by Kevin Stoda, Oman
Here in Oman--as in other Middle Eastern lands I have lived and worked in--one can buy Iranian apples. They would be illegal in the USA, just as Cuban cigars are supposed to be in the USA.
The Persian apples aren't great and they aren't bad. Eating them connects me to a land that my homeland, the USA, has kept me disconnected from through global boycotts for more than a generation. Imagine if, Americans were permitted to eat fruit from Cuba and they, too, could be connected to a neighboring land that has been VERBOTEN to them for generations!
I'm sure that edible connections would help heal the wounds--wounds which are all that is left over when global boycotts or sanctions have ripped peoples apart.
