The Iranian who was a source of inspiration for the movie “The Terminal” has died

The Iranian political refugee, Mehran Karimi Nasseri, who was a img of inspiration for Steven Spielberg’s film “The Terminal”, has died at the age of 78. Tom Hanks.

Naseri, known as “Sir Alfred”, turned a small corner of Charles de Gaulle airport into his home in 1988 and remained there until 2006, due to a legal impasse and after choosing. After some years the French government granted Naseri the right to live in its territory. But the Iranian returned to his now familiar environment a few weeks ago, where he ended up suffering from a heart attack.

Naseri was born in 1945 in the Khuzestan province of Iran and first traveled to Europe with the aim of finding his British mother. He spent a few years in Belgium, having previously been deported from several other countries, including Britain, the Netherlands and Germany, for not having the proper travel documents. He then traveled to France and settled in Terminal 2F of Charles de Gaulle Airport, where surrounded by his few possessions he chronicled his life in a notebook. These notes formed the basis for his autobiography, published in 2004.

His story piqued his interest Steven Spielberg, who directed the movie “The Terminal” starring Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Although he was finally granted refugee asylum in 1999 and allowed to stay in France, Naseri remained at the airport until 2006, when he was taken to hospital due to illness. Naseri then lived for some years in a hotel, with the money he had made from the production of the film.

An airport official stated that Naseri returned to the airport a few weeks ago, where he remained until his death. According to officials, he had thousands of euros on him.