The National.
Mohamed, 36, was raised in Egypt where he lived until he was 27 but there are no pathways to permanent residency or citizenship for Palestinians there. Harbouring a lifelong dream to travel overseas, Mohamed, who already knew Arabic, English and Spanish and now speaks Danish, was overjoyed when he was accepted for postgraduate study at Denmark’s Aalborg University.
“The moment I arrived to Denmark was the best feeling of my entire life. It felt like I was finally free. Everything was beautiful, everyone was smiling and so friendly and welcoming,” says the master s graduate in international marketing.
After completing his degree in 2014, he was accepted on to Denmark’s Green Card scheme and began setting the building blocks of his career with language courses and internships. By 2017 Mohamed was working full-time for an IT company in Copenhagen, living his own apartment and surrounded by close friends – but then a technicality upended everything.
Denmark's Syrian refugees reveal trauma of deportation limbo thenationalnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thenationalnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Asmaa & Omar al-Natoor
Asmaa al-Natoor never thought she would be comparing her adopted homeland of Denmark to her native Syria from which she fled. He kills us with missiles directly, she says of Syria s president Bashar Al-Assad. But the Danish government is waging a psychological war.”
Denmark ruled Syria safe for return last month, the first country in Europe to do so.
Ms al-Natoor was encouraged to speak up after a fellow Syrian refugee, 61-year-old Akram Bathish, died of a heart attack just weeks after receiving notice from the immigration services.
Two policemen looking at the documents of some immigrants, who are sitting on the street