Syrian man leaves KL airport for Canada

A SYRIAN refugee who spent several months in limbo in a budget terminal at a Malaysian airport has been granted permanent residency by Canada and is en route to Vancouver, his lawyer said on Tuesday.

Hassan al-Kontar’s plight became widely known after he shared posts on social media that showed him surviving on donated airline meals, washing and giving himself a haircut in the toilets at Kuala Lumpur International Airport’s (KLIA) Terminal 2.

The member of Druze minority from Swaida in Syria had been stuck since March after he attempted to enter Cambodia, one of the few countries where Syrians can, in theory, get a visa on arrival.

He was refused entry by the authorities at Phnom Penh International Airport and was sent back to Kuala Lumpur.

Upon arrival at KLIA, he was blocked from entering Malaysia because of visa issues and barred from travelling to other countries.

Kontar was detained last month by Malaysian immigration officials.

“I know I look like someone who ran from the stone, middle ages. I’m sorry for that,” the smiling 36-year-old said in a Twitter video on Monday, looking tired and stroking his bushy beard.

“For the last eight years, it was hard, long journey. The last 10 months, it was very hard and cold.”

After Kontar’s arrest, Malaysian officials had said they were going to work with Syrian authorities to deport him back to his war-torn homeland.

But Kontar’s law yer Andrew Brouwer sa id t hey broug ht t he Sy r ia n d i rec t l y to t he Kua la Lu mpur a i r por t on Monday before he was put on a Vancouver-bound f light.

Brouwer said his client was recognised by Canada as a refugee and was granted permanent residency under the country’s refugee sponsorship programme.

“We were of course very pleased that Malaysia appeared to agree and abide by international law,” he said.

Ma l a y s i a’s i mmig r at ion office said in a statement on Tuesday that it had held talks “on the basis of concern and humanity . . . with the embassy of the countr y that agreed to receive h i s reloc at ion,” without naming Canada.

In the video on his Twitter account Kontar said he was in transit in Taiwan and that he would be reaching his “final destination” the following day.

“I could not do it without the support and the prayers from all of you,” he said.