In 1988 there was an Iranian man named Merhan Nasseri who arrived in Paris at the Charles De Gaulle Airport after leaving his native Iran. His original destination was England but his passport and his refugee certificate had been stolen so, without the proper paperwork, he was not allowed to enter England. England decided to abandon Nasseri in France. France wanted nothing to do with Nasseri but they could not send him to Iran because he was a refugee from Iran and did not want to return. He was told to stay in Terminal One of the Charles De Gaulle Airport until the French authorities could figure out what to do with him. In 2006, over 18 years later, it is believed that Nasseri finally left Terminal One to be taken to the hospital for an unspecified illness. During that 18 year period Nasseri lived in Terminal One in the Charles De Gaulle Airport and never left. Eventually the French authorities agreed to grant him citizenship in France but he refused to leave the airport preferring to stay and tell his story to anyone that would stop and listen. It was soon after he arrived at Charles De Gaulle Airport that he began referring to himself as Sir Alfred. In 1993 the movie Tombes Du Ciel was made based directly on the story of Sir Alfred and all he had endured. The movie was popular in France but the rest of the world did not really take notice. Then Hollywood came calling.

In 2004 Steve Spielberg based his new movie The Terminal on the plight of Sir Alfred and cast Hollywood super star Tom Hanks in the leading role. The Terminal is a movie about a man who leaves his unstable Eastern European home country to visit America as part of a promise he made to his dying father. When he arrives at JFK Airport in New York City he finds out that his country has been devastated by war and is no longer recognized by the United States as a sovereign nation. This meant that his passport was no longer valid and he could also not go home, but without a valid passport he could also not enter the United States. So he could not get into the country he was already in and he could not go back to a country that no longer existed. The only alternative was for him to stay in the terminal until they could figure out what to do with him. So live in the terminal Tom Hank’s character Viktor did. He spoke very little English and had a very difficult time communicating with people but he eventually began to make friends at the terminal. He even started to fall in love with one of the flight attendants that would frequent the JFK Airport. Even with the names Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks attached to it The Terminal did modest business but it did get Sir Alfred’s story out to the rest of the world.

It is rumored that Sir Alfred still lies in a hospital recovering from an illness and it is unknown if he will decide to find a home or continue to live in the airport terminal for the remainder of his life. It is also unknown, as this part of the story is not well told, how he has managed to survive for 18 years in a place where you need money just to park. But sometimes the will to survive can make any person creative.