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Fresno Hmong New Year organizers split up - Dispute over spending leads to two rival events
A bitter community split has led to competing Hmong New Year celebrations, putting a cloud over a Fresno event that draws huge crowds and participants from around the world.
One will be held as usual from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1 at the Fresno Fairground. The other is scheduled at the same time -- but about six miles across town.
The reason: A breakaway group has accused organizers of misspending money raised from the event, using funds meant for scholarships to travel abroad.
The Hmong International New Year Foundation Inc. -- a nonprofit group that has organized the event for 12 years -- denies the accusations.
But the split marks an end to years of cooperation and a return to conflict that was common in the 1990s.
Many in Fresno's Hmong community fear the split will hurt the event, said Bee Lee, host of the Hmong American Business Radio show on KBIF (AM 900).
Some have called his show to complain, he said.
"Right now they're very upset," Lee said. "They say we have to solve this problem."
A big occasion
The Fresno-based celebration is widely regarded as the largest of its kind in the country. Last year, about 120,000 attended, organizers said.
The central San Joaquin Valley has one of the largest Hmong populations in the country. Many Hmong settled here after fleeing Laos during the Vietnam War. The Hmong had fought alongside American soldiers.
Pao Fang, executive director of Lao Family Community of Fresno, said his group organized the first Hmong New Year celebration in Fresno in 1980. It became a national event in the mid-1980s.
By the mid-1990s, some members of the Hmong community were raising concerns about how money raised from the event was being spent.
In late 1995 and early 1996, the celebration was no longer unified. One event was held in Fresno, and another in Hanford.
The following two years, dueling Hmong New Year celebrations were held in Fresno -- one at the fairgrounds, another at the Sunnyside Swap Meet.
The divisions appeared to be resolved in late 1998, when the groups joined under the auspices of the Hmong International New Year Foundation. Both sides signed an agreement saying there would be no competition for 10 years, said Charlie Vang, the foundation's executive director.
Fang, of the private social-service organization Lao Family Community, said he is sorry to see the cooperation end.
"There's no need to ... divide the community," Fang said. "It's sad. It's just sad."
Organizers of the breakaway event announced their plans last week on KBIF.
Members of the 18 Clan Council -- an informal group with representatives from each of the 18 Hmong family clans -- confirmed that the second event is proposed for the same seven days at the city's Regional Sports Complex in southwest Fresno.
They referred questions about why a second event is planned to Cheng Lee, who did not return repeated calls seeking comment.
But Hmong community activist Mai Summer Vue said the rival event emerged from frustrations over how the foundation had spent funds.
A question of money
Last year, the Hmong International New Year celebration charged admission of up to $4 per person. In 2008, the most recent year for which IRS records are available, the nonprofit group took in $843,831 and had a $126,777 surplus after expenses.
But "so far ... we have not seen much contribution to the community as far as scholarships to students, significant contributions back to the community," said Vue, president of the Hmong Justice USA, a Fresno group that advocates for the rights of people in the Hmong community and is seeking nonprofit status.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/08/25/2054177/fresno-hmong-new-year-organizers.html
I'm not surprised! Greedy Hmong people. Good thing we don't have a country, if we did. There will be war everyday!
A bitter community split has led to competing Hmong New Year celebrations, putting a cloud over a Fresno event that draws huge crowds and participants from around the world.
One will be held as usual from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1 at the Fresno Fairground. The other is scheduled at the same time -- but about six miles across town.
The reason: A breakaway group has accused organizers of misspending money raised from the event, using funds meant for scholarships to travel abroad.
The Hmong International New Year Foundation Inc. -- a nonprofit group that has organized the event for 12 years -- denies the accusations.
But the split marks an end to years of cooperation and a return to conflict that was common in the 1990s.
Many in Fresno's Hmong community fear the split will hurt the event, said Bee Lee, host of the Hmong American Business Radio show on KBIF (AM 900).
Some have called his show to complain, he said.
"Right now they're very upset," Lee said. "They say we have to solve this problem."
A big occasion
The Fresno-based celebration is widely regarded as the largest of its kind in the country. Last year, about 120,000 attended, organizers said.
The central San Joaquin Valley has one of the largest Hmong populations in the country. Many Hmong settled here after fleeing Laos during the Vietnam War. The Hmong had fought alongside American soldiers.
Pao Fang, executive director of Lao Family Community of Fresno, said his group organized the first Hmong New Year celebration in Fresno in 1980. It became a national event in the mid-1980s.
By the mid-1990s, some members of the Hmong community were raising concerns about how money raised from the event was being spent.
In late 1995 and early 1996, the celebration was no longer unified. One event was held in Fresno, and another in Hanford.
The following two years, dueling Hmong New Year celebrations were held in Fresno -- one at the fairgrounds, another at the Sunnyside Swap Meet.
The divisions appeared to be resolved in late 1998, when the groups joined under the auspices of the Hmong International New Year Foundation. Both sides signed an agreement saying there would be no competition for 10 years, said Charlie Vang, the foundation's executive director.
Fang, of the private social-service organization Lao Family Community, said he is sorry to see the cooperation end.
"There's no need to ... divide the community," Fang said. "It's sad. It's just sad."
Organizers of the breakaway event announced their plans last week on KBIF.
Members of the 18 Clan Council -- an informal group with representatives from each of the 18 Hmong family clans -- confirmed that the second event is proposed for the same seven days at the city's Regional Sports Complex in southwest Fresno.
They referred questions about why a second event is planned to Cheng Lee, who did not return repeated calls seeking comment.
But Hmong community activist Mai Summer Vue said the rival event emerged from frustrations over how the foundation had spent funds.
A question of money
Last year, the Hmong International New Year celebration charged admission of up to $4 per person. In 2008, the most recent year for which IRS records are available, the nonprofit group took in $843,831 and had a $126,777 surplus after expenses.
But "so far ... we have not seen much contribution to the community as far as scholarships to students, significant contributions back to the community," said Vue, president of the Hmong Justice USA, a Fresno group that advocates for the rights of people in the Hmong community and is seeking nonprofit status.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/08/25/2054177/fresno-hmong-new-year-organizers.html
I'm not surprised! Greedy Hmong people. Good thing we don't have a country, if we did. There will be war everyday!
