It is not a question of feeling foreign, but a question of feeling at home. If you come from Copenhagen and move to Randers, you might feel foreign, too. When people ask me where I come from, I say Borup, but then they will ask, where do you really come from? I guess we come from where we feel at home.
We lived in Høje Taastrup when my father passed away, so my wife and I moved to Borup to be closer to my mother. It was a big change, but one that we have never regretted. We live, with our four children, in an area full of the silver generation. Here we matter to one another in a completely different way to how they do in the cities, where you often don’t even know your neighbours. We help each other with big and small things. My neighbour will often bring us eggs, and in return we give him bread. It creates security and a strong unity.
I am devoted to my local region, and I fight for the Danish outskirt regions. I do my best to support the local businesses and associations, and I am a member of our local sports centre even though I never use it. I have fought to preserve our local cinema, which is also the oldest in the country, when it was about to close, and I have fought to let the citizens of Borup continue to have a share of our incinerator plant which was about to be sold. I think it is important to engage in society and do your best to make sure that everybody feels comfortable and welcome. The children will probably move to town, but I don’t think that we will ever move from Borup. We can only hope that they will return when they start a family.
45 years / male / in a relationship / children / owner of TIMEmSYSTEM / Borup / from Vietnam / came to Denmark in 1975 / residence permit same year