In 1988, when I was 14 years old I left my school, because my father got sick, and I started to work. I was the oldest of my siblings, so I helped my father. He was the owner of our family business Kweider Sweets that had existed since 1912.
I left Syria because of the war. It was dangerous for me and for my children to stay I Syria, and that was the reason I had to leave.

On the first of march 2015, which is also my birth day, I arrived together with my family in Denmark. We lived in the asylum camp and after three months we got residence permit. I decided to move to Aarhus, because it is a city of trade, and in Aarhus I decided to do business with someone that I knew in Aarhus. This person I knew from many years ago. We used to send containers of Syrian sweets from my fathers shop to retailers in Denmark. It was my fathers idea to start exporting sweets, and we had been doing that since 1969.
One of the best thing in Denmark is that a person gets economical help so that no one needs to ask for money and so that one can depend on himself and start a new business on his own.

Before I opened my own shop, I worked at a bakery shop as an intern, and they gave me a very good recommendation. For example they said that I was very good at administrating the shop. I had this experience because I participated in many events in Europe and America before. From these events I also knew many good business men, and some of them also helped me to start my small business. I’m actually a little disappointed that the Job center in the municipality were not interested in helping me to start my business, for example to know the laws and my rights and about the possibilities for economical help for new businesses.

Some people asked me why I opened my shop here in this neighborhood, and why not in a neighborhood where many Arabs live. The answer is that I want to thank the Danes, because they helped me – to give something beautiful back. And I am also happy to now pay tax as a thank.
My business is now a success, and I hope that in the future I can open more shops with my sweets in different cities.
I wish the politicians would look at refugees with a good point of view. We just came here to find peace and a safe place to build our future and our kids’ future.

I came to Denmark in 2014. I am from Qamishili in Syria. In Syria, I worked as a chef in restaurants.
Before the war I lived a very nice life. The war came to Qamishli in the beginning of 2014. I am a Christian and ISIS killed all the Christians in Qamishly, so I had to escape. All of my relatives escaped before me. I was the last one to leave. I escaped alone to Turkey. From Turkey I took a boat with 30 people to Greece. They threw all my bags in the water. I spent 35 hours in a very old boat. I wore a lifejacket. There was many people. I felt like I could not breathe. The captain of the boat made a mistake, and took us to Samos instead of Lesbos. We got put in a military prison for 20 days, without anybody talking to us. When we were released I went to Athens, where I met an Asian man who promised to help me get a plane to Denmark. I had to pay $10.000 to get a fake passport and a plane ticket. The guy put my picture in the fake passport. When I got to the passport control in Athens, the authorities looked at my picture and back at me for 10 minutes. The plane was waiting to take off, so they let me pass. I was very nervous.

When I got to Denmark my sister picked me up. She lives in Aarhus. There was no police at the airport in Copenhagen, so no one discovered me. I just left with my sister. After a while I got send to Sandholm and had my fingerprints registered. After that I was sent to Helsingør to the asylum center. Then I was sent to Sønderborg, then Nyborg. Then I got permission to stay and I had to stay at a hotel for 20 days. Then I went to Aarhus. I did not like it in Aarhus. I am a good chef and I got a job in an Arab restaurant, where I was treated very badly. For that reason I went to Copenhagen, where I found a new job as a chef.
I do not like the life much in Denmark. It is very stressful. We work very hard and do not have time for pleasure. In Syria we did not work as hard. We finish every day in the afternoon and had plenty of time to be together with family and friends. Here in Denmark everyone is running around all the time and are stressed. We did not get so much salary in Syria, but food was cheap. For 100 Syrian pounds I could buy many things. Now after the war things are very expensive.
I feel like the Danish people are very closed towards new people. And also as a distance. I feel like some other Muslims judge me because I am Christian. I also feel like we are refugees are being exploited in the workplace. We work too hard for too little. I wish I could go back to Athens because there are many restaurants to work in or maybe in Malmø I do not feel comfortable here. I feel very controlled by the authorities in Denmark.

I left Syria on april 22nd 2014 and arrived in Denmark on may 25th. In Syria I was a journalist on Damascus radio, where I was in charge of two programs. One of the programs had a main focus on social topics and was for young adults. I have also educated young adults in journalism.
I have a .cand in Arabic literature and culture. In Denmark this education is approved as a bachelor degree. In Denmark I can not find a job as a journalist but I had to go through internships via jobcenter. One internships has been in maintaining green areas in the road and parks department of the municipality, but my fingers are not green at all, and the internship did not go well. I love to eat green, though. I would like a job where I can use my education, use my skills, and that is not a physical job, its about using my intellect. After the internship in road and parks I took a course at the integration department at Odense municipality for six months. After that I got another internship via my caseworker at a newspaper, Fyns Stiftstidende. After three months there I started working at the library at SDU (Southern Danish University).

I wanted to study masters at middleeast studies at SDU, and talked to a guide there who said I was welcome, but needed to study English at B level first. I asked my caseworker if he could help me, but he couldn’t. He thought it would take too long before I would be able to get a job. I didn’t understand his logic since this was my way out of the system to make money on my own. By taking English classes at B level, I would be able to go to SDU, and then continue my education, but he said no. Instead he wanted me to go to Esbjerg to learn how to drive a truck. It all seemed crazy to me. Why would my caseworker spend 80.000 DKK on a drivers license for me, when I am an educated journalist with a .cand in Arabic literature, with lots of experience on how to do radio and teaching? Even with a truck drivers license I wasn’t even guaranteed to get a job. I have also worked at a private school teaching Arabic.

So, I applied to enter the teachers education at VIA University College Aarhus and now I go there. And, I study English on my way to work and back home in the train from Nyborg to Aarhus. I am out of that system and can provide for myself. As soon as I finish studying there I will be able to work as a teacher. I am good at teaching young persons, as I have experienced through my work in Syria.

Finally, a comment to Inger Støjbjerg. She works against her own work. She makes a cake to celebrate its getting more difficult to be a refugee in Denmark? She is a minister of anti-immigration. Still I think of Denmark as my second country now. The future of my children is in Denmark. And, I have a goal, that Im working towards.