Refugee, immigrant, neighbor – thousands gather together for annual Christmas party

It didn’t matter what language they spoke. Or where they came from.

Thousands of immigrants and refugees who call Fresno home gathered together Saturday for the 23rd annual Christmas Party held by the Fresno Interdenominational Refugee Ministries.

Santa Claus was there for pictures with kids. Free vaccines were available. Coats for cold children were handed out as well as hot meals. Zack Darrah, FIRM’s executive director, said the event is meant to attract the refugee and immigrant communities as well as neighbors of the FIRM campus in central Fresno.

“Everybody who wants to come to this event can and does,” he said. “It’s a beautiful, diverse partnership.”

Indeed, Darrah said, there were refugees from Syria, Ukraine and some African nations, like Congo. The word got out on social media and through local partnerships with churches, and people from all parts of Fresno came to the Christmas event. The largest refugee or immigrant community is southeast Asian, he said.

Toys for Tots delivered free Christmas toys for children, of whom an estimated 1,500 were expected to head for home after the party with a toy, Darrah said. The joy of Christmas was also spread Saturday at an event held by Central Unified School District, where more than 100 volunteers handed out food to about 300 families.

Peter Vang, 32, a city of Fresno planning commissioner who is on the FIRM board, said the Christmas event helps bring even the most quiet and reserved refugee or immigrant neighbors in Fresno out of their comfort zones and connects them to new people. He said the southeast Asian community, including Hmong people, often shy away from asking for help.

“They have a very difficult time asking for help, so I’m really just speaking their language and letting them know, ‘Hey, if you need anything at all, please voice your concern,’ ” Vang said about his volunteer work.

Mainhia Her, 26, of Fresno, attended the event with her sisters, one of whom is a social worker on the FIRM campus. Although her mom, a refugee from Laos who recently became a U.S. citizen, did not attend the Christmas event, Her still gained a valuable perspective on refugee struggles.

“I see myself in this group,” Her said. “It tells me that even though we struggle, there is still help out there.”

The potpourri of ethnicity at Saturday’s Christmas event was partly reflected in a pan of colorful assorted snacks at one table. Among the snacks, a Japanese rice cracker called “sembei” was mixed in with Skittles, Goldfish crackers and Sour Patch Kids. They were scooped up in hand-made origami cups and given to anyone who stopped by the table.

The Rev. Akiko Miyake-Stoner, a senior pastor at United Japanese Christian Church in Clovis, said the mix of snacks symbolizes how different cultures can come together. “It’s like this beautiful kind of mixture,” she said.

This story was originally published December 16, 2017 at 2:59 PM with the headline "Refugee, immigrant, neighbor – thousands gather together for annual Christmas party."