I came to Denmark at the start of 2015, to Frederiksberg Municipality. I had been at an asylum centre before. I fled from a war. I didn’t choose to come to Denmark.
In Syria I studied French Literature while I worked at my family’s firm but the war kept on getting worse and worse. First I went to Algeria to see if I could continue my education, but they close applications from Syrians. I also tried something in Libya but it didn’t work either. I tried to work as a welder in Libya but the civil war there got really, really bad too. I could not got back to Syria because of the war there. So I took a boat and sailed across the Mediterranean to Italy. I lost 6 kilos in the process since there was no food in the boat. I was stopped in Germany but I managed to come to Denmark because my brother was here.

At the start things were really good. They accepted my asylum claim and was sent from Sandholm asylum centre and then to Fyn, Sønderborg and finally Frederiksberg where I got my residence permit. I lived in a small room and waited until I could get into language school. I started working as a volunteer with NGO’s like Venligboerne, Sprogcafeén etc. I studied at Krogerup Højskole so that my language and grammar could get better. I also took some courses and volunteer work with some culture projects.

I was then an intern at a welding firm, but I did not get an offer to work there  with a real market wage. I got a job in Café Freunde in Trekroner and finally when my Danish was good enough a job as a translator with the translation firm Tolk Danmark. I was then able to get an apartment, a car etc
I want to earn my own money, pay taxes, contribute. I like to work and contribute. I also help at a Café and I would like to become a social worker.
If the situation in Syria ever got a lot better, I would like to go back. But when I get married, things might change.

I am from Hama in Syria and I have five children. I came to Denmark in 2015. In Syria, I worked in construction and trade between China, Dubai and Syria. All my life I have been working, because when I was very young, Bashar al-Assad’s father; Hafez al-Assad killed all men in my hometown Hama. He got every man over the age of 16 killed. Approximately 200.000 men.
I started to work with maturing shoes. My father used to make shoes. I did that in the daytime. At night, I got a job in construction. I worked 13-15 hours a day, every day of the week.
That was my childhood. When I got older, I saved money in order to buy a small apartment and renovated it, using the skills I learned in the construction business. When I sold the apartment, I made a profit to buy a new apartment. That is how I worked my way up. I also did that with cars.
One day after the war started, I was stopped, at one of Assad’s checkpoints. I had to show my ID, because I was from Hama, they arrested me. They put me in prison for two month. In prison, they tortured me. I was electrocuted, whipped, blinded and I was burned with cigarettes. They broke all of my fingers. Still today, I have no feeling in one of my hands.

After I got out of prison I paid 1.5 million Syrian dollars – about 25000$ to be smuggled to Saudi Arabia. From Saudi Arabia, I went to Turkey and from there to Greece by boat. From Greece, I got a plane to Belgium, from Belgium to Sweden and from there to Denmark.
I choose Denmark because I thought I could find peace and happiness here. I was wrong. The government is very hostile towards refugees. The way Denmark treats refugees and their foreign policy gives Denmark a very bad reputation all around the world.

When I came to Denmark, I was destroyed. I felt like a dead man. I had so much pain in my body. I could not use my arms or my legs.
My first job here was an internship. I worked every day for 8 hours, for 3 months with Red Cross. I worked as a volunteer in Aunstrup refugee camp for The Red Cross. I got a key for everything, and I was a trusted employee.
After a while, I got permission to stay and I went to Lejre. I also go to a psychiatric center for traumatized refugees. I have PTSO. I also got a job in a restaurant in Lejre. I worked there for a year, before it closed. Then I got a job in Føtex near Roskilde station.

I wish the Danes to see us people for Syria as hard working people. I wish that they would not generalize us all as bad; just a few people that makes mistakes.
I wish the government could see how refugee families live with 3-4 children, and the parents have to get by on integration help and live at 5000 kr. Per month. It is very sad and hard for them. The municipality constantly threatens refugees who are traumatized and cannot work and go to school. They feel like second-rate citizen. Not me, I have a job but I am speaking for other refugees.

I have an inherited a disease/condition which means that I have lost 7 children. It’s genetic and due to a lot of members of my family getting married between them. Inbreeding you could call it.
I take care of my children and keep the home clean. During the war I was very afraid due to the constant bombings and bombardments during the siege of Daraa. After the siege, there were shortages of food, water, electricity and medicine. Assad cut everything off for everyone. We had to cut trees to warm ourselves in the winter. Conditions were horrible and we got very ill. I was in the hospital due to this.

For years, we lived like this. The school was destroyed by rockets and it had to close. In 2016 I got family reunification with my husband who had gotten asylum here in Denmark.
I got pregnant while I was here. I came to Roskilde hospital and was checked. They really helped me with my condition and making sure that my children had not inherited my disease. They did lots of checks on me and my son is very healthy. Thank you to Roskilde Hospital!

I only studied until the 3rd grade. My life in Syria was not very good. My school was destroyed and during the siege I went to live to my grandfather’s house that was a bit safer. I learned to grow potatoes there with him and how to grow other plants and vegetables.

I came here to Denmark with my family after we were reunited with my father.
Now here I go to the integration house but also 8th grade. I hope to continue my studies and get a degree in something. But I would also like to play football.

I have worked in restaurants as a cook and I have also worked in construction afterwards, delivering construction materials.
I lived in Libya where I worked as a cook and learnt about Libyan traditional food as well as about Tunisian food. I ended up having my own restaurant there. But then the civil war in Libya started and I had to flee Libya in 2014. My restaurant was destroyed.

I fled to Europe after that because it was too dangerous in Libya and Syria too (where my family was). So living in Syria wasn’t possible either. I fled via Italy and Germany in a closed van. I arrived in Sandhold camp and was sent from there to Avnstrup and now got permission to live here in Roskilde.
The life is not so good now. I have problems learning the language and as a result it’s hard to get a job. The Danish job market is very closed.

I’m living here with my uncle. It took me one year to go from Syria to Denmark. An agent helped me escape from Syria to Turkey where I had to walk 18 hours in the mountains. After that I took a bus to Istanbul where I stayed for 6 months. I tried to cross to Greece but kept on being caught by the Greek police. After 6 months I entered Greece where I tried to take a plane but the police caught me many times. I then walked to Macedonia and afterwards on foot across Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland, France, Germany and then finally Denmark.

I’ve been here a year now. I’m happy living here with my uncle’s family. I would like to continue my studies here and study to become a lawyer.

My hobby is to take photographs. I worked as a farming worker when I lived in Daraa in Southern Syria. I was studying in 7th class I couldn’t continue my studies because of the war. My family left because there was no food, medicine and water in my hometown so we had to flee.

I came to Denmark in 2016. I find the life in Denmark very good. I came to an integration house where I can be until I can start school again. I would like to study languages and also something so I can work with farming. But I love taking photographs too.

I came to Denmark in 2014. In Syria I owned an academic book shop next to a university. Before the war the Syrian people were like the Danish people. We had a family, a life. I went to work, visited my family. I studied at the university. I studied English literature for four years, and international law for four years. Life was beautiful before the war started.

After the first demonstrations in Homs, everything changed. I remember the day after the demonstration; no one could go to their jobs. People were missing. Some had been killed by guns, some had been arrested. Several different groups of revolutionary groups tried to take over and get to a powerful position. I remember when I wanted to flee to Turkey, I was stopped by at least ten of the groups. One of them was ISIS. I was wearing jeans and a short styled beard. So, they stopped me and asked me why I was dressed like that. That was prohibited. I said to them, I am muslim, but I dress how I want. They told med I had to pay them money (a bribe) and then I could go free. There was no moral, only money. Every time I was stopped by someone, I had to pay.
These are only headlines, that I am telling you. I remember the first day – the first bomb that was dropped in Homs. 200 people were killed. It is impossible to describe my feelings of that day, of what happened. It would take med 4-5 days, and still I could not really explain the horror of it.

Syria and Denmark are both good countries. People were happy in Syria, but lives were destroyed. The war changed Syria. I am grateful to Denmark, and to Roskilde commune. They helped me. They gave me psychological help.
When I escaped from Homs to Aleppo, I fled to Turkey. I went by boat to Italy. The boat trip was a death trip. It took seven days. We were in a rubber boat, with 250 people. I didn’t know anyone. There were a lot of handicapped people, women and children. The captain was anonymous. We didn’t know which one of the travelers it was. I could trust no one. No one. One morning very early when I woke up, I saw the coast of Italy. I saw the sun rising over the mountains. A smile came to my face.
We were forced to go to a refugee camp there, but we escaped. We got to Milan, and from there we took a small car and drove through Europe. We drove through Germany, and I was on my way to Sweden, but I was unlucky. Just before I reached the Danish border, I was caught by the Danish police. I wanted to go to Sweden, since my ex-girlfriend was there. She was also from Syria. But, I had to stay in Denmark, where I started my life again.

The first year in Denmark was very difficult. A new country, new language. It’s a good life though, because I have managed to balance my old life with my new life. I have a job at a pharmaceutical company as a facility coordinator. It’s a perfect job! It’s an international company, it’s amazing and a great chance for the future. I’ve got a lot of experience and network, which is very important in Denmark.
On august 1st I will start a new job as a social worker in the Methodist church in Copenhagen. It is very fulfilling to be needed here. I am very happy with my life now, I have Danish friends, a car, a job and network.
For all the politicians around the world: Please respect people, respect the majority.

I came to Denmark in 2015. I work at a restaurant, Pipers Hus and café Satchmo, in Roskilde.

I was born in Kuwait, but I’ve lived all my life in Daraa, Syria. I finished my education in a Syrian school. I was very clever at school, but I couldn’t continue, because I got married, when I was 20 years old. In Syria I worked at a kindergarten nursery, taking care of the kids. When I had my first child, I stopped working.

After that the war started, and because we were afraid of the bombs and explosions, we fled to Jordan. My husband was very ill. I couldn’t get a job. The situation was very bad in Jordan. My husband’s illness affected him much psychologically. He had a neurologically disease. My husband has tried to complete his internship, do his duty and learn Danish, but because of his illness, he cant do anything. We used to get help from a nice lady, a volunteer from Denmark, who helped our family a lot, but she died. Now the municipality helps us.

Since I came here, I promised myself that I didn’t want to take any welfare money. I wanted to take care of my own family. My boss at the restaurant is very proud of me, and tell me I do very well. I stopped going to language school after 3 months, because I got a job. At my job, they help me to learn Danish. That has given me a lot of self-confidence. My boss calls med ‘skat’ (in English ‘treasure’).

All Syrian people like to work and take pride in working. We as Syrians in Denmark represent all Syrian people in Europe. I want all people, who are able to work, please don’t receive welfare. I would like for the sick and weak to be able to rest and take care of themselves. We who are strong and able, can work.