Paperjam.lu

Halid is a student who was born in Bosnia and moved in the Grand Duchy as a toddler. Photo: Mike Zenari 

Delano (along with its sister publication Paperjam and publisher Maison Moderne) has partnered with Iamnotarefugee.lu, a project run by Frédérique Buck and Sven Becker, to give a voice to asylum seekers in Luxembourg. Here is an extract from Halid’s interview:

My father’s first months in Luxembourg were not easy

When he first arrived in Luxembourg he lived with his brother. It was nearly impossible to find a job. After being in Luxembourg for a few months he was so disheartened that he decided to go back to Bosnia, back to the war. But this is when God gave him a chance and gave us a second chance.

He met a Luxembourger who persuaded him to stay in Luxembourg and promised him that he would find him a job in the next few weeks. And he did.

After being in Luxembourg alone for one and a half years without seeing his wife, his daughter and his newborn son, he was finally given residency and able to bring his family to Luxembourg. He still had to work very hard to earn enough money to buy his own house and to start his new life but finally we were together, united again.

I made the first step each time

I think that I have integrated very well. Since I was young I have never only had one group of friends. I didn’t like to be with just people from my home country. I wanted to be friends with everyone.

Of course I had my Bosnian friends, but I also had my Luxembourgish, Portuguese and Cape Verdean friends.

People say that I am an exception. But I am not, I know this for a fact. I am just someone who faced his fears and who made the first step each time. I see this as my strongest personality trait. I learned not to be afraid of other people, but to approach them with a smile and to just be myself. People would then be nice back to me.

Sometimes I feel like my words, my thoughts are hitting a wall

My father speaks Luxemburgish (he learned it at work) but I cannot say that he is really integrated. My mother who worked as a cleaning woman has not learned the languages, mostly because she had very limited connections to residents.

I realise that there is a big gap between men and women in the Muslim culture. In the Muslim culture, both worlds are traditionally strictly compartmented. To me that is a problem that we have to tackle. Men as well as woman must learn to overcome this difference. Women must learn to say no to their husbands and to lead a life of their own. When I speak to Muslim women they often want to persuade me that it is normal for a woman to listen to her husband but I tell them that it should not be that way. I find it ironic that it’s me as a man and not them as women fighting for their rights.

Get to know more about Halid by reading his complete interview on Iamnotarefugee.lu