The plight of Syrian refugee Hassan al-Kontar gained international attention in mid-2018 after he shared posts on that showed him surviving on donated airline meals, washing and giving himself a haircut in the toilets at Kuala Lumpur International Airport's terminal two.
He had been stuck in the airport - blocked from entering Malaysia because of visa issues and barred from travelling to other countries.
After seven months and with help from his lawyer Andrew Brouwer, Mr al-Kontar finally reached Canada in November under the country's refugee sponsorship programme.
He now lives in a log cabin in the picturesque Canadian snow town of Whistler with his sponsor and her family. He spoke with SBS Arabic24 about his tumultuous journey which has had a positive outcome.
Fleeing the Syrian War
Mr al-Kontar's problems started amid nationwide protests in Syria during what was known as the "Arab Spring" in 2011, which quickly turned violent.
The, which has continued to this day as President Bashar al-Assad fights to regain control of the country.
Mr al-Kontar was working in the financial sector in the United Arab Emirates during this time.
"Work was good, the salary was very good and life was beautiful," he recounts following his six-year period living in the Gulf state.
He lost his residency in the UAE but he stayed there illegally to avoid being deported back to Syria, where he would be conscripted into the military.
"I considered this war unjust, unreal and incorrect," the self-proclaimed pacifist said.
"It is not a solution and we can't just kill each other and destroy each other's houses."
Mr al-Kontar was apprehended by Emirati authorities and placed in migration detention.
He resisted being deported back to Syria and opted to be sent to Malaysia, one of the few countries in the world that allowed Syrians into the country for three months without a visa.
Hassan al-Kontar in the airport toilet attempting to cut his hair. Courtesy of Hassan al-Kontar. Source: Twitter
'All I wanted is to be legal somewhere'
Mr al-Kontar quickly learnt that Malaysia's strict migration policies hindered his prospects of securing employment, adding "you can't get a work visa if you are Syrian".
He spent much of his time in the Asian country planning his next move.
"All I wanted is to be legal somewhere," he said.
The South American country of Ecuador was another country that didn't require Syrians to hold a visa, and unlike Malaysia it accepts refugees.
He then planned his trip to the other side of the world.
Hassan al-Kontar inside Kuala Lumpur airport. Courtesy of Hassan al-Kontar. Source: twitter @Kontar81
"I chose a flight route that didn't land in any European airport, because I know that airline companies will stop me from boarding the plane as a Syrian, fearing that I will cut my trip short and seek asylum," he said.
"You can [however] apply for asylum in the airport in the EU. The EU even has international liaison officers (ILO) in foreign countries where they investigate any potential asylum seekers."
He chose to overstay his welcome in Malaysia until he managed to get the money he needed for his trip.
His planned route was to go from Malaysia to Turkey and then onto Colombia, before entering Ecuador.
He had to pay a fine for overstaying in Malaysia and was given 14 days to leave the country.
However, when he finally reached the airport counter to board a flight to Turkey, an airline officer denied his boarding.
"It was bad luck, some people managed to go to Turkey and then elsewhere, but the employee on the counter refused to let me board, I ended up losing $US2200."
Desperate to leave before his deadline, he booked a ticket to Cambodia in his final day in Malaysia - However, he was returned back to Kuala Lumpur.
A unique situation to Twitter fame
Mr al-Kontar's situation was very unique; He couldn't enter Malaysia; He couldn't go back to Syria, and he didn't have the money or the papers to go anywhere else.
From this point, he was stranded inside Kuala Lumpur airport.
He spent the first 50 days inside the terminal sleeping on chairs and meeting other stranded Arabs.
"When I first stayed in the airport there were some stranded Egyptians who were trying to get to South Korea but were returned, they were sleeping on the chairs," he said.
"I met 21 Egyptians, 27 Yemenis, around four Sudanese and three Syrians, who all stayed in the airport for a while before they managed to go somewhere else."
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He frequently used the special needs bathroom at night for showering and had an arrangement with an airport worker to wash his clothes at his house.
The airline which returned him from Cambodia, AirAsia, gave him the same meal three times a day, every day for seven months.
It was a little over a month into his stay that his case gained attention on Twitter.
"If you searched my name in the 35th day you would have gotten four results, three of them were my tweets," he said.
"However, on the 38th day things went wild, there were 27,000 results."
He had a month and half of media attention before Canadian lawyer Andrew Brouwer heard about his case and started contacting him along with some Canadian volunteers.
He said the volunteers gave him a sleeping bag and papers to sign to get the ball rolling on his bid for asylum in Canada.
Hassan al-Kontar's situation made headlines after it emerged that he had been living in Kuala Lumpur International Airport Source: Twitter
The video gained more than 12 million views in the first 48 hours after it was published.
Mr al-Kontar credited the video for being the "breaking point" for the Malaysian authorities who said they were going to work with Syrian authorities to deport him back to his war-torn homeland.
"It was a time of political turmoil in Malaysia, and no one likes bad propaganda," he said.
He made his final media appearance inside the airport on the SBS program before he was detained by Malaysian police and again placed into detention.
The road to Canada
It was during his detention that Mr al-Kontar realised that Malaysia "didn't know what to do" with him.
"Once again they couldn't send me back to Syria," he said. "They just wanted me to leave."
At this point, the Canadian volunteers were finalising his asylum documents.
He spent 58 days in detention before he was eventually given a one-time travel document to go to Canada.
The clearance from Canada opened the door for him to leave Malaysia, however, he still "dodged all EU airports," fearing that he would again land in the same situation.
He travelled through Taiwan to get to Vancouver in the Canadian state of British Colombia, where he finally met his Canadian "team" as he called them.
Hassan al-Kontar in his room in Canada. Courtesy of Hassan al-Kontar. Source: Supplied
His sponsor Laurie Cooper, a media relations consultant from Whistler, continues to host him in her house.
He lives in a log cabin on the edge of the woods with his sponsor, her family and their pets.
"I still live in one of her rooms, she refuses to let me leave the house yet to get a place because she considers me family," he said.
Admitting that he will "always be the man who got stuck in the airport," he said his future plans were to work with refugees.
He says Whistler is an "amazing place" full of "wonderful people and beautiful snow".
*Listen to Hassan al-Kontar's story in Arabic at the top of this story.
Hassan Al Kontar with his Canadian sponsor and host Laurie Cooper. Courtesy of Hassan Al Kontar. Source: Supplied
