Decorah native returns from two years working at U.S. Consulate in Turkey

Tobin Nelson is second from the left in this U.S. State Department photo

Decorah native Tobin Nelson, son of Dean and Barbara Nelson, has returned to Iowa after working abroad for two years in Istanbul, Turkey's U.S. Consulate.

While working as a diplomat for the State Department, Nelson worked primarily in American Citizen Services, providing a wide variety of assistance to U.S. citizens visiting Turkey.

He also helped to screen Turkish citizens who were applying for visas to visit or work in the U.S. According to Nelson, this was one of the most important parts of the work as a diplomat.

"We're the first line of defense to make sure 'bad guys' don't come in," Nelson said. "Terrorism is very real. Most people are peaceful and I would say the majority of Turkish applicants are coming for valid reasons, but we have a lot of safeguards and checks to make sure. We look at terrorism as a top priority in the State Department."

Nelson was scheduled to return to America with his wife and two children in the days following the Ataturk airport attack. He noted the normalcy of the experience despite of the recency of the bombings. Nelson credits this to the resiliency of the Turkish people.

"I think there have been 14 terrorist attacks in the last 12 months in Turkey," Nelson stated. "Most have been directed at state and government institutions but this was at the airport where everyone goes. It made it feel closer and more  indiscriminate. But the Turkish people are very resilient and they had the airport operating within six hours, I think. Our flight went off normally."

Ultimately, Nelson said he would miss Turkey and its hospitable people.

"The Turkish people don't always agree with our politics.  For example, I got a lot of questions about (Donald) Trump," Nelson said. "But they always wanted to make visitors, for example the 2.5 million Syrian refugees, feel welcome. I was amazed and humbled by their hospitality."