As dusk approaches, Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport, quietens down for the night.0:22
Night cleaners begin their shifts, and passengers waiting for delayed flights curl up on benches in the departure hall.0:27
One woman, Eram Dar, has found a cozy spot on the floor next to a vending machine.0:34
There is nothing to distinguish her from the waiting passengers around her, except that she has no passport and ticket, and is in no hurry to leave the terminal.0:40
For well over a year now, it has been her home, and she isn't the only one.0:50
Aram is one of well over 100 people who live permanently at Heathrow Airport.0:55
Most people would have difficulty in telling these permanent residents of Heathrow apart from the thousands of travellers that pass through the terminals each day.1:01
Wheeling suitcases full of their only belongings, they dress in Hawaiian-style holiday shirts or even business suits in order to give the impression that they are on a business trip or flying to a sunny destination.1:10
Eram, a middle-aged ex-law student who became homeless after she could no longer pay her rent, actually considers herself fortunate to live in Heathrow.1:22
She says, I liked it here immediately.1:31
I have never felt lonely because there are so many people.1:34
I don't mix much with the other homeless, although they are of all ages and from every walk of life.1:38
We all recognize each other, but I just like to keep to myself.1:44
There are showers in every terminal where Eram can stay clean and presentable.1:48
She can sometimes help herself to food passing by the caterers, and while away her time reading magazines and newspapers left behind by passengers.1:53
It's difficult not to suspect that Eram is just putting on a brave face.2:02
It's hard to believe she's truly satisfied with this way of life.2:07
Once a week, she travels to London to pick up a cheque for £60 from a charity.2:11
The cash goes nowhere, she says.2:16
Buying food at the airport is expensive.2:18
I don't eat anything at breakfast because if I do it makes me feel more hungry.2:22
Living in Heathrow isn't easy for Eram.2:27
Besides being awakened by the jangle of coins as a passenger buys something from the machine, loud announcements, and bustling passengers, she has to engage in a full-time cat-and-mouse game with the police and security staff.2:30
It's illegal to sleep at Heathrow unless you have a flight to catch, so along with the rest of Heathrow's homeless population, Erem has to wash and change her clothes every morning in order to not stand out from the2:42
crowd and be detected.2:53
If she is, she faces a night in the cold bus terminal or worse, being thrown out into the rain.2:56
The builders who work overnight at the airport are very kind and don't report the homeless to the authorities, she says.3:02
The cleaners turn a blind eye too.3:09
Night workers aren't the only ones trying to help this unusual group of people.3:13
Broadway, a homeless charity, visits the airport weekly to offer the airport's homeless temporary accommodation, help to get travel documents for migrant workers, and attempts to reconnect people with their families.3:17
But, as a Broadway worker points out, homelessness is a way of life.3:29
It can be very difficult to convince people to receive help.3:34
Like the passengers escaping to sunny holiday destinations, many of Heathrow's homeless are also in search of escape from debts, legal problems, or family responsibilities.3:38
The saddest fact is that unless they are arrested or fall ill, many of Heathrow's homeless will stay there for the foreseeable future.3:49
I don't really see a different future, Aram Dahr admits.3:57
In fact, I could be living at Heathrow forever.4:00
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