945 – 12 November 2022), also known as Sir, Alfred Mehran, was an Iranian refugee who lived in the departure lounge of Terminal 1 in Charles de Gaulle Airport from 26 ...
who lived in France's
Charles de Gaulle Airport Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (french: Aéroport de Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, ), also known as Roissy Airport or simply Paris CDG, is the principal airport serving the French capital, Paris ( and its metropolitan area), and the largest intern ...
for 18 years. According to
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
's Becky Anderson, his situation is not "unprecedented" and could become a more common problem for Syrian refugees because many countries will not accept Syrian nationals.


Background

Al Kontar was born in Al-Suweida, Syria to a Druze family. He has two siblings. His father was a mechanical engineer and his mother was a nurse. He originally emigrated from Syria to the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...
(UAE) in 2006, to work as an insurance marketing agent. While in the UAE, Al Kontar’s work permit expired in 2011, the year the Syrian Civil War broke out. Due to the fact that his request to renew his
Syrian passport The Syrian passport ( ar, جواز السفر السوري) is a travel document issued by Syria's Department of Immigration and Passports to Syrian citizens for international travel. Syrian passports are normally valid for six years; however, ...
was denied by the Syrian embassy, he stayed illegally in the UAE out of the fear that he would be drafted into the Syrian Armed Forces at the height of the war. In 2017, Al Kontar obtained a new Syrian passport valid for two years, but he was arrested by Emirati authorities and subsequently deported to
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
while trying to renew his expired work permit. Malaysia is one of the few countries where Syrians are granted visa-free entry, although it is not a signatory to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, meaning that he would not be granted refugee status. After receiving a 90-day visitor’s permit, Al Kontar stayed in Malaysia for a year, doing scrap work to save up a ticket to
Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
so he could be reunited with his extended family members there. In February 2018, Al Kontar purchased a one-way ticket to Quito with stopovers in
Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...
and Bogotá for US$2,300. On 28 February 2018, when he attempted to board the
Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines ( Turkish: ''Türk Hava Yolları'') is the national flag carrier airline of Turkey. , it operates scheduled services to 340 destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, making it the largest mainline carrier in the ...
flight to Istanbul, ground staff at
Kuala Lumpur International Airport Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is Malaysia's main international airport. It is located in the Sepang District of Selangor, approximately south of Kuala Lumpur and serves the city's greater conurbation. KLIA is the largest and ...
(KLIA) denied him boarding and refused to refund his ticket. He then bought another ticket to Phnom Penh and successfully boarded the flight, but was denied entry by Cambodian authorities upon arrival. He was then sent back to
Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...
. As he had overstayed his previous permission to remain in the country, Malaysian authorities refused to allow him to re-enter, and he became stranded at Terminal 2 of the KLIA in "legal limbo".


Life at the airport

Al Kontar slept on chairs or under a stairwell, showered in a disabled toilet and was fed by some airport staff (mostly from
AirAsia Capital A Berhad, () operating as AirAsia (stylized as ''airasia'') is a Malaysian multinational low-cost airline headquartered near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the largest airline in Malaysia by fleet size and destinations. AirAsia operat ...
) who gave him meals. Though his savings dwindled, people offered him money and a woman living in
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
started a fundraiser in order to possibly sponsor him to
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and have enough money to live for at least a year. He has family members in Canada. The
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...
has been trying to provide legal aid. On his 100th day at the airport in June 2018, he jokingly decided to apply to join a
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
mission to
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...
, saying that if he actually had the opportunity to leave Earth and the worst parts of humanity, he would. On 1 October 2018, Al Kontar was detained by Malaysian authorities for being in a "forbidden area" of the airport. Malaysia's immigration chief, Mustafar Ali, said they would "communicate with the Syrian embassy to facilitate deportation to his home country." However, he later announced that Al Kontar would be sent to an undisclosed third country as the discussion and arrangement is being processed together with the foreign mission in Malaysia. Al Kontar was held in a detention facility for 58 days before the paperwork was finalized by Canadian authorities, which expedited his asylum request. In September 2018, Arab-Israeli video blogger
Nuseir Yassin Nuseir Yassin ( ar, نصير ياسين; he, נוסייר יאסין; born ) is an Arab-Israeli vlogger who is most notable for creating over 1,000 daily, one-minute-long videos on Facebook, TikTok and Instagram under the page Nas Daily. Bi ...
made a video about Al Kontar, but was unable to visit him because Israeli citizens were not allowed to enter Malaysia. Yassin’s personal friend, Polish citizen Agon Hare, visited Al Kontar on Yassin’s behalf instead.


Asylum and life in Canada

On 26 November 2018, Al Kontar landed at
Vancouver International Airport Vancouver International Airport is an international airport located on Sea Island in Richmond, British Columbia, serving the city of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland region. It is located from Downtown Vancouver. It is the second busie ...
and was admitted as a permanent resident of Canada. He started a job in Whistler,
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
. Al Kontar had been privately sponsored for asylum in Canada; he lived with the family of one of his sponsors, media relations consultant Laurie Cooper, who has helped over 30 refugees settle in Canada. Al Kontar currently speaks at events about human rights and works at a restaurant. Since August 2019, Al Kontar has been organizing a refugee resettlement program called ''Operation Not Forgotten'', sponsored by the Refugee Council of Australia and Amnesty International, for which they plan to raise a total of C$3.3 million to resettle off-shore asylum seekers detained by Australia who are stranded in Nauru and Manus Regional Processing Centres into Canada. These refugees are from countries including
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
,
Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
,
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
, Sri Lanka,
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
, and
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
, while some are stateless. On 11 January 2023, while he was residing in Princeton, British Columbia, he was granted Canadian citizenship.


References


External links


Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kontar, Hassan 1981 births Living people Syrian Druze Refugees of the Syrian civil war Stateless people Syrian exiles Syrian expatriates in the United Arab Emirates Syrian expatriates in Canada