Validation through Documentation

This chapter explores how Iranian LGBTI refugees waiting in Turkey negotiate and respond to the tightening asylum policies of several nation-states. The recent asylum policies of the United States and Canada have stranded refugees in Turkey for an undetermined period of time, severely undermining the prospect for their resettlement. At the same time, Turkey’s emergency decree laws implemented in the wake of the coup attempt have expanded the securitization of asylum, putting refugees at greater risk of detention and deportation. Overwhelmed by the unsafety of their present and uncertainty of their future, refugees also respond to violence and uncertainty through humor and sarcasm, political and communal organizing, and alternative support networks.