Malthe Broe

When I fled from Afghanistan, I was separated from my mother and four siblings, on the Iran-Turkey border. There was chaos, and we drove in different cars. I haven’t seen them since. As a 15-year-old I came to Denmark alone and went to school, and then to boarding school.

It was hard the first few years, but now I’ve been here for 10 years and I don’t feel like a stranger. I’ve never done that, it’s not something I’ve ever thought about. I have taken my three-year horticultural education, and I have my job. I got married, and we live well in Silkeborg.

But who am I? What is my culture? I’ve made some decisions. I came to Denmark as a Muslim, but I converted to Christianity after I became active in the Christian Democrats party. Why? Because here I met some of the attitudes about charity I share. It fits very well with the upbringing I’ve been given. My father was a police officer in Kabul, but was killed by a suicide bomb, because of his opinions and fights against corruption. He was a good man, and

I have been brought up to help others and to show altruism. That’s what I stand for: security and love. If you reject others, you will be rejected yourself. If you show respect, you get respect yourself.
This is what I have taken from my culture and would like to pass on in my political work, and in the lectures I give about my life. I have received so much help since I came to Denmark. Now I can stand on my own feet, and I want to reciprocate the favour. And then I hope that one day, the Red Cross succeeds in finding my mother and siblings, so we can see each other again.

24 / male / married / no children / shop assistant / Silkeborg / from Afghanistan / came to Denmark in 2009 / residence permit in 2010