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@kontar81
From: Man at the Airport
$1.90
This chapter describes Al Kontar’s plight: no visa, no way home, and no way out of the airport in Kuala Lumpur. He turned to social media to share his story and seek help.
Contributors
Hassan Al Kontar
When revolution and war broke out in his home country in 2011, Hassan Al Kontar was a young Syrian living and working in the UAE. A conscientious objector by faith and temperament, he refused to return to Syria for compulsory military service and lived illegally before being deported to Malaysia in 2017. Unable to obtain a visa for any other country, he became trapped in the arrivals zone at Kuala Lumpur Airport. Exiled by war and trapped by geopolitics, Al Kontar used social media and humour to tell his story to the world, becoming an international celebrity and ultimately finding refuge in Canada.
