Sleeping in plastic bucket seats and surviving largely on hand-outs, a Briton denied entry to the United Kingdom has remained stranded at Nairobi’s international airport since May.In an echo of Tom Hanks’ Hollywood hit The Terminal, Sanjai Shah, 42, has spent the last six months bedding down in a bare transit lounge, showering in arrivals hall toilets and watching cricket on satellite television in the airport bar.Shah’s case comes against the backdrop of increasing sensitivity over immigration controls applied to visitors applying to travel to the UK, Europe and the US.Hanks’ character is stranded in a New York airport was inspired by the true story of an Iranian-born man who has lived in Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport for 16 years.But Shah, who was born a Kenyan, has deliberately chosen to stay at the airport. He says he successfully applied for a 10-year British Overseas Citizen (BOC) passport in the East African country in March, but was forced to hand in his Kenyan passport because Kenyan law prohibits dual nationality.His intended dream holiday in England ended abruptly when immigration officials refused him entry at London’s Heathrow airport on May 28. Shah’s passport allows him entry into the country, but he was required to have a return ticket and sufficient funds to support his visit, which British officials said he did not.Now, Shah cannot return to the United Kingdom as he has been deported, but he says he will not re-enter Kenya, as he fears losing his British passport. His wife visits with food once a week, but he must hope for hand-outs from the terminal’s cafes and bars at other times. —Reuters
