Vietnamese Emphasize Community

Drawing a lesson from last year’s protests over a Communist flag that publicly exposed rifts, Vietnamese community leaders say they have put aside their personal and political differences to stage only one festival commemorating the coming lunar new year, a time that traditionally has been a showcase for conflict in Little Saigon.

Over the years, different groups have staged their own Tet celebrations and have fought over bragging rights, with each group claiming to be the official festival of the new year.

But this year, people in the Vietnamese community said, infighting that followed the flag protests last January has taught community leaders about the value of speaking with a unified voice.

The incident “was a reminder that we should be more together. We think the whole community is the most important thing,” said Duc Trong Do, president of the Vietnamese Community of Southern California, the group that has been split in recent years, staging two celebrations.

Instead of breaking into factions, the leaders agreed to sponsor just one festival, “for the benefit of the whole community,” he said.

“We should show we can cooperate, especially on the new year.”

The festival, to be held Feb. 4 to Feb. 6 at Atlantis Park at Westminster Avenue and Bushard Street in Garden Grove, is not the only new year’s event planned this month. The Union of Vietnamese Student Assns. will hold a festival this weekend at 14100 Monroe St., next to Westminster Civic Center.

The student event, staged in Westminster for the first time last year, does not reflect any political division, organizers said. As in 1999, it will be held one week before Tet to avoid the appearance of a rivalry with the other festival and also so students can have the holiday free to celebrate with their families.

“It doesn’t conflict with the other festival,” said Tram Thai, a festival organizer for the Union of Vietnamese Student Assns. “And doing it one week before, it is also an opportunity to celebrate it two times.”

The result, observers said, should be a more focused and harmonious Tet celebration than there has been in years. This year’s festival, similar to those celebrated by other Asian communities, will mark the Year of the Dragon.

Westminster Police Lt. James Waller, who is in charge of handling special operations, including festivals, said he believes the community realizes that the appearance of infighting is harmful.

“They’re saying, ‘We can’t continue like that; that’s the way it was in our old country. We need to be a united front and work with each so they are more accepted into the American community.”

Organizers this year also sought to answer complaints by merchants that competing celebrations--with street closures adding to the usual parking woes in Little Saigon--disrupt business.

To spare the merchants, the Vietnamese Community of Southern California decided to hold the event in Garden Grove, outside the heart of Little Saigon. The community’s officials concluded that the best way to win a city permit was to appear unified and peaceful.

“We thought, if we jointly do this festival, Garden Grove will be happy to accept the festival,” Duc Trong Do said.

Luan Tran, a young lawyer who is active in the Vietnamese community and helped protesters during the flag controversy, said he is encouraged by the cohesiveness among old-school Vietnamese.

After the flag protests, he said, “I think we learned our lesson . . . that to achieve something meaningful we have to stand together.”