- The Terminal is based on a true story
- Tom Hanks stars in the film
- THESE events inspired the plot
He spent almost 20 years in an airport! You may be familiar with this true story from the film The Terminal with Tom Hanks. Nasseri is the name of the man who lived this. He gave himself the name "Sir Alfred". He lived until 2006 for 18 years in Terminal 1 of Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.
But how did this happen in the first place? He wrote down his story and Andrew Donkin wrote his autobiography The Terminal Man. But how did it even come about?
The True Story Behind The Terminal
Nasseri reportedly tried to obtain political asylum due to problems in his home country, Iran. During his studies in Great Britain, he protested against the Shah of Iran.
As a result, when he returned home, he was first sent to prison and then exiled. After he received his refugee status in Belgium in 1981 and he had the chance to get European citizenship, so he wanted to return to England. But on the way there he lost his briefcase with important papers and was sent to France by train.
After a preliminary arrest, he was released at the Parisian airport. Since Nasseri was no longer an Iranian citizen, but also unable to legally go anywhere, he chose to stay in the international territory of the airport.
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That's how his life began at the airport. A bathroom was provided, and food was available at fast-food outlets. He got money after a while from passengers and through cleaning work on site. The French human rights lawyer Christian Bourguet finally took over.
The problem was that the stranded man could only collect the replacement papers in person in Belgium. He could not fly there without having his papers. When his lawyer was finally able to get him the necessary documents, Nasseri didn't want them at all.
Eventually, "Sir Alfred" did leave the airport, as he was hospitalized with an unknown illness. From there he was taken to a homeless shelter. It's unknown where he is today. However, his story remains absolutely cinematic.
