STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
One of the realities of American life is that almost any international news story is also a local news story. We, or our ancestors, come from everywhere. So when something goes wrong overseas, it is personal for us or for our neighbors. Sudan has been suffering a disastrous civil war. Millions of people are out of their homes or close to famine, and Sudanese people in the United States want the world to know. NPR's Emmanuel Akinwotu visited an arts and music event in New York City.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Are y'all excited?
(CHEERING)
EMMANUEL AKINWOTU, BYLINE: A quiet pocket of Brooklyn stirs to life with sounds from Sudan.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Advance.
AKINWOTU: Hundreds of people have packed into this creative studio in New York for a night of art, poetry and music. The event is organized by Madaniya, a Sudanese collective, meaning civilian-led, for the people.
DUAA MOHAMMED: We brought everybody here today for two reasons. The first and foremost is to raise awareness on what's happening in Sudan.
AKINWOTU: Thirty-year-old Duaa Mohammed was born in Sudan and raised in the U.S. She helped organize the event.
MOHAMMED: There isn't a lot of coverage about what's happening and there's a lot of misinformation, so we really wanted to bring our community together. And our second objective was to raise money.
AKINWOTU: The level of international aid into Sudan has remained low. But contributions from the diaspora have been a lifeline. They've helped fund aid initiatives like community kitchens that provide food for many who are at risk of famine. The night begins in an outdoor space behind the building. A somber short film plays on a projector set from the streets of Omdurman, a twin city of the capital, Khartoum. Printed images of the Nile River, of Sudan's Meroe Pyramids, are hung around the walls. A food stand with a long queue serves Sudanese food, while other vendors nearby sell T-shirts and jewelry. Duaa Mohammed says the event is designed to give people a sense of Sudan.
MOHAMMED: So we wanted to create a multi-dimensional space - right? - which had a concert, but also had art. If they want to enjoy Sudanese music, they can do that. If they wanted to look at Sudanese art, they can do that. But it's important for us to create the space to kind of just understand what exactly it is that we're living through, to give them a piece of Sudan.
AKINWOTU: Everyone soon heads to the main stage, where the performances begin.
EMI MAHMOUD: We are here tonight to celebrate that we're alive, but that there's so much that has passed between us. I've lost 14 family members in the past year. And I'm not alone in this.
AKINWOTU: The first is Emi Mahmoud, a Sudanese American poet and a United Nations ambassador.
MAHMOUD: The last time we went home, we watched our village burn, soldiers pouring blood from civilian skulls as if they too could turn water into wine. The woman who raised me turned and said, don't be scared.
AKINWOTU: Then it's followed by performances from artists like Sudanese American rapper Bas.
BAS: (Rapping) I'm under all this stress. I just want to do my best.
AKINWOTU: But the highlight of the night is a show from the singer Sami Al Mo Agribi.
AKINWOTU: His folksy, nostalgic renditions thrill the crowd, even for those of us who don't understand the words.
SAMI AL MO AGRIBI: (Singing in Arabic).
AKINWOTU: 6,000 miles away from here, the war still rages. But here in Brooklyn, it's a night of joy, celebration, but also resolve from a diaspora determined to keep the world's attention on the war in Sudan.
AGRIBI: (Singing in Arabic).
AKINWOTU: Emmanuel Akinwotu, NPR News, New York.
AGRIBI: (Singing in Arabic). Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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