In Pursuit of Belonging: Iranian Queer Refugees’ Experience of Feeling at Home in Canada

This project studies Iranian queer refugees’ sense of belonging in Canada. It examines the multifaceted concept of “home” for this group of refugees, considering both their pre-migration experiences and their journey through resettlement. Through a phenomenological lens, the research explores how the embodied experience, as explained by Merleau-Ponty, shapes these refugees’ interactions with their environment and contributes to their sense of belonging. Drawing on Bourdieu’s habitus and capital and queer migration studies, the project scrutinizes the effects of queerness on migration experiences. The narrative of Arsham Parsi, an Iranian queer refugee and activist, serves as a story that highlights common patterns in the migration journeys of Iranian queer refugees as well as the diversity and uniqueness of these refugees’ experiences. Ultimately, this investigation seeks to uncover how past experiences of belonging, whether hindering or conducive, can affect an Iranian queer refugee’s experience of feeling at home in Canada. Keywords: Iranian queer refugees, migration, Turkey, Canada, phenomenology, belonging.