When “Hamilton” comes back to Jacksonville in December, my daughters already know they want to see it with me again. That says something, because last year they had to work hard just to get me to watch it the first time.
My daughters have been obsessed with the show for years. Dana, 18, was born in Iraq and has always been proud of being Arab American. Rodina, 14, was born here and loves reminding us that, as a natural-born citizen, she could one day run for president. They knew every song; I knew almost nothing.
I fled home and came to the United States in my 20s, and although I love movies, musicals have never been easy for me. The lyrics move too fast. So when my daughters finally talked me into watching “Hamilton,” I went along thinking that
if I couldn't follow it, at least I might get a nap.
Instead I laughed, cried and kept asking my daughters what had just happened.
I came to Jacksonville as a refugee in 2010, through the U.S. refugee resettlement program. I was a young engineer, a wife and a mother, trying to start over in a country that was entirely new to me. What I did know was that people in Jacksonville were willing to help us build a new life.
Florida's Department of Children and Families lists Jacksonville as one of the state's primary refugee resettlement communities, and local organizations here have welcomed families from Iraq, Afghanistan, Burma, Bhutan, Eritrea and many other countries.
Those facts matter, but when I think about why Jacksonville became home, I think first about people, not programs. I think about the ones who answered our questions, walked us through an unfamiliar system and made us believe we could build a life here.
Watching the show, the song "My Shot" stayed with me. Hamilton arrives as an immigrant determined to have a voice in the country he is making his home. My story is nothing like his, but I recognized that same pull to belong. As the years passed and Jacksonville became home, I wanted to give something back to the community that gave my family a chance to start again.
That eventually led me into human rights work, community service and advocacy, including helping other newcomers find their way to participate, and helping neighbors find their own way to welcome.
The work eventually took me further than I expected. In 2022, I became the first refugee to serve as an adviser on the U.S. government delegation to the Executive Committee of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. I delivered remarks to that international body on behalf of my country — America.
I still think about the distance between those two moments. I don't share this because it's typical. Every refugee's path is different, but I share it because I know what can happen when people are given the chance to belong.
That question matters even more this year. It marks the 75th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention, at the same time the resettlement system that brought my family here has been dramatically restricted, and thousands of already approved families remain stranded.
As the country debates what refugee protection should look like going forward, I hope it also listens to communities that know what happens after refugees arrive.
Jacksonville knows. We have watched refugees become co-workers, business owners, students and neighbors whose children, like mine, know no other hometown.
That is part of why "Immigrants, we get the job done" — from a song at the end of the musical’s first act — means so much in our house that Dana chose it as her senior quote. Not because we think immigrants are better than anyone else, but because we know what it takes to begin again, and what people give back once they finally feel they belong.
My daughters won't have to convince me to see “Hamilton” again in December. I will still miss some of the lyrics, but I will be thinking about our own story, too. About a city that welcomed my family 17 years ago and is still deciding what kind of welcome it wants to be known for.
Basma Alawee is a Jacksonville resident and former refugee from Iraq. She is the senior adviser for policy and advocacy at Refugee Congress.
This guest column is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the Times-Union. We welcome a diversity of opinions.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: What ‘Hamilton’ taught me about calling Jacksonville home | Opinion
