Attend Our Family Reunion!
Columbus - Ohio Immigrant Alliance is hosting its first-ever Family Reunion and Fundraiser on November 15 at Chez Rama from 4-7pm (3669 E. Livingston Ave), a popular Senegalese restaurant. The entire community is invited! Details and a quote from OIA Executive Director Lynn Tramonte follow.
Performer: Habi Gawlo, renowned West African griot and Columbus resident. Find additional examples of Habi’s beautiful performances on OIA’s TikTok page, from Pulaagam: A Celebration of Fulani Heritage. Reunion attendees will be invited to participate in the juurgal and should bring dollar bills.
Special Guests: Ayman Soliman, the Cincinnati leader who recently won reinstatement of his asylum status and Gerónimo Ramírez, Maya Ixil, co-founder of Comunidad Sol in northeast Ohio, will make remarks.
Logistics: RSVP at the Facebook link. Book hotel rooms through OIA’s Apogee link, and a donation will be made to the organization.
Purchase family reunion t-shirts at the event, or online at OIA’s Bonfire store. Other items for purchase include lawn flags, belt bags, water bottles, and shirts for every member of the family, featuring artwork by Cincinnati high school student Shema Asifiwe.
Donate to the Ohio Immigrant Alliance.
To interview OIA Executive Director Lynn Tramonte, Family Reunion speakers, artist Shema Asifiwe, or other members of the OIA family, contact Lynn.
Said Lynn Tramonte, Executive Director of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, “It doesn’t matter where you were born. If you have chosen to make Ohio your home and are building a good life here, this is where you belong. It’s been a hard year for everyone, including immigrants, whose right to remain with their families is under threat. The Ohio Immigrant Alliance Family Reunion is a time to come together and appreciate the fact that we are still here. We have each other. We’re going to take a night off and just celebrate being together.
“OIA is a group of US-born citizens and immigrants working to make Ohio a better place for everyone. We know that migration is something that has always happened, since the beginning of time, and always will. People move across the state and across continents — for safety or opportunity, and sometimes both — every single day. Who wouldn’t do anything they can think of, to take care of their families?
“The immigrants I know are strong, courageous, and love their families, just like people born here. And if the U.S. immigration laws don’t work the way we think they should, that’s something politicians need to fix. Instead of scapegoating immigrants and pitting people against each other, politicians need to do their jobs and pass reasonable immigration laws. The ones we have today were written over a century ago, and they don’t apply to today’s realities.
“We don’t need to separate families and deport immigrants who are just trying to work and take care of their loved ones. We don’t need to let our county jails become warehouses for the Trump administration's deportation machine. We can say no to ICE contracts in Ohio; we’ve done it before. We can choose a different, more humane approach. That’s what the Ohio Immigrant Alliance is working for. We invite everyone who wants to learn more about us to attend our family reunion on November 15. Ohio is home, and if you agree you are part of our Ohio Immigrant Alliance family.”
