Yasser Saied Oman

I feel safe. While you flee, you think of nothing else but getting to a safe place. There is no time to think about what you have left behind. You don’t think of that until you are finally safe. This hit me about two months after I arrived in Denmark. The first night after I had moved into my own flat, I finally felt that I had reached my goal, and I was overcome by feelings. I felt like a plant whose roots have been cut off. Now I really try and let them grow once again.

In Syria I worked as a photographer for an aid organisation. I took photos of their work, but also of the victims of the war. It helped me see the war from different perspectives. I am very artistic, and I love to draw, paint and write. I write poetry and have started writing a novel about why you flee and how you feel after you have fled. I believe it helps me deal with all the things I experienced along the way.

My stepfather thinks that I let my country down because I did not stay in Syria and fight. But in my opinion Syria doesn’t need more people who shoot. They need educated people who can help rebuild the country.
When I first arrived here, everything seemed so hopeless. Everything was new and complicated. But now I hope once again. I see many opportunities here. I would like to study physics just as I did in Syria. For me physics is not just logic. It is more like a feeling. You have to sense it. One doesn’t know at all what the future will bring, so I take things as they come.

25 years / male / in a relationship / attends language school / Glostrup / from Syria / Palestinian background / came to Denmark 2014 / residence permit same year