In a video posted on his Twitter account last night, Hassan Al-Kontar, who is wanted by Syrian authorities for refusing to join the country’s mandatory military service, said he is expected to reach Vancouver today.
Kontar began the video by apologising for his unkempt appearance and unshaven face, and for not being in touch over the last two months.
However, he said the past was no longer important for him and that he wanted to move on.
“What is important is today and tomorrow, the present and the future.
“Today, I am at the Taiwan International Airport and tomorrow, I will be reaching my final destination in Vancouver, Canada,” Kontar said in the video which had 1,691 likes at press time.
Kontar, 36, said the past eight years had been a “hard and long journey”, the last 10 months in particular when he was stranded at klia2.
“I could not do it without support and prayers from all of you. I could not do it without the help of my family, my Canadian friend’s family and my lawyer. Thank you all. I love you all.
“I will keep you updated. Let’s say a prayer for those who need it the most,” Kontar said, citing refugees in detention camps around the world.
Kontar, who once worked in the UAE but was deported to Malaysia after failing to get his visa renewed, was barred in March from flying from klia2 to Ecuador.
He remained adamant about being relocated to Canada where he has relatives, and rejected offers of asylum from other countries, Malaysia included. He was detained by the Immigration Department on Oct 1.
Immigration director-general Mustafar Ali said police decided to arrest Kontar as his social media posts had embarrassed Malaysia and because he was in a restricted area without a boarding pass.
Kontar’s plight was compared to the character played by Tom Hanks in the film “The Terminal”, which centres on a man stranded in a US airport after a coup in his home country renders his travel papers useless.
Kontar had survived on airline meals donated by the public. In a series of YouTube videos, he accused rights groups of refusing to help him.