International soirée celebrates immigrant cultures amid growing concerns

The Immigrant Welcome and Resource Center hosted its 3rd annual ‘Passport to an International Soiree’ on Sunday, October 18, featuring vibrant cultural performances, live music, and international cuisines.

About 300 people attended, representing countries and cultures such as Syria, Venezuela, Turkey, Latin America, India, Haiti, and the Marshall Islands. Organizers tell Our Times that this year’s soirée is the organization’s largest on record. 

Ely Senna-Martin, Executive Director of the Immigrant Welcome and Resource Center, said the soirée is more than just a dinner; it’s an “artistic, literary” event meant to give attendees a deeper experience of cultures from around the world. 

Martin expressed that she hopes the event shows that Immigrants are making meaningful contributions to society. She noted that the narrative is that “we [Immigrants] come here to consume resources, and that we are a burden to our communities.” 

However, she noted that Immigrants in the community are engineers, doctors, and community service members. Immigrants also contribute to art, culture, and food. Martin has been in the United States for 24 years. A native of the Dominican Republic, she has witnessed the way Americans have treated immigrants and is calling for change. 

“I want people to realize that serving new Americans right now is very important, precisely because there are lots of forces out there changing policy and spending billions of dollars on creating a narrative that says that new Americans and immigrants are bad and a burden to American communities,” Martin said. 

Over the past year, cities across the country have canceled multiple cultural events because of fears about Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  In our own backyard, Fiesta Evansville, the largest Latino cultural festival in southern Indiana, canceled its festival in early September. It was the second year in a row the organization decided to cancel, citing fears and uncertainty of events impacting Latino families. Martin told reporters that the cancellation of Fiesta Evansville was sad.

According to the American Immigration Council, ICE deports roughly 30,000 individuals a month – impacting various industries across the country. 

Martin added, “One thing that people might not think about is that they’re going to lose workforce.” “If you don’t have places where new Americans feel like they can belong and they feel like they are welcome in places where they want to raise their kids with full-on identities from here and home cultures,” Martin said. “We’re going to go find communities where that can happen, and that means professionals like engineers and doctors and teachers and folks in manufacturing and the construction and transportation industries.”

Among the many attendees were Evansville Mayor Stephanie Terry and congressional candidateMary Allen. Allen told reporters she was looking forward to the event and described recent events regarding immigrants, black and brown individuals as “heartbreaking.”

She said hundreds of people coming together, despite uncertainty, made the night special. Allen noted that addressing negative responses to immigrants is one of the reasons she’s running for a congressional seat. 

She also weighed in on the cancellation of Fiesta Evansville.

“I mean, I understand, Allen said. “It’s unfortunate, and it makes me sad because I love Fiesta Evansville; it’s one of my favorite events of the year. I understand their decision, and I believe it was the right, safe decision. I want to live in a world where we can celebrate openly and freely and without fear.”

While most people found the food menu of hummus, falafels, and meat wrapped in grape leaves unique, the cultural music and performances left a lasting impression on the audience. 

Anish Pandit, an American oboist and vocalist, performed at the soirée. He grew up in the tri-state and has performed with orchestras and at various festivals — even Bollywood. 

He said events like the soirée are a way to show solidarity and camaraderie with targeted communities. Pandit said on Sunday that before he arrived, he had thoughts about the possibility of ICE disrupting the event. However, he said people should “continue to show up.”

Pandit drew inspiration from people still going to churches, mosques, and temples as a reason to keep showing up and represent his culture. 

“I was just telling myself to be prepared for anything,” Pandit said. “Nothing was going to keep me from coming. But it’s unfortunate that we live in a country where people have to worry about that. While this country so freely takes the expertise and resources and everything from immigrants. It should also continue to respect their humanity.”