Both France and Belgium offered Nasseri residency, but Nasseri refused to sign the papers as they listed him as being Iranian (rather than British) and did not show his preferred name, “Sir Alfred Mehran”. His refusal to sign the documents was much to the frustration of his lawyer, Bourget. When contacted about Nasseri’s situation, his family stated that they believed he was living the life he wanted.
He created routines: washing in the public restrooms, reading newspapers abandoned by travelers, keeping meticulous notes about global politics. He ate from McDonald’s, relied on kind strangers for food, and became a familiar sight for staff and police alike. Some found his stoicism inspiring; others saw him as a cautionary tale of bureaucracy’s indifference. The paradox of Nasseri’s life lay in paperwork. After years of legal negotiations, France eventually offered him refugee documents.
