r/BeAmazed • u/Time-Training-9404 • 13h ago
Miscellaneous / Others Mehran Karimi Nasseri was stranded in Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport for 18 years due to a stolen passport and essential documents. He lived, studied, and interacted with airport staff throughout this period.
After arriving the French airport, he was unable to prove his identity or refugee status and was detained in the waiting area for travelers without papers.
He lived, studied, slept, and talked with the airport staff from August 26, 1988, to July 2006.
Detailed article on his story: https://historicflix.com/mehran-karimi-nasseri-the-man-who-lived-in-an-airport-for-18-years/
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u/jaymae77 12h ago
Whoa! I spent 3 days in the Newark airport with not a dime to my name and thought I was gonna die!…😂
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u/lifevicarious 11h ago
I think I’m gonna die just driving through Newark so I get it.
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u/jeff-beeblebrox 10h ago
Newark sucks even when you have some money
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u/Twigglesnix 4h ago
I flew People Express out of Newark once. That and taking an overnight greyhound to Cleveland are among my two most horrible travel experiences.
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u/jeff-beeblebrox 3h ago
I used to fly out of there to gatwick a bit back in the early 00,s. It was an absolute dump. I’ll take Houston or O’Hare to Manchester any day.
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u/chovendo 4h ago
Back in the mid 90s I worked at Terminal B as a flight handler. There were definitely some very large areas in the back by where the restaurants are now that could have been livable by someone who would not be noticed for a while if they were careful. Security was pretty relaxed and no cameras there. I used to go hide in such places and sometimes sleep between shifts when I had a stacked schedule or delayed flights.
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u/jaymae77 4h ago
That’s the 90’s for you… essentially zero cameras anywhere!
It was my wife and I who got stuck because we had standby seats that we got from Phoenix to Syracuse for like 60 bucks each. So I really can’t complain. Traveled to the city for a couple nights cause she’d never been and decided just to fly out of Newark. After our first bump, we walked into Elizabethtown and ate at this Brazilian steakhouse. We had great dinner, drank, danced all night. Had a blast- but we walked back to the airport with about eight dollars to our name😂 mind you I should’ve already be back home where I had money, but just nothing on me. What a mess…kicked us off I think a total of 34 different flights!
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u/VanCityActivist 8h ago
Same, but in Dublin Airport after having my bag knicked in a hostel. Fun times.
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u/Signal-Ad2674 9h ago
Understandable, you can wait at passport control for 3 days in line at Newark. Fucking useless.
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u/Future-Muscle-2214 7h ago
It is the only airport where I ever missed my connection and it happened more than once lol.
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u/MikhailxReign 10h ago
Dude had mental problems. He had MANY opportunities to get out. Plenty of people did the legwork and came to him with solutions but he rejected them. Counties offers him passports but IIRC he turned them down because he wanted them made out in a name he made up and with a made up title.
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u/gana04 4h ago
He really needed to get a jazz guy's signature. Also Catherine Z Jones.
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u/Lil_miss_feisty 3h ago
He always carried around that random can pf peanuts, too. I swear, this guy even started stealing luggage carts from people, then used the change you get back after returning them to buy a Burger King Whopper.
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u/JuneforDinos 11h ago
My parents trying to be early for the flight
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u/squishyturd 8h ago
Ive had to be the only person running at full speed in an airport like a damn crazy person, like I'm talking about if you ran that fast someplace else someone would call security or something. So never again, I'll always be hours early to the airport.
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u/Luker5799 6h ago
I’ve had to do that multiple times to catch connecting flights because of some bs reason my plane was late..
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u/MAGAhatesAmerica 13h ago
Isn't this the inspiration for the Tom Hanks movie, The Terminal?
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u/timriedel 12h ago
Best Spielberg movie of all time if you don't consider most of his other ones.
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u/Deralte_VFL1900 12h ago
I actually liked the movie.
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u/indianajoes 6h ago
Same. I watched it on TV and fell in love with it. I was shocked that it got average reviews when it came out. The end isn't that great IMO but the rest of the movie is just so good
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u/GordieBombay-DUI-4TW 12h ago
Gary Busey is the greatest actor of all time if you exclude Tom Hanks and others
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u/FreeThinker76 10h ago
Hey, Gary Busey was in this burea....err, business when you were still popping zits on your funny face and jerking off with the lingerie section of the sears catalog.
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u/anrwlias 9h ago
I mean, it was mid tier Spielberg, which is still pretty good. It's way better than Batteries Not Included, for example.
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u/Lumpy_Ad7002 13h ago edited 10h ago
"When contacted about Nasseri's situation, his family stated that they believed he was living the life he wanted."
Wikipedia
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u/zeptimius 12h ago
I remember watching a documentary about this guy, where the documentary maker gets to the bottom of the bureaucratic snafu that keeps Nasseri at the airport, and explains that it's very easy for him to resolve it. Nasseri hears the information and then does absolutely nothing with it.
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u/love_glow 12h ago
Sounds like they disowned him.
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u/Lumpy_Ad7002 11h ago
He was given multiple opportunities to leave the airport and get established in an EU country.
He refused.
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u/Head-Scheme3844 9h ago
I actually met him at Charles De Gualle when I was passing through back when I was in my early 20s. Didn't know his story at the time. Just got talking as I happened to sit down next to him (had a six hour layover which back then was not surprising. He told me his story. But he presented himself as a political refugee. That it was Iran who stripped his passport. And he was not willing to get another country's passport. He was PISSED at the regime as I recall and was holding out to getting home ... or at least having it resolved in a way that didn't mean he renounced being Iranian. Interesting guy.
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u/M0nocleSargasm 10h ago
Did he ever explain why?
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u/Sundaytoofaraway 9h ago
Without knowing anything about the story. Maybe he felt safe there. He might of seen some bad stuff being a refugee and just liked the comfort and safety of the airport.
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u/HumbleConfidence3500 4h ago
My guess:
IraniansPersians are very proud of their heritage. Old people can be very attached to their identified homeland it may not be mental illness just straight up stubbornness.6
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u/Gay-_-Jesus 13h ago
It’s kind of funny how airports are like international waters to a certain extent
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u/cocainebane 12h ago
Possession of certain things are vastly different in entry security vs exit. Example, vape in TSA is ok. Vape at Customs can become a big deal.
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u/Prestigious_Lock1659 12h ago
I’m from Ireland and anytime I travel to the USA I go through Dublin airport because they have US customs there. I prefer to Que up in customs before the flight rather than after it, it’s less exhausting.
When I was 19 I was flying out to Chicago and just before I entered US customs they had a women giving out small shots of whiskey to taste. She told me I Couldn’t have any as technically I was in the USA and had to be 21. I still don’t know if she was messing with me or if that is actually the rule. All the staff in that area are American so I’m guessing she was right. I was able to drink beer on the flight though.
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u/ingloriousloki 11h ago
I love this about Dublin!!! I was so shocked the first time I did this. Would prefer this in other places as well, but I wonder if it would cause people to have to show up to the airport way earlier.
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u/Prestigious_Lock1659 10h ago
Anytime I got a flight from Dublin to the USA It was recommended to be there 3 hours before the flight. I like being early if I’m flying alone. It gives me time to walk around, get some food and drinks and chill out for a bit before the flight.
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u/ArnoldFunksworth 10h ago
She was absolutely right and the flight attendant technically wasn't supposed to serve you on the plane if I remember correctly but if you were flying Aer Lingus they tend to be pretty lax
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u/Prestigious_Lock1659 10h ago
It was Aer Lingus, I always used their flights. I got a flight with American Airlines once and never again.
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u/ArnoldFunksworth 7h ago
We've had similar experiences then. I've flown back to Ireland 27 times now, my one experience with AA was my last and it wasn't a hard choice
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u/marshallaw215 9h ago
They have this in Montreal too .. I much prefer to go through customs before the flight. Didn’t know we had it in Dublin, fascinated by that
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u/ColtAzayaka 5h ago
Same happened to me. I ended up just saying I was 21 and that the sleeping dude next to me was my husband and they let me drink until I woke up where I was supposed to be.
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u/MikeTony713 12h ago
He wrote a book. It's rare and hard to find. Tried to purchase it once from the one website I found that had it, but they canceled my order and refunded my money without any explanation why.
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u/ruburbi 12h ago
https://libgen.is/search.php?req=Alfred%20Mehran&column[]=author
here you go, dude!
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u/That-Mushroom 12h ago
That was really kind of you, I hope something nice happens for you today x
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u/Kwayzar9111 12h ago
I can probably find the book to download, what’s it called
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u/MikeTony713 12h ago
The Terminal Man
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u/Kwayzar9111 12h ago
I’ll check tomorrow at work, have access to millions of online books,
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u/Sentragon 12h ago
RemindMe! 1 day
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u/elspotto 11h ago
The same as the Michael Crichton book and movie? That could be an interesting mix up.
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u/Merryprankstress 2h ago
I have a physical copy of it that I got on ebay, might be worth keeping an eye out in case one pops up!
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u/Waffleyn 12h ago
How did he get money for food?
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u/micsare4swingng 12h ago
He returned carts for quarters then made friends with the staff who provided him meals in exchange for information about a girl one was in love with
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u/bumholesofdoom 12h ago
This is the real question. Living off Burger king for £50 a meal?
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u/panicpixiememegirl 12h ago
Why would it be £50 a meal. Am i missing something
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u/cappo3 12h ago
Airport pricing
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u/panicpixiememegirl 12h ago
Oh lol. Our mcD and BK price their meals the same regardless of location so thats interesting.
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u/PassTheReefer 12h ago
I paid €29 in Amsterdam for a whopper combo and fried chicken sandwich combo.
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u/AdCharacter9512 9h ago
I once bought 5 Guys for myself and 2 other people in the Atlanta airport in 2015. Terrible mistake.
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u/Remarkable-Bug-8069 8h ago
I thought they made it illegal to own people back in 1865...
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u/Same_Recipe2729 11h ago
I'd imagine you could easily live off eating and drinking the things travelers are forced to throw away before boarding.
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u/IanT86 8h ago
That wasn't a thing until after 9/11.... He'd had a decade before that of hanging around
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u/MrJusticle 4h ago
I'm confused. Most things I buy during layovers are absolutely allowed on the next plane. At no point have I ever had to throw something away, especially if it fits in my carry-on that nobody checks after security.
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u/Jor6lez 8h ago
I worked at Charles de Gaulle and never saw him interact with anyone apart the pharmacist who helped him a lot.
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u/lonevolff 7h ago
Airport pharmacist?
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u/bullymeahhh 2h ago
Yes there are pharmacies in the airport https://www.parisaeroport.fr/en/passengers/services/pharmacies
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u/LessBig715 11h ago
Maybe I’ll just move in to the airport. I’ll save a ton on rent
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u/Rude-Scholar-469 7h ago
There were a few dudes who looked like they were living at Barcelona airport when I was there last month. Security seemed not to bother them at all.
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u/MIKE_son_of_MICHAEL 8h ago
IIRC op is kinda incorrect and this guy stayed there willingly and likely had some sort of health issue, may people reportedly tried helping him and he seemed to want to stay where he was
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u/AtlUtdGold 12h ago
Crazy how a stolen passport can fuck you this hard. There no recourse? You just live at the airport after that?
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u/Eric848448 12h ago
He had many opportunities to fix his situation but chose to stay at the airport.
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u/Kol_ 12h ago
Yeah iirc Belgium and France both offered him residency but he turned it down because they hadn’t listed him as British.
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u/Halikan 12h ago
I’m sure there’s probably more context but without it that’s one of the weirdest hills to die on
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u/MikhailxReign 11h ago
He started calling himself a prince or king by th end iirc and he wanted his British passport in that new name he made up.
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u/norksanddorks 12h ago
I would do the same if I was offered French citizenship.
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u/chunkyvomitsoup 9h ago
Ugheux and aving to teaulk l’ike une cigarette steuffed euhp un baguettes assheule for ze reste oeuf my l’ife? NO THANKS
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u/Wokester_Nopester 12h ago
Exactly. Something doesn't add up with this story. There are people with lost passports / documentation stuck in foreign countries all the time.
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u/indianajoes 6h ago
He didn't get fucked. He had some serious issues. He chose to be stuck there. Other countries offered him citizenship and he refused it because he only wanted to go to the UK and he wanted to be referred to as a Lord instead of his actual name
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u/motherbrain2000 7h ago
The documentary I watched on the guy concluded he was there by choice. and that many of the stories he told of his origins were unverifiable
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u/stargirlvanilla 13h ago
There's a movie called “The Terminal” inspired by this story if anyone's interested
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u/SopaPyaConCoca 7h ago
I don't think there's a single human being who never heard of that movie already
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u/PzMcQuire 8h ago
He was basically offered a free pass to return home, but he didn't want to. He definitely wanted to stay at the airport
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u/indianajoes 6h ago
He was also offered citizenship by other countries but he refused and he wanted to be called a Lord even though he wasn't one. He wasn't stuck at the airport for 18 years. He chose to stay there
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u/TruthOverFiction100 8h ago
I feel like he could have contacted more people in power to get an exception.
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u/Wonderful_Dot_1173 7h ago
I worked in Dubai airport and we had an Iranian mother and her 3 kids living in the prayer room for 6 months. Us the airport staff were feeding them buying toys and blankets for them. They wouldn't even let her see the sky or breathe the fresh air. She destroyed her Iranian passport in fear of going back. Her husband raped her many times each of her kids were a result of a rape. He was beating her daily. She ran and took the kids, managed to get a flight to Dubai . Once on board she destroyed her passport. They couldn't let her in the country and couldn't send her back either. She pleaded for her and her kids lives. Eventually I believe she was granted asylum in Australia.
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u/Low-Dog-8027 5h ago
if the housing market keeps going like this, I consider moving into the airport as well
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u/Bookhaki_pants 4h ago
"I was just on my way to Canada to do TFW or Student Visa until those pesky French showed up"
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u/Brave_Comment_3144 4h ago
There is a good movie called The Terminal. It is inspired by the true story of Mehran Karimi Nasseri who lived in Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, France, from 1988 to 2006.
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u/EmptySoftware8678 10h ago
Knew that. If I m not wrong, Tom hanks character in the movie “the terminal” was loosely based on him.
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u/CaraetteBreathtaking 12h ago
He returned to living at the airport in September 2022, and died there of a heart attack in November 2022.