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Immigrant Status: Contributions

Artists

Niccu Taffarodi (Iran)

"I hope this ointment I have created for my wounded heart
might help other Persians to relive their past
and to give others a glimpse of a complex 3,000-year-old culture."

I was 46 years old when I had to leave Iran. Involuntary immigration pushed me into an ocean of loneliness, confusion and depression. I felt lost in my new home in the West and that caused me to especially cherish my childhood memories. Indeed, these silent memories kept me alive and motivated to fight for my future and that of other immigrants.

My obsession with memories eventually led me to try, however feebly, to recreate my memories of Iran through miniature art. The result is a miscellany of dolls and miniature furniture, as well as clay sculptures, paintings and embroideries, ceramics and floral arrangements that I either bought during my trips or I created myself. They represent my way of reliving my wonderful childhood in silence and my attempt to communicate in my new home in the United States.

Dr. Taffarodi's career spans continents, cultures and languages. Born in Shiraz, Iran, the former girls' business college instructor began working with destitute families in the slums of south Tehran. After immigrating to the United States in 1984, she switched from business education to health education.

An avid gardener, cook, and fitness enthusiast, with seemingly endless energy for getting involved in new projects and hobbies, the walls of her home in Plymouth are covered with the embroideries, paintings and photography created by herself and her two grown children, Ali and Nicky.
She received a B.S. in public health, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in family health education from the University of Minnesota. Her Master's thesis was on early pregnancy among Jamaican women. Her doctoral dissertation was on AIDS education for immigrant teenagers.

Dr. Tafarrodi is the only Moslem member of a Christian group that travels to Guatemala two weeks a year to build infrastructure and purchase land for destitute peasants.

To view more of Dr. Taffarodi's work, go to
http://www.rememberingpersia.com