Iranian academician stranded in Istanbul Airport for one month
Iranian academic Shiva Kaviani, unable to obtain a visa for Canada due to the expiration of her residency permit and barred from returning to Iran due to political restrictions, has been living in Istanbul Airport for a month.
Duvar English
Istanbul Airport has been hosting a story reminiscent of Steven Spielberg's renowned film "Terminal" for a month now.
Iranian academic Dr. Shiva Kaviani cannot renew her Canadian visa because her residence permit has expired. She also cannot return to Iran because she has been under a political ban.
Dr. Kaviani, a graduate of Tehran University, left Iran and settled in Toronto, Canada. A while ago, she visited her country Iran.
She left Iran and entered Turkey through Gürbulak Border Gate after a political ban was issued against her. Kaviani travelled to Istanbul Airport to return back to Canada, yet she was denied a new visa on the grounds that her residence period in Canada had expired.
Unable to return to her country due to the political ban, Kaviani was stranded at Istanbul Airport. Old academician has been struggling to survive at the airport for about a month, according to the reporting of the online news outlet T24.
The negotiations with the Consulate General of Canada for Dr. Kaviani, whom the Istanbul Airport staff tried to help, did not yield any results.
Kaviani, who was stated to be in life-threatening danger and has no relatives, has been living in the departing passenger counter. She has been wandering around the area with one suitcase and one bag.
She underscored that she could not find an interlocutor, and stated that she had difficulty eating at the airport because she was a vegetarian, and that she could not meet her humanitarian needs, especially showering.
The elderly woman, who tried to sleep on chairs, added that she had been sleepless for a month and that she had wounds on her feet.
Kaviani's situation evoked comparisons to the Steven Spielberg movie "Terminal," featuring the renowned actor Tom Hanks. The movie, released in 2004, was inspired by the true story of Mehran Karimi Nasseri, an Iranian who attempted to travel to the United Kingdom but encountered difficulties, leading him to reside in Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport for 18 years.