克利夫兰及周边地区消息

浦瑛開講:美國華人和華報

   8月15日,我搬家到了中國城,離伊利華報報社很近,在14日,我在住了20年的房子,我和小狗在清空的帶着滿滿記憶的客廳,躺在地板上的我胡思亂想,想中國傳統文化,想兒女成長,想伊利華報未來,想我的夢想….眼淚就這么滾動地往下流着….
   我腦子里想着世界因爲疫情改變了,我想着我們常常緊緊抱着“中華5000年優秀文化文明”,一張照片記憶猶新,那是慈禧太后第一次坐在洋人車上,德國已經有了火車…我曾經寫過世界各個著名博物館里陳列的中華的極品,説不然文革都被砸壞,有讀者寫信説我漢奸…..8月6日,中國城表彰奬勵那些爲華人作出貢獻的企業和個人,因爲現場茶杯里有用餐巾做成的花朶,美麗而不方便給水,我當時又渴又餓,就跑到九寨溝去吃了一碗涼麵….我突然悟道人的念頭決定了行爲…..

   因爲我的工作讓我接觸了許多華人和華人社團,這些爲華人公益義務奉獻時間和金錢的僑領爲我們海外華僑提供了鄉情和友情,就是因爲前輩華僑一代一代接一代在美國奮鬥,今天的我們才不會像50-60年代那樣,想要在美國住一個公寓,都會被刁難。
   隨着華人在美國的經濟和政治地位的變化,我們在美國已經紮根,這就像一塊文化的化石,她傳承中華民族的歷史文化。
   歷史記載華人到美國以後,當時是爲了生存爲了安全,大家開始團結在一起。開始幾個人組成一個社團,爲同鄉人提供服務,讓親人們感受溫暖,由於20年來我做一份華人報紙,我有機會目睹華人的光明一面,同時我也感受到我們華人不足的地方,這和我們的民族性有關,我們華人提出最多的是團結,但我們又是一盤散沙,記得我曾經有幸參加美國早期華人組織籌備紀念辛亥革命活動,在籌備過程中,常常大家以吵架結束,我記得有一次主席在台上講:我們大家在一起做事第一要講和諧,當時兩位僑領,因爲意見不同,就動手打了起來,我當時很心痛,但也很無能爲力。
   我還記得2012年12月13日,我應原家住Youngstown現搬到匹兹堡的朋友黃小波女士的邀請,參加了美國俄亥俄州大洋城中華聯誼會舉辦的前任各界主席會議。當日主持會議的是該協會今年任主席Marie Lew女士 ,我十分好奇,一位百分之一百美國血統的老外當華人協會主席,這是我多年來第一次在華人團體見到,我想她一定有許多體會。
  據Marie Lew女士介紹,是她自吿奮勇,願意做2012年中華聯誼會主席,因爲她愛中國,她的先生是中國人。但沒有想到她一上任她的感受是“眼睛好像被蒙着,雙手雙腳被綁着”。我聽了她的講述,請她吿訴大家她當中華聯誼會主席感受,這是她當年的分享:

An End-of-Term President’s Reflections
Anybody will be motivated and step forward to be the president of Chinese Association of Great Youngstown Area? When asked why I took the job as 2012 President of the Chinese Association of Greater Youngstown Area, a simple answer is “How could I not?” The organization had been founded in the early 1980’s and had flourished for much of the time since then. The purpose of the Association was to promote and preserve Chinese culture and traditions, as well as to provide members with social and other appropriate services.Over the years, it had accomplished its mission in various ways. More recently, however, participation in Association-sponsored events by the local Chinese community had dwindled compared to the early days when four hundred or more ethnic Chinese people attended its Chinese New Year celebrations.
I first became acquainted with the organization several years ago, when a member of the organization suggested that my students and I demonstrate taijiquan at the Association’s Chinese New Year Celebration. Several hundred people attended the event,which included performances by a Chinese flutist and children’s choir as well as the Lion Dance and a traditional Chinese costume show. Agreat number of those attending were families who had adopted children from China. These families demonstrated a desire to keep the cultural link with their children’s heritage by enjoying the Chinese celebrations sponsored by the Association.
Whereas an organization may actively support a spectrum of general cultural offerings, what motivates any of us individuals to act tends to be deeply personal.
My late husband, a native of Guangdong, educated in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and a naturalized citizen of the United States of America, often spoke of the practical nature of the Chinese character. Yes, delicious food may be a requirement of the Chinese palate, but when times are hard, even a stewed rodent is appreciated insofar as eating it will keep you alive.
My predecessor as President had been appointed to her position, and before she asked me to take the job as her term ended, there had been much talk about dissolving the organization for lack of interest. No one would step forward to lead the Association.
How could I not?
A Chinese New Year Celebration was first on the agenda. My predecessor’s advice was to keep it simple and enjoy the job. With the generous help of several CAGYA members and my t’ai chi students, the Year of the Dragon entered with firecrackers, raffles, red envelopes with lucky money, and greetings from various parts of China in several dialects. With one hundred people attending, it was a relatively modest celebration, but certainly heartfelt.
Later in the year, just eighteen people attended the Mothers Day luncheon, but all the mothers left with red roses. Mid-Autumn Festival was attended by one hundred people, including over twenty students from China, who were currently attending a local high school or the university. Each family or individual left the gathering with a white lotus seed paste mooncake to enjoy while sipping tea and gazing at the harvest moon.
When I took the job as President, I had no idea what I was facing. I was grateful that the Treasurer had agreed to stay at his post for an additional year. He had a history with the organization and managed the contact lists as well as the finances. The By-Laws state that the general meeting of all registered members is to function as the highest authority of the Association. I had hoped to discuss and determine the future of the organization with this highest authority. So all members were invited to a general meeting and provided with a copy of the Association’s By-Laws. Eight members attended the meeting. It was agreed that we should contact former members of the Association to ask what would bring them back to it. We also asked what they liked most and least about their experience with the Association.About one hundred questionnaires were sent out. Nine responses were received.
A list of twenty-two ideas were gleaned from these responses. All current members were invited to another meeting to review these ideas. A total of nine members attended this meeting.
It was clear that all respondents regarded welcoming newcomers at Association events as priority #1. A majority of respondents also prioritized solid leadership from within the local Chinese community, commitment to Chinese culture, greater participation by Association members as well as getting to know one another better, laughing more and having fun.
It was also clear that the non-ethnic Chinese respondents were interested in learning more about Chinese language, culture and customs. The ethnic Chinese respondents, presumably satisfied with their grasp of the language, culture and customs, were less interested in mentoring programs for children, Chinese language school for children or adult learners, and speakers on interesting aspects of Chinese culture.
It also became clear that the Association is not what it used to be. Times have changed. Some believe that the organization’s relevance to their lives has disappeared.
On the face of it, a broad purpose such as the promotion and preservation of Chinese culture and traditions may raise questions such as “Which aspects of Chinese culture should be promoted? Which traditions?” In these modern times, some ask “How much should we remember? How much should we forget?”
So at the end of my term as President, a Former Presidents Meeting was called to seek direction for the organization’s future. This coming year will require a full team of participants leading the Association.
Will the organization go dormant? The jury is still out, as the Nominating Committee for a new team of Association leaders does not meet until early January.Who will step forward this time?
Marie Lew
CAGYA President 2012
Year of the Water Dragon
   一個國家的成功依賴于它的政治、經濟和社會制度。而個人和企業成功就是奉獻和給予。記得8月6日黃唯走進表彰大會的餐廳，她明知當晩是免費餐，但她拿出紅包給了$300。黃唯在美國華人律師界是精英人物，她十分關心引導年輕人，看當晩兩代人的律师，她们三人笑得这么灿烂。