A global music group representing 11 African countries will offer personal perspectives on the refugee experience.
The Nile Project will perform at a benefit for Exodus Refugee Immigration on Wednesday at Upland Brewing Company. Bloomington public relations firm Rock Paper Scissors is presenting the event to raise money for Exodus Refugee Immigration. Tickets to the event are a donation of at least $10, and Upland’s beer sales will go toward Exodus.
Exodus is an Indiana nonprofit that supports the resettlement of refugee families in Indiana. According to its website, the organization assists refugees with needs like housing, social services, employment, healthcare and education.
The benefit is raising money and awareness to help people who are resettling in the United States and building new homes, Rock Paper Scissors campaign manager Tristra Yeager said.
The Nile Project includes musicians from countries like East Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan.
Several of the members are refugees, Nile Project producer and CEO Mina Girgis said.
Yeager said the event is a way to support people who are facing issues that some of the international artists they represent have experienced.
“We’re kind of part of a bigger picture that we see as a company and a group of people who care about international culture,” she said.
The musicians in the Nile Project include Sudanese refugees named Asia Madani, a vocalist and percussionist, and Ibrahim Fanous, a vocalist and Eritrean kraar player. The kraar is a type of lyre from Eritrea.
“It’s a really interesting experience to be able to hear music from someone who’s experienced the difficulties of having to flee her homeland,” Yeager said about Madani. “It’s a way to really hear directly from somebody who’s had that experience and has translated it directly into her creative work.”
Madani, who now resides in Egypt, has a Sudanese passport and narrowly avoided being blocked from traveling to the U.S. for the Nile Project tour. She arrived a week before the immigration ban was in effect, Yeager said.
The Trump administration’s approach to immigration issues disturbs Yeager, she said.
“I don’t think people understand the complexity and how many different industries are going to be affected by this change in approach,” she said. “It’s kind of sad because this isn’t good for Hoosiers.”
Many people are feeling inspired to help refugees because of the current political climate, Yeager said.
“I think this is a time when many people are feeling like they want to be more involved, like they want to be connected to folks with backgrounds that are different from them,” she said.
In addition to the tickets, Rock Paper Scissors will sell world music CDs at the event and encourage people to make extra donations. All proceeds will go to Exodus.
Yeager said the goal is to raise at least a couple thousand dollars for Exodus.
“It’s going to be a really fun night of fellowship and music and celebrating the things that bring us together,” Yeager said.
