Ngu War

I shall never forget the day I arrived in Denmark. A blizzard was raging, and I only had the clothes I wore. There I stood, a single mother with two young children.

When I am happy, I sing a lot. Mostly Burmese songs, but I also sing “Danse i Måneskin”. I like that one. My children are 100% Danish. They have only Danish friends, and they do not speak Burmese.

My father had been active in the student movement back in 1988 and had to flee to save his life. Later my mother fled into the jungle with us children. My family became separated. My parents went to the US while I came to Denmark.

I haven’t seen them since, because I can’t travel to the US when I don’t have a Danish passport. My father called me three days before he died. But I wasn’t allowed to go to his funeral.
I have met Aung San Suu Kyi twice. I took the whole family away for a week so we had the opportunity of seeing her when she visited Norway. We were many waiting outside the hotel when she arrived from the airport. She took the time to talk to us - and I gave her a brooch with a peacock.

I am afraid of the dark. That is why I am home most evenings. I don’t even go out shopping when it is dark. Maybe I feel half Danish. I take on board the good things. The Danish society suits me. But I still feel skepticism. When I go to the shops, I am very aware of only touching the things I intend to buy.

42 / female / cohabiting / children / currently unemployed / office educated / Bjerringbro / from Myanmar / UN refugee in 2002 / permanent residence permit