Wednesday, April 10, 2013 from 4:30 PM to 10:00 PM (EDT)

Cleveland, United States

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This fundraising event includes:

* Pre-Show Reception (4:30 pm to 6:30 pm) at Tomo’s Sushi & Hibachi Restaurant and Lounge, 1293 West 9th Street, Cleveland, Ohio. Complimentary wine and appetizers.

* Admission to “Harvest of Empire — The Untold Story of Latinos in America,” 7:15 pm at Tower City Cinemas

* Post -Show Discussion of Movie, 9:00 pm, led by Richard Romero, Ohio Commission on Latino Affairs, at Tomo’s Sushi & HIbachi Restaurant & Lounge, 1293 West 9th Street, Cleveland, Ohio. Cash bar and cash food.

Northeast Ohio, like much of the nation, is welcoming new immigrants every day, helping to grow our economy, launch small businesses, buy homes, and enrich the fabric of our community.

But the immigration debate in America is a heated one. It can easily turn a family dinner table into a shouting match.

But what often gets lost in all the yelling is the simple fact that immigrants are human beings. Their reasons for coming to our country are often out of desperation and a need for survival.

As our leaders argue over how to solve the issue, they often leave out the fact that our past interference in Central and Latin American affairs has directly contributed to the influx of Latinos coming to the United States. Based on the book by journalist Juan González, HARVEST OF EMPIRE investigates how events like the Iran-Contra affair, the training of oppressive militants at the School of the Americans, the Spanish-American War, and America’s role in Castro’s rise to power forced citizens of those countries to flee to safety within our borders.

This documentary goes beyond the surface and reveals a part of the story that’s often left out of the conversation. (In English and Spanish with subtitles).

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Students assisted the ISC in various roles, from tutoring math and language skills to refugee clients, creating community resource guides for newly arriving refugees, to cleaning and organizing in-kind donation storage, to launching an awareness and fundraising campaign for the agency. Students also participated in “lunch and learn” sessions, where various program coordinators shared their unique role and contributions to the agency’s mission. Session topics ranged from Organizational Development, Non-Profit Management, Employment Development, Community Relations, Refugee Case Management Services, to  Immigration Counseling.

We wish to thank all the students and student leaders that participated in this program. Your desire to be agents of change and advocates for social justice and human rights, is an inspiration! Congratulations, you helped make a difference…..

International Services Center is proud to sponsor the ground-breaking documentary Harvest of Empire, which takes a provocative look at the untold story of Latinos in America at the 37th Annual Cleveland Film Festival.

At a time of heated and divisive debate over immigration,  International Services Center and Onyx Films is proud to present Harvest of Empire, a feature-length documentary that reveals the direct connection between the long history of U.S. intervention in Latin America and the immigration crisis we face today.

Based on the book by award-winning journalist and Democracy Now! Co-host Juan González, Harvest of Empire takes an unflinching look at the role that U.S. economic and military interests played in triggering an unprecedented wave of migration that is transforming our nation’s cultural and economic landscape.

From the wars for territorial expansion that gave the U.S. control of Puerto Rico, Cuba and more than half of Mexico, to the covert operations that imposed oppressive military regimes in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador, Harvest of Empire unveils a moving human story that is largely unknown to the great majority of citizens in the U.S. “They never teach us in school that the huge Latino presence here is a direct result of our own government’s actions in Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America over many decades — actions that forced millions from that region to leave their homeland and journey north,” says Juan González at the beginning of the film.

Harvest of Empire provides a rare and powerful glimpse into the enormous sacrifices and rarely-noted triumphs of our nation’s growing Latino community.  The film features present day immigrant stories, rarely seen archival material, as well as interviews with such respected figures as Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Rigoberta Menchú, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Junot Díaz, Mexican historian Dr. Lorenzo Meyer, journalists Maria Hinojosa and Geraldo Rivera, Grammy award-winning singer Luis Enrique, and poet Martín Espada.

“Harvest of Empire is a breakthrough documentary in the way it connects the historical interaction between the US and Latin America with the immigration debate. Using rarely seen newsreel footage and interviews with prominent migrants from countries in the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America, the film puts a human face on an issue too often reduced to vulgar stereotyping. It has the effect of changing the discourse from one of “illegality” to “historical truth.”

Ed Morales Univision News and Columbia University’s Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race

For more  information and to view the trailer visit:  www.harvestofempiremovie.com

 For discounted tickets use the code “ISC” at www.clevelandfilm.org

International Services Center urges you to call your local Congressional Representatives and your State Senators to voice your support for additional funding for the Office of Refugee Resettlement for the remainder of the fiscal year 2013.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) is facing a budget crisis due to an unanticipated increase in the arrival of unaccompanied immigrant children for the second year in a row.  If ORR does not receive additional funding, programs and services for refugees in our community could be negatively impacted by being reduced or completely disrupted.

The domestic refugee resettlement program is a critical component of U.S. foreign policy and its humanitarian goals. The ISC welcomes and assists refugees as they arrive and resettle in our community, with the support of many members of our community (employers, volunteers, churches, etc.) We provide newly arrived refugees with the essential services and support they need to begin to rebuild their lives and take steps toward becoming U.S. citizens.

The ISC provides refugees who have been resettled in Cleveland with the tools to become self sufficient; housing, job placement and employment skills, clothing, medical assistance, education, English-language classes and community orientations. We help refugees integrate quickly into our community and become positive contributors to the economic development of Greater Cleveland.

We urge you to make your voice heard among decision makers in Washington. Here are the numbers where you can call and voice your support

Thanks for your continued support!

Ohio State Senator:

Sherrod Brown- 216-522-7272

Ohio State Senator:

Rob Portman- 216-522-7095

Ohio U.S. House of Representatives

Steve Cabot  (R) 1st District- 202-225-2216

Brad Wenstrup (R) 2nd District- 202-225-3164

Beatty Joyce (D) 3rd District- 202-225-4324

Jim Jordan (R) 4th District- 202-225-2676

Robert E. Latta (R) 5th District- 202-225-6405

Bill Johnson (R) 6th District- 202-225-5705

Bob Gibbs (R) 7th District- 202-225-6265

John Boehner (R) 8th District- 202-225-6205

Marcy Kaptur (D) 9th District - 202-225-4146

Michael Turner (R) 10th District- 202-225-6465

Marcia L. Fudge (D) 11th District- 202-225-7032

Pat Tiberi (R) 12th District-202-225-5355

Tim Ryan (D) 13th District-202-225-5261

David Joyce (R) 14th District- 202-225-5731

Steve Stivers (R) 15th District- 202-225-2015

Jim Renacci (R) 16th District- 202-225-3876

Outcasts United by Warren St. John

Clarkston, Georgia, was a typical southern town until it was designated a refugee settlement center in the 1990s, becoming the first American home for scores of families in flight from the world’s war zones- from Liberia and Sudan to Iraq and Afghanistan.  Suddenly Clarkston’s streets were filled with women wearing the hijab, the smells of cumin and currry, and kids of all colors playing soccer in any open space they could find-the last thanks to Luma Mufleh, an American-educated Jordanian woman who starts a youth soccer team to unify Clarkston’s refugee children. With unsentimental compassion and grueling training sessions, and defying some local resistance, Mufleh leads her players through an unforgettable season.  In return, from the kids and their grateful loved ones, she receives ” a family of 120.”

Set against the backdrop of a fading American town struggling to accomodate its new arrivals, Outcast United is the stunning real-life story of an inspiring group of refugees and a woman who, with tough love and fiery determination, changes an entire community for the better.

“Brilliant…A heartwarming tale about the transformations that occur when our disparate lives connect.”  Ishmael Beah, author of A Long Way Gone

Human Trafficking event

Watch the Trailer and keep checking the website for  specific dates and times! Mark your calendar and join the discussion. Every voice matters!

America by the Numbers

Thanks to the Cleveland Housing Network our refugee students and families have access to a critical component necessary to achieving maximun self-sufficiency.

Karin Wishner Executive Director said“   Their desire to make a difference in the lives of others by engaging in volunteer service helped to make an immediate impact on our refugee resettlement efforts.  It was inspiring to host a group of young, motivated and socially conscious students. I am extremely grateful for their efforts and for helping ISC accomplish so much in three    days!!”