The Elephant In The Room

The central conflict in The Elephant in the Room revolves around Oya Tekin's immigration issues. Despite legally arriving in the United States 14 years before the story's beginning, changes in immigration laws force her to return to Turkey. Sloan suggests that this change in immigration law is unjust, resulting in the separation of families who have lived in the United States for years without incident.

Alp Tekin is Kurdish, the largest ethnic minority in Turkey, comprising roughly 18% of the population (“Kurds in Turkey.” Harvard Divinity School). The Kurds are the fourth largest ethnic group in the Middle East. Following World War I, the 1920 Treaty of Sevres included a provision for a Kurdish state, Kurdistan (“Who Are the Kurds.” British Broadcasting Corporation, 15 Oct. 2019.). However, three years later, the Treaty of Lausanne established the boundaries for modern Turkey without a separate Kurdish state (“Who Are the Kurds”). Today, Kurds primarily reside on the borders of Turkey, Syria, Iran, and Armenia.

Turkey has a long history of prejudice against the Kurds. The grant of Kurdistan in 1920 sparked the Turkish War of Independence as Turkey fought to reclaim the land (“Who Are the Kurds”). After World War I, Turkey adopted a policy of Turkish nationalism aimed at creating a single Turkish identity, leading to the suppression of multiple ethnic groups, including the Kurds. Kurdish names and costumes were banned, the use of the Kurdish language was restricted, and the Kurdish ethnic identity was denied. Rather than "Kurds," Turkey referred to the Kurdish as "Mountain Turks" (“Who Are the Kurds”).

For years, the Kurds have advocated for land of their own. In the 1990s, they shifted their demands, seeking greater cultural and political autonomy. While a ceasefire was established between Turkey and the Kurds in 2013, tensions resurfaced in 2015 when a suicide bomber killed 33 Kurdish activists (“Who Are the Kurds”). The Kurds accused the Turkish government of complicity, leading to clashes between Kurdish militants and Turkish forces. Thousands, primarily Kurdish civilians, have died in these conflicts.

Many Kurds have sought asylum outside of Turkey, like the Tekins in the novel. Alp Tekin is the principal asylee, while Oya is the asylee's spouse. Asylees and spouses can apply for lawful permanent residency in the United States after one year. As the wife of an asylum seeker, Oya may have been granted a temporary green card, typically valid for two years (“Green Card for Asylees.” US Citizenship and Immigration Services). Married asylees are allowed to add their spouse to the petition, but the Tekins state that they need “a replacement for a document that had never been properly executed” (3). Because of this bureaucratic issue, Oya must return to Turkey, effectively restarting the immigration process. New laws delay her stay even longer, underscoring how the shifting political climate impacts immigrants and asylum seekers.

In addition to changing laws and complex bureaucratic procedures, asylum seekers coming to the US face challenges due to caps on refugee admissions. In 2021, for instance, asylum seekers were capped at 15,000 individuals (Alvarez, Pricilla, and Jennifer Hasler. “Trump Administration Sets Refugee Cap at 15,000, a New Historic Low.” CNN, 1 Oct. 2020). Additionally, the US has experienced a significant backlog of asylum seeker applications, exceeding 650,000 cases by 2021 (“A Sober Assessment of the Growing U.S. Asylum Backlog.” TRAC Immigration, 22 Dec. 2022). These factors contribute to Oya's prolonged stay in Turkey, as processing delays and bureaucratic hurdles prolong her immigration journey.