The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USRCI) Cleveland field office (formerly the International Services Center, the organization became a USCI field office in 2016), has been welcoming newcomers to Cleveland, Ohio since 1916.
The organization offers housing, employment, and health services to refugees and immigrants—many of whom are victims of human trafficking—as well as social services, and legal help as they settle in Cleveland. Refugees resettled in Cleveland come primarily from Afghanistan, Bhutan, Myanmar (formerly Burma), Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Nepal, Somalia, Syria, and Ukraine.
The nongovernmental, nonprofit international organization that advocates for the needs and rights of refugees and immigrants is having its inaugural fundraiser “reprise ‘24: A Benefit to Celebrate Refugees through Music” this Saturday, Oct. 19 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Cleveland Public Theatre in the Detroit Shoreway’s Gordon Square Arts District.
Rahim AlHajWhile the term “reprise” refers to the repetition of a song, performance, or action in theater or music, the word fits the fundraiser in that the event highlights and celebrates the enduring creative spirit of the refugees who have completed their journeys and want to reconnect to a past.
USCRI Cleveland’s “reprise ‘24” features an evening that brings together acclaimed national and local musicians, interactive elements, and locally-prepared food from refugee communities.
The performers are oud musician Rahim AlHaj and rapper, singer, and actor Emmanuel Jal.
AlHaj is a virtuoso musician and composer who was born in Baghdad, Iraq and began playing the oud, a lute-like fretless string instrument, at age nine. In 1991, after the first Gulf War, AlHaj was forced to leave Iraq due to his activism against the Saddam Hussein regime and began his life in Jordan and Syria.
He moved to the United States in 2000 as a political refugee and has lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico ever since. In 2015 AlHaj was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship, the highest honor for traditional arts in the United States.
Emmanuel JalJal is a South Sudanese rapper, singer, actor, activist, and public speaker whose works have transformed the lives of millions in his native homeland.
In the 1980s, as a child soldier in the war-torn region of Southern Sudan, Jal has survived personal struggles to become a successful and acclaimed recording artist and peace ambassador.
He authored a book and memoir that was adapted into the movie “The Good Lie,” in which he co-starred with Reese Witherspoon and appeared with Lauryn Hill, Peter Gabriel, Nile Rodgers, and Alicia Keys.
Tickets are $75 and guests can also donate a ticket to a member of Cleveland’s refugee community. The money raised from ticket sales helps fund USCRI programs.
However, one lucky winner can win two tickets to “reprise ‘24: A Benefit to Celebrate Refugees through Music,” a $150 value!
Enter to win by subscribing to FreshWater Cleveland’s weekly email newsletter by providing your email address below. Contest runs through 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, and winners will be notified on Friday by email.