I don’t feel foreign. My passport says I was born in Afghanistan, and even if this does complicate matters sometimes, I have stopped trying to find out if I can have it deleted, because that would be giving up. It is important to stand by your roots and your faith. I am not that vain a person, but my hair is a part of my femininity and I like to be able to show it off. But we should respect the women who chose to wear a headscarf, because that takes strength.
My world goes beyond the borders of Denmark. I grew up with news about Afghanistan, and I am chairwoman of an organization which supports development projects across the world. I dream about working internationally, but I would still like to have my permanent address in Denmark, because I am also interested in the world closer to home. When we had our first date, I told my fiancé that it was important to me to always be there for my parents, even if it means having to survive on porridge.
My grandmother is deaf, and when my grandfather died, we made a rota so we could make sure that there was always someone who could sleep by her side. As a family we must be there for each other.
I would like to have children of my own one day. My fiancé thinks we should adopt, because when there are so many orphaned children, why not offer them a family? I can see his point, but I think that pregnancy is something beautiful, and I am not sure if I am idealistic enough to refrain from that. I suppose that we could have one child and adopt another, but can you love them both the same?
26 years / female / in a relationship / M.Sc. in International Development and Global Studies / Brøndby Strand / from Afghanistan / came to Denmark in 1992 / residence permit in 1993