I was one of the Palestinian refugees from Lebanon who lived in the basement of the Blågårds Church for 154 days. We had church asylum, and a lot of people fought for us so that we could stay here
in Denmark. That’s probably why I already from the beginning felt a unity and compassion so I did not feel foreign.

Most refugees are focused on the country and the conflicts they have left behind. In my opinion, only few focus on their situation here in Denmark, or
their children and their future. But for me this has been the most important.

I remember the day it dawned on me that I could make a difference her in Denmark. It was a Sunday, and I’d promised my son that we would go down to our yard and play football. When we got down
the yard some small boys were wandering around, obviously bored out of their minds. This sometimes led to their causing trouble. They saw us with the ball and they asked if they could join in. They just
loved it, so we agreed to meet up the following Sunday. When I came down the week after I was met by a whole group of boys who all wanted to take part. A lot of immigrant boys need something to do.

They are struggling to find their place in our society and they often feel labelled and misunderstood. Having been a traffic warden for 13 years I have become somewhat hard skinned, and I’m extremely
patient. These are the qualities I will try to pass on to my children. I try to encourage them to enjoy some good hobbies such as football, and I have also started up a group learning Palestinian folk dance. It gives them a feeling of unity, which is often what they are searching for in the streets.

Rasheed Howiedi / 49 years / male / in a relationship / children / traffic warden /
Hvidovre / from Libanon / Palestinian background / came to Denmark in 1990 / residence permit in 1992

I feel foreign because I don’t have a strong attachment to any particular place, but at the same time I can feel at home because I have decided
to acknowledge my own foreignness. Being on a journey or quest in life is somehow like opting to be foreign.

Many of the communities we become part of impose standard ideals of how we should be and act. I oppose those kinds of communities, and I consciously look for communities which give one space to be oneself. My parents expected me to embrace the Arabic culture when I was young, but I said that I couldn’t act upon a culture I knew nothing about. It was a sort of teenage rebellion, but I have stuck by this ever since. I have abandoned my cultural identity as an Arab and as
male in order to get closer to the essential and the existential within myself. Identities are social constructions. They are chains tying you in certain ways of being and they must be abolished.

I live in a spiritual commune, where, through meditation and therapy practice, we heal and support one another to help us find and accept
ourselves as we are, freed from culturally based identities such as gender and
ethnicity.

To be a spiritual seeker is like breaking out of the chains that you get burdened with by the society. One can say that it is about returning to something which characterises childhood. Children are born innocent, but lose their innocence when they grow up. Part of my quest is to find this state of innocence again.

Nawras Al-Hashimi / 37 years / male / single / pedagogue / Brædstrup/Copenhagen S / from Iraq / came to Denmark in 1993 / residence permit same year

In a way one could say that my life didn’t start until I arrived in Denmark. This is where I trained as an IT support technician, a dream I had always had. I met my wife at the Technical University of Denmark, and together we have created a lovely home and family. If I had the chance to choose again, I would still choose Denmark.

My family means everything to me. I have three beautiful daughters and I spend most of my spare time with them. My wife and I talk with our girls a lot. Together we have created some values which give them the opportunity to become sensible individuals. We support and encourage their hobbies. We now have an avid tennis player,
one who likes drawing and a bookworm in the family.

Many parents do not think their children understand that it is healthier for them to develop and focus on their interests rather than going out every weekend trying to pose as adults. Communication is paramount. It is important to take the time to listen to your children and talk
with them about these issues. And of course you must also be a good role model for them. I have
managed to get a good education, I have been self-employed for 11 years, travelled and had a nice time with my family, and I use a lot of my spare time with voluntary work like counting ballots and helping out during the Kulturnat festival.

Hassan Sultan Hajem / 42 year / male / in a relationship / children / freelance IT-supporter
and web-designer / Copenhagen NV / from Iraq / came to Denmark in 1995 / residence permit in 1996

The constitution protects my Danishness, and from that perspective I am 100% Danish. But in reality I feel that it varies. When I hear the voice of Søren Espersen the percentage drops, while at other times it increases. I was on holiday in Lebanon in 2006 when the war broke out. We immediately received text messages from the Danish Foreign Ministry, telling us how to deal with the situation. And I remember thinking, “Wow, there is a place called Denmark, and there they worry about me.” In that situation I felt very grateful and very Danish.

I am not a member of any political party or association, because I want to speak my mind freely. Through my paintings I can express
myself without feeling intimidated, and I do so, even though it can cause problems. I have indeed lost jobs because I stand up for myself and express myself politically, but I will not compromise.

Mostly my artistic work and my messages are centered around the Palestinians’ struggle to get their own country. I probably can’t change the bigger picture, but perhaps I can make a tiny difference. And rather a candle in the dark than spitting into the night, as they say. I once did
a mural which I called “Intifada 3”, but many people misunderstood the message. They failed to understand that my criticism was aimed at the Zionists and not at all Jews. So it ended up being a political matter, and the wall I had painted on was demolished.

In a democracy one cannot say that a mural is not allowed to be political, since there is freedom of speech. But you can pull down the wall, and they
did exactly that.

Salim Assi / 42 years / male / in a relationship / children / self-employed / Brøndby Strand / born in a Lebanese refugee camp / Palestinian background / came to Denmark via family reunification in 1992

I may be something like 40% foreign, but I feel like a human being. I didn’t in Malaysia, where I lived illegally for five years. People hated us, we were persecuted by the police, and we lived in the forests.

When I came to Denmark, I received both money and a place to live. There are racists everywhere and people shouting “Paki” and “piss off home”, but it is easier not to be provoked when your basic
requirements are met and you feel recognised as a human being.

One of the first things I noticed in Denmark was that there were so few people in the streets. I asked a taxi driver why this was so. He told me to go outside and wait for a quarter of an hour, and I would understand. After five minutes I went back inside the car again. It was simply too cold. “So you see now”, he said to me. There is a big difference between summer and winter in Denmark. In summer there is life everywhere and the atmosphere reminds me of where I grew
up, but in the winter I can feel really lonely. In the autumn I became father to a child in Malaysia where my wife lives. I don’t know what
the future will hold for us, but we must figure out how we can live together so I can be a part of my child’s life. When I finished the 9th grade, I was so fed up with school and I couldn’t be bothered to get
an education. That is something I regret today.
An education would have opened many doors in Denmark and abroad, but I haven’t any, so for the time being I am trapped in my job as a bus driver.

Reza Fahlevis / 37 years / male / in a relationship / child / bus driver / Høje Gladsaxe / from Indonesia / came to Denmark as a quota refugee in 2005

I don’t feel foreign here at all anymore. When I go for a walk in town, it is my friends I see, my street I walk on, and my home I return to. It makes me feel proud. I think that it is due to no longer feeling
foreign that I react when someone tries to provoke or alienate me. As when I spoke Arabic with a colleague, another colleague was really annoyed, so I spoke to my boss about it, and she solved the problem for me. And when another colleague looked at me in a strange way, I confronted him, and we now have an excellent relationship.

I have always been close to my neighbours. Their children will often come over and say hello to me. I am not afraid of reaching my hand out first, and I keep on until they grab it. It is important to me to have people around me, and I really enjoy it. So I have chosen to involve myself in as many voluntary associations as possible.

Many refugees put their lives on hold when they come to Denmark. Their hope to eventually return results in them never really being able to build a full life here.

I feel that I have reached a point in my life where it should be about me. One of my daughters was diagnosed with cancer when she was a
teenager. We struggled with the disease for several years, and it was really difficult. We were incredibly scared. When I came to Denmark I applied for family reunification, but she was rejected because she was above the 18 year old limit. She lived on her own in Turkey for one year, and this was unbearable. When your child has been diagnosed with cancer, you get an overwhelming need to be close by. Today we are back together again, and she has fully recovered. So we have the chance to enjoy life at last.

Sabah Hamadoun / 53 years / female / in a relationship / children / Hvidovre / cook /
from Syria / came to Denmark in 2014 / residence permit same year