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| Great White North |
| After 8 months at a Malaysian airport, Syrian refugee accepted in Canada |
| 2018-11-29 |
| [IsraelTimes] Hassan al-Kontar had been in limbo due to visa issues with Kuala Lumpur and relied on donated airline meals; now he has landed in Vancouver to start a new chapter. A Syrian refugee who spent months in limbo in a budget terminal at a Malaysian airport has arrived in Vancouver, after he was granted permanent residency by Canada, a government source and his lawyer said Tuesday. Hassan al-Kontar’s plight became widely known after he shared posts on social media that showed him surviving on donated airline meals, washing and giving himself a haircut in the toilets at Kuala Lumpur International Airport’s Terminal 2. He had been stuck since March ‐ blocked from entering Malaysia because of visa issues and barred from traveling to other countries, and was detained last month by immigration officials. After Kontar’s arrest, Malaysian officials had said they were going to work with Syrian authorities to deport him back to his war-torn homeland. But Kontar’s lawyer Andrew Brouwer said they brought the Syrian back to the Kuala Lumpur airport on Monday before he was put on a Vancouver-bound flight. Brouwer said his client was recognized by Canada as a refugee and was granted permanent residency under the country’s refugee sponsorship program. "We were of course very pleased that Malaysia appeared to agree and abide by international law," he said. Malaysia’s immigration office said in a statement Tuesday it had held talks "on the basis of concern and humanity... with the embassy of the country that agreed to receive his relocation," without naming Canada. In Vancouver, he was greeted by Laurie Cooper, who, with the help of a group of residents in the ski resort of Whistler and the British Columbia Moslem Association, brought him to Canada and raised almost Can$15,000 for his fresh start. Before climbing into a car and heading to Whistler, where a bed, fresh clothes and a hotel job were awaiting him, he whispered to himself: "I will be fine." Kontar is not the only asylum seeker who has been left in limbo at an airport for a long period of time. In 2015, an Iraqi family spent more than two months in an empty smoking cubicle in a Moscow airport, relying on passengers to bring them food and water. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #3 Yeah, we seen dis movie. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2018-11-29 17:50 |
| #2 "The Terminal" |
| Posted by: newc 2018-11-29 15:39 |
| #1 Mr. al-Kontar to the UNWRA courtesy phone... |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2018-11-29 01:59 |