A more objective view would perhaps be interesting. It killed a brief amount of time with little thought. In terms of the book, the writing style is simple and swift to read though I found the repetitive use of certain phrases and indeed whole paragraphs to be annoying. That was only for slightly over 24 hours so I can't imagine what 16 years was like. Bureaucracy took hold and the uncertainty of being pushed pillar to post and being assured that someone was sorting it out left me frenetic and very stressed and pretty damn angry. When you combine it with his hoarding and odd behaviour you start to wonder about his general mental state.Ī few years back I was stuck in the transit lounge of Delhi airport without appropriate paperwork allowing me into either India or through departures. He makes some really bizarre decisions at times (particularly the one that led to him 'misplacing' his documents in the first place) and his refusal to accept his heritage as Iranian does seem odd when legally and by definition he is. You would think that in writing your own side of the story you would try and present yourself as likeable but he comes across as obstinate and unhelpful, withholding vital information, lying, changing the story and being fairly ungrateful.
Despite many people offering to help (and indeed going to great lengths to actually do so) he seems to throw it back in their faces. Yes the bureaucratic idiocy that kept him there is mind boggling but he comes across as a rather dislikeable character himself. Despite many people offering to help I quite liked The Terminal and was always curious about the man it was supposedly inspired by so when this turned up in the bargain book pile I picked it up.Ĭo-written by Sir Alfred Mehran himself it's an interesting though somewhat sparse document of his side of the story as to why he lived in Charles de Gaulle airport for 16 years. Co-written by Sir Alfred Mehran himself it's an interesting though somewhat sparse document of his side of the story as to why he lived in Charles de Gaulle airport for 16 years. I quite liked The Terminal and was always curious about the man it was supposedly inspired by so when this turned up in the bargain book pile I picked it up. Political refugee, prisoner, exile, rebel, gentleman, citizen of the world, media magnet and, most of all, delayed passenger, The Terminal Man tells Sir Alfred's incredible and unique life story in his own words.more There have been numerous press and magazines articles around the globe he receives hundreds of letters from well-wishers as well as his visits and has also featured in three documentary feature films about his plight as the world's only celebrity homeless person. As Sir Alfred remained trapped between countries his fame began to spread. He sleeps on a red bench borrowed from an old bar, surrounded by piles of newspapers and magazines stored in cargo boxes and his extensive diary. Fearing arrest if he left the terminal building but unable to board a flight, he was trapped there for years. Upon his release, he returned to Charles de Gaulle and was refused permission to enter any other country. On trying to leave the airport he was arrested and sentenced as an illegal immigrant, and served six months in jail. He boarded a plane to London but without the appropriate documentation was sent straight back to Paris. He was mugged on his way to Charles de Gaulle airport in 1988 and lost all his documents. He was then expelled from Iran with a passport valid for just one year - so he was now a stateless person. After a year at university, his family broke all contact and he returned to Iran where he was imprisoned for his political activism, was arrested and tortured. A deal was agreed for Sir Alfred to disappear overseas to England and his family would pay for his studies. When he was twenty his father died and he received an even greater shock when the woman he regarded as his mother told him he wasn't her son, but the result of a union between his father and a British nurse. Sir Alfred has spent the last 15 years living and sleeping inside the airport's Terminal One building, trapped in international no-man's land without the proper documentation needed to move on. When he was tw The Terminal Man is the extraordinary story of Mehran Karimi Nasseria, better known as 'Sir Alfred' of Charles de Gaulle Airport.
The Terminal Man is the extraordinary story of Mehran Karimi Nasseria, better known as 'Sir Alfred' of Charles de Gaulle Airport.
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