We are Kurds and we shall remain so. Alas, now that we are here, we want to be as Danish as possible. What we think about the most is our children’s future. But my main concern is my health and especially my vision. I suffer from diabetes I, which is difficult to regulate, and among its many related diseases is impaired vision. The illnesses have a lot of impact on our lives. They nearly overshadow the relief of having escaped the war and the gratitude of having been granted asylum in a country, where the family and the children can live in safety.
Our hometown Afrin in northern Syria was bombed by Syrian and Turkish military. The flight from Afrin went across the border to Turkey, not a nice place for Kurds, but it was the only route out. We succeeded in getting on a boat to Greece, where we followed the flow of Syrian refugees up through Europe. We travelled by bus and train, but most of the journey was on foot. During the two weeks on the roads I was left without medicine, so on arrival to Sandholm, I was immediately admitted to hospital.
Skagen is the perfect place for us. The town is not all that big, the children thrive at their school, and we have got to know our neighbours. We meet for a coffee, even if the language is difficult. Our intension when leaving Syria was just to find a country where we could live safely. We had heard a lot of good things about Denmark. We had also heard that the Danes were pretty racist, but that applies to the government only. The people here in Denmark have received us well, not least the people of Skagen. What we dream about is getting the health issues in order, getting good at Danish, and long-term peace in Syria, because we miss our homeland.
31 / male / married / children / jobseeker / Skagen / Kurdish from Syria / came to Denmark in 2015 / residence permit same year