A Syrian refugee who lived in a Malaysian airport for more than seven months has been granted asylum in Canada.
Hassan al-Kontar was working in insurance in the UAE when war broke out in Syria in 2011.
The 37-year-old left his homeland to avoid mandatory military service, refusing to go home.
After moving through several countries, the refugee was deported from the UAE to Malaysia, which grants Syrians visa-free entry on arrival.
Hassan al-Kontar's situation made headlines earlier this year after it emerged that he had been living in Kuala Lumpur International Airport for months. Source: Twitter
From here Mr al-Kontar struggled to gain entry to multiple countries and ended up documenting his seven months in Kuala Lumpur International airport awaiting his next step.
After spending seven months in the airport, he was moved to a Malaysian detention centre where Canadian sponsors recently helped arrange asylum.
In a video he posted from Taiwan on Monday, Mr Kontar said he was excited about the next chapter in Canada.
"For today I am in Taiwan international airport, tomorrow I will be reaching my final destination Vancouver, Canada. For the last eight years, it has been a hard, long journey," he said in a video.
"For the last 10 months, it has been very hard, cold. I could not have done it without the support and prayers of all of you. I could not have done it without the support of my family, my Canadian friends, family, my lawyer, thank you all."
Earlier in the year, SBS’ Go Back To Where You Came From Live highlighted his plight after he sent in a video, detailing his situation.
“I’m originally from Syria but for 200 days, I’m living - stuck actually- in Kuala Lumpur International Airport, terminal two,” he tells SBS in the video, shot from inside the airport terminal.
The Syrian refugee spoke with SBS' Go Back To Where You Came From from the airport. Source: SBS
“(It’s) the same story of millions of Syrians… because of that, not because of our own crimes or mistakes, all the world is judging us."
Throughout his time in the airport, multiple human rights groups have campaigned for Mr Kontar's asylum and wellbeing.
A Change.org petition was set up by the rights group Canada Caring Society to help convince the nation's Minister of Immigration, Ahmed Hussen, to allow Mr Kontar come to Canada. The petition has more than 62,000 signatures.
