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.

I came to Denmark on November 30^th 2015 and was granted residence permit in 2016. I just finished language school and will begin school at AVU.

I was born in a small town in Syria. Went to school for 12 years and then studied psychology at the university of Damascus. In 2012 I was sent to prison by Assads regime because I attended a demonstration agains Assad. When I came back out I couldn’t go back to the university again because they had removed me from the list of students of the university. That’s what the regime does when you protest against them. You lose your job, your life. Instead I started helping refugees who came from Aleppo. My friends and I made a small group who helped these people, but after a year and a half, Assads regime infiltrated our group. The persons who worked for the regime who was now in our group placed bombs and other things. So, our group stopped.

After that, I worked in a clothes store for two years and then left Syria. The regime wanted me to join their military, so I had to get out of Syria with my wife. I went from Tartus, Syria to Lebanon, and from there we flew to Turkey. In Turkey we sailed in inflatable boats to Greece. We went to Athens, and then to Makedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria, then to Germany and finally Denmark. We went by train.

In Denmark I was sent to Sandholm, then Allerød, Rødby Havn, Søllested and finally Frederiksberg in Copenhagen. I like Frederiksberg a lot. My wife and I just had a daughter, shes 6 months old now, and her name is Marianne.

I want to tell something I usually tell my Danish friends. Denmark is my second homeland. Denmark and the Danish population helped me so much, and they have been very open and helpful. Of course there are some things we don’t like about being here, but you will meet that feeling everywhere – and Denmark feels like my second home. Syrian people are like Danish people. We are all humans. That is it.