The language is as deep as the sea. You have to dive again and again to understand it. I left Syria after high school. Came to Greece and worked the summer in Crete with children in a playground. Then one morning we had to leave. I packed a dark brown suitcase with the most basic stuff: clothes and make-up - and went to the airport. Many of my things were left behind in Crete.
I left. On the plane to Hamburg. Together with my husband I traveled towards a better future.
In the beginning I couldn't speak a word of Danish. Once at the doctor, it nearly went wrong because the interpreter translated incorrectly. Fortunately, I understood enough to be able to correct the misunderstanding. From that day on, I decided that I would never use an interpreter again.
Today I am an interpreter myself. I have a principle that I never translate a word incorrectly. I rather ask one more time. That way, I learn new things every day. A while ago I interpreted for a welding company for a man who spoke really fast - in Southern Jutland dialect! It put my skills to the test. But I learned something new. And during the breaks, I looked up new words in the dictionary, wrote them down and memorized them. Every new word I learn is like a shining gem at the bottom of the ocean.
I feel both Kurdish and Danish. But I can't live the Kurdish way in Denmark. Integration is to know the rules, to accept them, to have good colleagues - to allow yourself the fundamental rights in Denmark, also women's rights! Integration has nothing to do with clothes and headscarves. It is not the scarf that determines whether you are a good Muslim. It's the heart.
Solin Abdo / 28 / female / married / three children / interpreter and support contact person / Aabenraa / from Syria / came to Denmark in 2010 / residence permit 2012