Over tea, Vildan was sharing stories about her two sisters who still live in the South Eastern Anatolia region where she was born. She was explaining how, especially in more rural parts of Turkey, big families are pretty common and family connections run deep.
The conversation then took one of those turns that makes you pause and go, “Wow, I didn’t know that.” She mentioned that in some communities, cousin marriages still happen, and sometimes family members with disabilities are encouraged to marry within the family. It’s one of those cultural realities that’s complex and not always talked about openly. If disabled they only have one child.
Interestingly, in her extended family, one branch has parents who are cousins and both live with disabilities, yet their son — Vildan’s brother-in-law — is completely healthy, as are his three children.
Like many families everywhere, they’re now navigating the next life chapter, with his parents starting to need more full-time care in their early 50’s.
It was one of those conversations that reminds you how varied family life can be around the world — and how much you learn just by sitting down and listening.