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克利夫兰及周边地区消息
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浦瑛開講:越南花园是我们的梦想
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This Garden is our Dream! |
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| Gia Hoa
Ryan她是一位著名在克利夫蘭亞裔的領袖人物,她對我説:她來美國克利夫蘭50多年來,她在成功地代表亞裔走進政界企業和敎育文化界。
她來自越南但她代表亞裔的聲音,她創建基金會,還幫助自己國家越南無家可歸者設立學校,還有她在克利夫蘭著名的世界公園里設立越南公園,她過去現在都在做,她表示只要她還活着她會繼續努力工作下去。
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早年克利夫蘭企業家洛克菲勒捐贈了一大片土地,現在全球人可以在美國設立自己國家的地標:“越南花園是我們的夢想”,這是Gia Hoa
Ryan 和她的合作夥伴Joseph Patrick Meissner 齊聲説的.
當我問他們:爲什么要建這個越南文化園?您們的目標是什么?您們的希望是什么?”以下是美越友誼基金會創始人、執行董事 Gia Hoa
Ryan 的回應。
“首先,我們想爲所有爲我們獻出生命的越戰老兵建造這個花園。如果沒有他們的犧牲,我們將無法來到美國。全世界數以百萬計的生命的自由歸功于美國退伍軍人。
“第二,這個花園是獻給那些爲我們獻出生命的越南退伍軍人,以及許多在越南爲自由而戰的人,如華人、柬埔寨人、韓國人、愛爾蘭人、澳大利亞人、新西蘭人等等。山嶽部落民族、老撾人、菲律賓人、台灣人,還有很多其他的。
“第三,未來人們看到這個花園,尤其是我們的靑年,會想起我們所有退伍軍人的犧牲。這個花園將是:向我們所有的越南人民和家庭致敬。
不久將來,越南花園將慶祝我們擁有 4000 年歷史的文化和成就。它將敎育後代瞭解越南的遺産、美麗和傳統。
記住在克利夫蘭黑人領袖馬丁路德金博士的林蔭大道留下我們花園和其他四十個國家的家園的地標。越南花園這是我們的夢想,這個花園像其他花園一樣,是我們社區的標誌,需要我們大家的支持。
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This Garden is our Dream!
By Joseph Patrick Meissner -- “Bac
Hai” which means “Uncle Number Two” in Vietnamese. (There is no
Uncle Number One.) |
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“Why this Vietnamese
cultural garden? What are our goals? What are our hopes?”
These are the questions all ask about this new garden. Here are the
responses from the Executive Director Gia Hoa Ryan, Founder of the
Friendship Foundation of American-Vietnamese.
“First, we have wanted to build this garden for all the Vietnam
Veterans who gave their lives for us. Except for their sacrifice we
would not have been able to come to America. Many millions of lives
around the world owe their freedom to America veterans.
“Second, this garden is dedicated to the veterans of Vietnamese
background who gave their lives for us as well as so many others who
fought for freedom in Vietnam, such as Chinese Nungs, Cambodians,
Koreans, Irish, Australians, New Zealanders, all the Montagnard
Tribal nations, Laotians, Philippinos, Taiwanese. Thai, and so many
others.
“Third, in the future when people see this garden, especially our
youth, they will recall the sacrifice of all our veterans. This
garden will be a tribute to all our Vietnamese people and families.
“Next, the Garden will celebrate our 4,000-year-old culture and
achievements. It will educate future generations about the heritage,
beauty and traditions of Viet Nam.
“Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King whose boulevard is the home of
our garden and some forty other nationalities, we say, ‘This is our
dream.’”
This garden as a mark of our community like all the other gardens
needs our support. Two years ago just as the Covid epidemic attacked
our world, the Vietnamese community conducted an opening ground
breaking ceremony. (We especially thank Mama Hanson—now passed away
in peace and her son Dan Hanson who attended this ceremony as well
as Sister Debbie who could not attend but sends out a thousand
prayers a day for our success.We particularly thank Dan Hanson who
devoted all of his expertise and talents to recording and
memorializing this ceremony with his photographic talents. Here is
the ceremony DVD and photoshe produced at Clevelandpeople.com. See
http://www.clevelandpeople.com/groups/vietnam/2020/vietnamese-garden-groundbreaking.htm)
“We had wanted to have a major event for our Vietnamese Cultural
Garden,” stated Director Gia Hoa Ryan, “during the special Month of
May which is our nation’s Asian Heritage Month. That was why we had
scheduled this ground breaking ceremony for May 30.”
“Our garden,” said Vietnamese Community President Kha, “is open to
the world. We must not be selfish. This garden is not only for the
Vietnamese and Cambodians and Laotians, but we welcome all.”
That ceremony attended by the Vietnamese community began with
singing the American National Anthem and the Vietnamese National
Anthem as both flags were proudly raised high above the crowd. The
American Pledge of Allegiance was then recited. We next had ten
major community leaders speak to us including Dr. Wael Khoury, Chair
of the Cleveland Cultural Garden Federation, who said, “We all must
praise the Vietnamese community for allyour great work in
construction of your garden. We look forward to your Grand Opening
with the installation of your center Statue of the Vietnamese woman
and all the other marble art works.”
Here was a tribute from a major leader to our work at this initial
opening: “To Friendship Foundation of American-Vietnamese. Thankyou
for including me in the wonderful ground-breaking ceremony today! It
was great to see all the supporters of the Vietnamese Community!
Everything worked out very well - especially the warm sunny
weather!!! May the Saints (and the Good God) guide all of us to find
the funds to continue our work in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens.
Best Regards!” From Ken Kovach,Chair of International Community
Council-Worldwide International Network.
From Phi Doane, “I was so sad that I could not journey to join all
of at this great event. We salute all and especially that includes
my Sister Gia Hoa Ryan who has worked so hard for so many years on
this Project. This is a legacy to Vietnam and all the people who
have come from our First Motherland to this Our Second Motherland.
We pass this on to all future generations.”
This ground breaking ceremony was historic, but it is not the end
of our efforts. Much more work is needed. Right now the statue of
"Our Lady" is almost finished being carved in Vietnam from exquisite
white Vietnamese marble by our team of Vietnamese artists and
others. We are hoping it will be completed very soon and then safely
transported by sea to America and to Cleveland. We will then work to
install the statue of approximately twenty-five tons in the center
of our area with other marble works and a concrete sitting wall--all
in the midst of a garden of beautiful Asian flowers, shrubs, and
trees. We also are planting a beautiful bamboo forest complete with
a time capsule to be opened one hundred years from now as a witness
to our current Vietnamese-American Community in Greater Cleveland.
In providing testimony to the hearing of the Cleveland City
committee for this garden, Landscape Designer Charlene Crowley
noted. “The garden site was chosen due to it being reminiscent of
the hilly and river topography of Vietnam. The wooded area above the
site is being retained. A plaza with an egg shape design is in the
center and the primary statue in that center represents an iconic
Vietnamese woman. The hat on the statue head is specific to
Vietnam.”
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Gia Hoa Ryan at this hearing added background to the meanings of
the symbols. “The plaza is mostly level but has a pitch to MLK
Boulevard. The ‘egg’ in the center represents the cultural mythology
of the beginning of Vietnam and is visible to all driving by on Dr.
King Boulevard. There is a solid concrete walk around the plaza.
There are three main elements to the garden: the statue of the woman
in the center; a gently curving stone wall and sitting area on the
wall; and Asian inspired plantings including bamboo behind the
wall.”
“Joining the main statue,” states Foundation Treasurer Joseph
Meissner, “ will be four marble benches, an entrance greeting stone
with Vietnamese literary writings and an exit stone showing a map of
Vietnam where veterans can point out historic Vietnam cities and
cultural sites where they served. Also the garden displays a marble
model of the large Dong Son Drum which is a cultural symbol dating
back four thousand years.”
“The center statue of a Vietnamese woman will be 9 feet tall on a
five-foot pedestal,” Dr George McCarthy, Foundation President,
reports, “it will be of beautiful white marble from historic Marble
Mountain near Da Nang.”
Of course, our Vietnamese community with the leadership of our
garden committee, the Friendship Foundation, and Veteran
Vice-President David Thi, Mr. Cao in charge of the vegetation, and
others, will be working to raise the necessary donations. We
estimate we will need at least half a million dollars or even more
for the Garden Construction Fund.
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All donations, which are IRS tax deductible, can be sent to the
Vietnamese Cultural Garden Fund-raising Committee. 2234 West
Boulevard, Cleveland, Ohio 44102.
We also want to mention that our charity and educationwork
continues in Vietnam. We have just completed our 8th Educational
Construction project for the students. We have included four
photographs showing the students standing in front of their new
school as well as seated at their desks as they learn inside the
building. We expect also to continue our scholarship programs in
Viet Nam during this present year.
Thank you to all for your generosity and support. Pray for us and
our humanitarian work.
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