Identities, Migrations, and Asylum: Thinking through the Experiences of Queer Refugees

Since the early 2000`s Turkey has become a prominent transit destination for Iranian queer subjects who are seeking asylum based on sexual orientation and gender identity persecution. However, to date, there has been little research focusing on this growing component of queer/asylum mobilities. In line with the larger literature on international forced migration, much of the existing literature has avoided asking questions about these queer subjects` understanding of self in relation to their movement, as well as concerning their choices and motivations for departure. Often, this lack of academic coverage is due to so-called protection-related ethical dilemmas which many researchers are facing. Paradoxically, however, to avoid asking such questions in our researches strengthens the victim perspective on humanitarian responses towards queers and refugees. This might even further diminish possibilities of inclusion for (queer) subjects who seek justice, safety, and belonging beyond the borders of their countries. Moreover, this lack of academic coverage elides the real complexity of (queer) asylum mobilities.

Drawing upon in-depth interviews with 43 Iranian sexual dissidents seeking asylum and waiting for resettlement to a third-country in transit in Turkey, this paper offers insights into Iranian queer refugees` understanding of self in relation to their movement as well as concerning their choices and motivations for departure. More specifically, the paper draws on the migratory trajectories and identity accounts of Iranian queer refugees to formulate an understanding of how they create, sustain, and/or negotiate a sense of self and belonging while shifting across multiple boundaries and hierarchical axes of difference within the international refugee regime. The main argument of the paper is that experiences at the intersection of queerness and refugeeness, influenced by the norms, politics, and processes of the refugee apparatus in the migratory space of Turkey constrain Iranian queer refugees` possibilities for being, becoming, and belonging.