The plot of a recent Tom Hanks' movie, The Terminal, sounds so outrageous that it is hard to believe that it is based on a true story. In 1986, an Iranian man named Merhan Karimi Nasseri flew to Paris, France, without his immigration card or other proper paperwork. He never should have been allowed to board the plane without the paperwork, but somehow it was overlooked. Without his papers, the French authorities could not let him into the country, but they could not deport him either. So they forced him to live in the airport until they figured out his situation.

Nasseri seems to like living in the airport. For more than fifteen years, he has been allowed to remain there. He eats at the food court, reads the newspaper, speaks to the airport employees. Even when offered the chance to leave…