A Syrian man who spent some seven months living in an airport in Malaysia has been granted asylum in Canada.
Hassan al-Kontar’s plight garnered global attention when he began posting regular videos from Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
Mr Kontar, 37, has spent the last two months in a Malaysian detention centre and his Canadian sponsors sought to have his case expedited.
He is scheduled to land in Vancouver, Canada on Monday evening local time.
Two organisations, the British Columbia Muslim Association and Canada Caring Society, sponsored him to come to Canada as a refugee.
Laurie Cooper, a volunteer with Canada Caring Society, told the BBC that they heard on Thursday that he was coming to Canada.
“It’s a huge sense of relief, still a bit unbelievable,” she said. “Until I give him a big hug at the airport it’s not really real. It’s been a long, long journey with lots of ups and downs.”
His lawyer also confirmed to the BBC that he was approved for resettlement to Canada and was en route.
Ms Cooper said Mr Kontar texted her from the boarding gate saying he could not wait to see her.
“His situation is just representative of the challenges faced by all refugees around the world,” she said.
“It’s getting harder and harder for them to find a safe place to live. He’s one of the lucky ones.”
The group said people from around the world helped raise the funds to bring Mr Kontar to Canada.
Canada’s federal immigration department declined to confirm or deny that Mr Kontar was coming to Canada, citing privacy laws.
“While we can’t comment on individual cases, each application is reviewed in a fair manner, based on its merits,” it said in an emailed statement.
A number of rights organisations have championed Mr Kontar’s case and an online petition launched by the Canadian Caring Society asking Canada’s immigration minister to allow him entry garnered over 62,000 signatures.
Mr Kontar had been working in insurance in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) when war broke out in Syria in 2011.
He couldn’t renew his passport because he had not completed military service at home, but he didn’t want to return, fearing he would be arrested or made to join the military.
So he stayed on illegally in the UAE, but was arrested in 2016.
In 2017 he managed to get a new passport, but was eventually deported to Malaysia. It is one of the few countries in the world which grants Syrians visa-free entry on arrival. He was given a three-month tourist visa.
When that expired he tried to go to Turkey but was was not allowed to board the plane. He went to Cambodia but was sent back.
He spent months in limbo, staying in the arrivals area of the airport and living off food donated by airline staff.
Mr Kontar, from Suweida, south of Damascus, had applied for asylum in Ecuador and Cambodia, but was unsuccessful.
Source: bbc.co.uk
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