Yvonne Paul

Yvonne Paul (born 22 March 1929), also known as Yvonne Poghusian, was a Dutch diplomatic staffer, best known for the period of her life where she lived in Schiphol Airport between 11 October 1967 and 5 January 1968. This period was the most notable in multiple attempts to return to the United States, where she had previously worked.

Personal life

Yvonne Paul was born in Manado, a city in modern-day Indonesia but which at the time of her birth was in the Dutch East Indies. She was born to parents of Armenian heritage, though her father opted for Iranian citizenship when Indonesia gained its independence. Manado would be attacked by the Japanese in World War II, and the family spent time in a Japanese-run internment camp. Later on, Yvonne and her parents would move to the Netherlands, where they would attain Dutch citizenship, though she claimed that this was at the behest of her father - Yvonne expressed early on a desire for American citizenship.

Having completed her high-school studies in Amsterdam, she studied languages in Paris, and worked for several years at the Philips branch in Persia.

Word quickly spread amongst the airlines and in the national press about a Dutch citizen who was going to great lengths to return to her adoptive homeland. On 23 October, the American Consul-General to the Netherlands (Mr Harold Howland) reminded all flight providers of the financial penalties that would be incurred by facilitating another entry attempt by Paul. By 9 November, greater international attention to this news story began to develop, with coverage in the likes of the New York Herald Tribune, the BBC and CBS News.

Dutch Foreign Minister Joseph Luns attempted to persuade the American authorities of the merits of Yvonne Paul's application for residency permits, though such appeals were ultimately unsuccessful in preventing a second rejection on 17 November. Throughout the course of December, US authorities would go on to re-affirm their decision, and airport authorities prepared to remove Paul from the Departure Lounge as it became increasingly certain that she would never legally re-enter the USA. After refusing a request to vacate voluntarily, on 5 January 1968, Yvonne Paul was arrested and forcibly removed.

Paul was charged with trespassing by the public prosecutor of Haarlem, but was later admitted to Santpoort, a local mental institution. At that time, prosecutor L. H. Feitsma dropped the charges against Paul. Following her discharge from Santpoort on 26 January 1968, the government declined to pursue charges since she did not take up residence again in Schiphol.

Later that year, Paul tried to enter the United States from Paris' Orly Airport. She was unsuccessful, but tried once more to enter the US in December 1968, that time through Switzerland. After a discussion with the Dutch ambassador at Bern, she was returned to the Netherlands with a psychiatrist and psychiatric nurse accompanying her.