Our vision was to affiliate with Iraqi artists currently in Diaspora, to create a community that encourages freedom of expression and finds ways to bring our members’ magnificent work to the rest of the world. We believe artists must continue to work in their fields; they help pave the way for tolerance and peace.
When we gather at iaaco-founder Amer Hanna Fatuhi’s art gallery in Ferndale, Michigan, to drink coffee and discuss the arts as well as social, political, and cultural topics, surrounded by the work of exceptional artists, I am reminded of Gertrude Stein. The American writer moved to France in the early 1900s, and her salon at 27 rue de Fleurus (its walls covered with avant-garde paintings) attracted some of the great artists and writers of the time, many of whom were also expatriate writers.
Ferndale is our Paris. Many Iraqi artists have found their Paris in other Western countries as well, not knowing if they will ever be able to return to their birthplace.
Weam Namou
Iraqi Artists Association
Ferndale, MI
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Palm Reading
In “Fat of the Land” (March), Brian Payton correctly notes the important role palm oil plays in reducing trans fatty acids in the Canadian diet by replacing partially hydrogenated vegetable oil in numerous food applications. Indeed, given rising expectations for personal health as well as the growing global population and increasing pressure on the supply of vegetable oil for biofuel, cultivation of palm — a highly productive oil-bearing plant — has exploded.
Doubtless there are challenges associated with sustainability, as there are with all agricultural endeavours, but government, non-governmental, and industry organizations are actively addressing concerns. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, to which Payton specifically refers in his piece and which my organization supports, is helping to minimize carbon dioxide emissions on palm plantations by driving adoption of Kyoto Protocol concepts. And the entire Malaysian palm oil industry is highly regulated, with strict requirements to preserve the country’s rich biodiversity.
Finally, in assessing the cost-benefit ratio of palm, we cannot overlook that, in addition to feeding us, it is providing employment to thousands in the developing world.
Sean McPhee
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