Merhan Karimi Nasseri, a man without country, trapped by his lack of papers in Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris, France, since 26 August 1988… He’s been there ever since. Unbelieveably, the poor bastard, caught in a web of red tape, has been living in the terminal for the last 13 years. “His life follows the quotidian airport cycle. He wakes at 5:30 in order to shave in the men’s room before passengers arrive. He reads all day long. At night, he waits until the airport stores are locked before he brushes his teeth with the toothbrush and toothpaste from a complimentary airline travel kit. Weekly, he rinses out his clothes overnight in the bathroom.
Nasseri is renowned throughout the airport for his refusal to ask for help. “We have a colleague who gave him clothes, but he returned them, saying ‘I’m not a beggar,’” said Crystelle L’Hospitalier, a Lufthansa clerk. But he has to eat, and accepts occasional meal vouchers and francs from stewardesses and airport staff.
As the years have slipped by, it has become increasingly clear that Nasseri will never leave Charles de Gaulle. His airport years have made him “crazier by the day,” on the topic of his future, said airport doctor Bargain. When he talks about flying to London, the staff here greet him with understanding smiles.”
I tell you, that’s the most miserable thing I’ve heard all year.