![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/26e82c_5090610b39e84b73b72381334f32337df000.jpg/v1/fill/w_288,h_162,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/26e82c_5090610b39e84b73b72381334f32337df000.jpg)
Allan Alansari
![Soura](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/26e82c_c083d4ae6ff1449b865c8571f65dc5b9~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_891,h_808,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/Soura_MG_1174.jpg)
I don’t feel foreign at all in Denmark. Of course I have had some bad experiences with Danish people, but I have also had bad experiences with other nationalities. It is not really about Denmark or Danes but about the individual person.
I need the freedom to be myself. I want to listen to the music I like, and I want to look like I want to. I refuse to restrain myself just because I stand out from the crowd. Here in Copenhagen, I do feel at home.
I have dyed my hair and I also have tattoos. A lot of people think I have distanced myself from the Iraqi culture, but for me it is an expression of my newfound freedom. I am a metal freak, and I also play in a metal band. My music means everything to me. When I lived in Iraq, I spent years and a small fortune on buying the kind of music I like. But it was well worth it. I feel completely happy when I am playing music. I will never forget the first time I visited the music library in Odense. I had only just arrived in Denmark, but I thought I had arrived in heaven. I borrowed as much sheet music as I was allowed to and copied them all, because I feared that it was an awesome dream I might wake up from. I just couldn’t understand that it was real. Music has also helped me make friends here in Denmark. Just when I arrived I had a neighbour who didn’t speak English, and I couldn’t speak Danish, so we communicated through music, and we would often sit and jam together.
- / male / in a relationship / children / educated petroleum engineer from Iraq and a masters degree from ITU /self-employed web designer / Copenhagen NV / from Iraq / came to Denmark in 1999 / residence permit in 2000