Friday, July 08, 2005
when reality mirrors fiction... after it mirrored reality - lol
Okay now - we've established that life imitates art... but only in a sense. Life imitates BAD art - reality tv or, as Woody says, bad television in general; which includes sitcoms, daytime soaps, primetime dramas and made-for-tv movies... However, when art is the middle component of this "sort-of equation" here, it can be pretty good stuff - as the case with this Tom Hanks movie (thank God, not one of his Oscar-winning performances... and definitely not a made-for-tv movie either! Not an Oscar-winner, even though he was better in it than he was in either Forrest Gump and Fhiladelphia... *lol*, I mean, Philadelphia of course...! ;) And even though 2004's The Terminal was a hit and was based on an uplifting true-life story of perseverence and courage... hmpf... the Academy, you know... however, the trial of the Academy can wait - at least until Oscar nomination season of course! *lol*
What is so fascinating with The Terminal is that it was inspired by a real-life case that, of course, preceded it - but then, after the film, another similar case has surfaced (and, quite frankly, this is the way of the future; many more should follow the example of "Terminal Tom Hanks" - as opposed to, say "Big Tom Hanks" or "Bachelor Party Tom Hanks"... or, since we started this out by talking about the tube, "Bosom Buddies Tom Hanks" - *LOL*). Living in an airport terminal is really not all that bad, compared to other alternatives - and it can be a long-term solution even!
Dressing up as a "bosom buddy", now THAT is just odd... *LOL*
What is so fascinating with The Terminal is that it was inspired by a real-life case that, of course, preceded it - but then, after the film, another similar case has surfaced (and, quite frankly, this is the way of the future; many more should follow the example of "Terminal Tom Hanks" - as opposed to, say "Big Tom Hanks" or "Bachelor Party Tom Hanks"... or, since we started this out by talking about the tube, "Bosom Buddies Tom Hanks" - *LOL*). Living in an airport terminal is really not all that bad, compared to other alternatives - and it can be a long-term solution even!
Dressing up as a "bosom buddy", now THAT is just odd... *LOL*
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Man who lived in Kenyan airport gets UK citizenship
Jul 1, 10:15 AM (ET) By Andrew Cawthorne
NAIROBI (Reuters) - A man who has lived for more than a year at Nairobi's international airport to protest being denied entry to Britain has finally been granted U.K. citizenship and plans to fly there within days.
In a real-life African version of Tom Hanks' 2004 Hollywood hit "The Terminal," Sanjai Shah, 43, has been eating cafeteria food, sleeping on plastic transit lounge chairs, and showering in arrival hall toilets since May last year.
His morning alarm is the dawn announcement advising the safe landing of the first flight.
"It's like a second home here. All the staff know me, they're very friendly," Shah told Reuters.
"But it hasn't been easy. The chairs are uncomfortable to sleep on. And the food is bad."
Shah obtained a British Overseas Citizen passport since he was born in Kenya when it was under colonial rule.
But when he flew to England without a return ticket or sufficient funds, he was deported with "prohibited immigrant" stamped in his passport -- negating the document.
By then he had renounced Kenyan citizenship because local law prohibits dual nationality, so found himself in limbo and decided to stay at the airport outside Nairobi.
Now, however, Shah's ordeal -- which British authorities say was largely self-inflicted -- looks to be over.
The High Commission has decided in principle to grant him full UK citizenship, pending a "citizenship ceremony." With that scheduled for July 12, he could be on a plane out the next day.
SEPARATED FROM FAMILY
"I am very happy of course. I think my stance helped," he said. "But I am not moving from here until July 12 when I will go directly from the airport to the High Commission."
British Embassy spokesman Mark Norton confirmed the decision to grant Shah citizenship, but said his protest had actually slowed the procedure to grant him full citizenship.
"For reasons best known to him, he decided to stay at the airport when he could have come back into Kenya. He was there entirely of his own volition," he said.
In the 2004 film, Hanks' character is stranded in a New York airport after his eastern European homeland erupts into civil war, leaving him stateless, unable to return home but not allowed officially to enter the United States.
It was inspired by the true story of an Iranian-born man who has lived in Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport for 16 years.
"I heard a story about the film. I have asked so many people to bring the film so I can see it, but no one has," Shah said.
He said it was tough being separated from his wife and 15-year-old son, who have been bringing him money and a plate of his favorite Indian food once a week.
"Now I will go to stay with my sister in Hounslow (London) and look for a job. Then I will bring the family to start a new life," he said.
Jul 1, 10:15 AM (ET) By Andrew Cawthorne
NAIROBI (Reuters) - A man who has lived for more than a year at Nairobi's international airport to protest being denied entry to Britain has finally been granted U.K. citizenship and plans to fly there within days.
In a real-life African version of Tom Hanks' 2004 Hollywood hit "The Terminal," Sanjai Shah, 43, has been eating cafeteria food, sleeping on plastic transit lounge chairs, and showering in arrival hall toilets since May last year.
His morning alarm is the dawn announcement advising the safe landing of the first flight.
"It's like a second home here. All the staff know me, they're very friendly," Shah told Reuters.
"But it hasn't been easy. The chairs are uncomfortable to sleep on. And the food is bad."
Shah obtained a British Overseas Citizen passport since he was born in Kenya when it was under colonial rule.
But when he flew to England without a return ticket or sufficient funds, he was deported with "prohibited immigrant" stamped in his passport -- negating the document.
By then he had renounced Kenyan citizenship because local law prohibits dual nationality, so found himself in limbo and decided to stay at the airport outside Nairobi.
Now, however, Shah's ordeal -- which British authorities say was largely self-inflicted -- looks to be over.
The High Commission has decided in principle to grant him full UK citizenship, pending a "citizenship ceremony." With that scheduled for July 12, he could be on a plane out the next day.
SEPARATED FROM FAMILY
"I am very happy of course. I think my stance helped," he said. "But I am not moving from here until July 12 when I will go directly from the airport to the High Commission."
British Embassy spokesman Mark Norton confirmed the decision to grant Shah citizenship, but said his protest had actually slowed the procedure to grant him full citizenship.
"For reasons best known to him, he decided to stay at the airport when he could have come back into Kenya. He was there entirely of his own volition," he said.
In the 2004 film, Hanks' character is stranded in a New York airport after his eastern European homeland erupts into civil war, leaving him stateless, unable to return home but not allowed officially to enter the United States.
It was inspired by the true story of an Iranian-born man who has lived in Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport for 16 years.
"I heard a story about the film. I have asked so many people to bring the film so I can see it, but no one has," Shah said.
He said it was tough being separated from his wife and 15-year-old son, who have been bringing him money and a plate of his favorite Indian food once a week.
"Now I will go to stay with my sister in Hounslow (London) and look for a job. Then I will bring the family to start a new life," he said.
Wow, I saw the movie Termainal. That had to be hard for that man to actually live in the airport.
I can't imagine voluntarily living in an airport. Having to be away from his family that whole time must have been very difficult.
I can't imagine if I had a family voluntarily being away from them. It would be hard enough if it was non-voluntary, but to do it on purpose, that just is hard to understand.
I am glad that he was finally granted him full UK citizenship. I hope he is grateful, and will be a good upstanding citizen of the UK.
Countess
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I can't imagine voluntarily living in an airport. Having to be away from his family that whole time must have been very difficult.
I can't imagine if I had a family voluntarily being away from them. It would be hard enough if it was non-voluntary, but to do it on purpose, that just is hard to understand.
I am glad that he was finally granted him full UK citizenship. I hope he is grateful, and will be a good upstanding citizen of the UK.
Countess
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