Fui Toong On members call themselves the "most powerful of all Chinese Associations." Located on Charlotte Street, Port of Spain, which is also the home of the China Society and the Chung Shan Association, the Fui Toong On believe that their membership reflects their strength.

"In terms of resources we are powerful," said Judy Chong-Dennison, a longstanding member.

In a recent interview, she explained that they are well organized and continue to be active.

The association is a non-profit organization, which depends on its membership for its day-to-day expenses.

Today, it can boast of having approximately 2,000 active members which include some of T&T's most talented and intellectually gifted citizens. Included among some of its members are those from the medical, legal, political and even the artistic sphere.

Eighty years ago, the Association was formed. Then, its headquarters was not the stately building that stands today. Instead, it was a house that opened its doors to certain members of the Chinese Community.

Wilson Yee, vice president of the association, said that many considered it a home away from home, especially those who lived in the rural parts of the country.

"The association was a place where they could have rested and even spend the night," he explained.

Years later, that policy has not changed. The door still remains open to those wishing to use their services. But like the five elderly citizens, who are currently finding comfort on the second floor of the building, those wishing for assistance must have roots in specific parts of China.

Yee explained that the name Fui Toong On is derived from the names of the adjacent counties in China which include Po On, Tung Kwan and Fui On which are located in the greater province of Kwangtung.

"It is from these districts that our fore-fathers came. The members of this society are all descendants from these districts speaking a common dialect known as hakka," he indicated.

For most Chinese, taking care of the aged is a priority but the Association has also extended their focus to other areas.

"We would help in burial expenses and even provide funds for education," Yee stated.

Though the members are bonded culturally and geographically, these similarities have not made them cliquish, they insist, neither are they suspicious of the other Chinese groups. In fact, this attitude was reflected in their guest list for yesterday's 80^th anniversary celebrations. Among some of those forming part of the festive occasion were key executive members from the various Chinese Associations.

Currently, there are five Chinese organizations which include Toy Shan, Sun Wai and the Chinese Association.

Chong-Dennison stated that there is integration among the Chinese community. The China Society is the umbrella organization. And, according to Chong-Dennison, there is a representative from all the Chinese groups in the China Society. "We all come together at some point in time," she said.

Jimmy Lee, secretary of the China Society, described this group as the governing body. "This society is open to all the Chinese in TT despite their origins," he stated.

Lee explained that even though there are individual societies, this has not prevented the community from being united.

But Derek Chin, a member of the Chinese Association in St Ann's, feels that these 'traditional' organizations are more culturally linked to China and, as a result, "the local Chinese cannot identify with them."

"Most of the members from these associations speak Chinese and seem to be more involved in a life of tradition," he said.

Despite Western influences, most in the Chinese community have managed to hold on to the ideals of their ancestors. Chong-Dennison said that there are still traditional Chinese wedding ceremonies conducted at their headquarters even though the numbers have decreased.

But while development and promotion of culture remain their main focus, these associations also help in developing camaraderie. In this way, it has become a favourite recreational spot for many members - housing some of the most exclusive gambling spots in T&T.

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I can recall my mother once, in a raucous lime, joking with her Chinese friends about their background. "With that kind of behaviour," she accused one, "you must be a Hakka." "Not at all," the person replied: "I'm pure Punti."

It was my first awareness of differences within the Chinese community of which my maternal grandmother was a member. Later I learnt that the Chinese who came to Trinidad were of different ethnic groups, who spoke different languages and formed separate associations.

"There was this rivalry," recalls artist Carlisle Chang, himself of Hakka stock. "Among the Hakkas we didn't like you to marry a Cantonese - that's why they called them 'Punti Lau' - it's derogatory."

The Hakkas, like the vast majority of Chinese immigrants, came from Guangdong province. However, they had originally been a migrant group from the North - hence the mutual depreciation. "They were a nomadic people," says Chang. "All of Tahiti, the Philippines, Hawaii, is Hakka - they’re great travellers."

They weren't part of the first indentured immigrants to Trinidad, but their numbers increased after 1912 - according to Trevor Millette's study The Chinese in Trinidad. And if today the differences are worn thin, 80 years ago they were stark.

So, in addition to general Chinese associations that were formed, there were the ethnic ones based on language differences: the Toy Shan Association, Sam Yap, Sun Wai, Chung Shan and Fui Toong On.

Coming from the North, Hakka food was spicier - one local favourite is crispy skin pork. And, according to Chang, their domestic culture, like that of nomadic peoples, was more egalitarian. "The wife has equal rights with the husband and they consult each other whatever they're doing," he says. "My mother was the first to form a taxi union. She had 32-passenger busses. She needed a loan so she put on all her jewelry and went to Col. Alston for it-he took one look at the jewelry and gave her the loan."

The Cantonese were the earliest and largest group; and right behind them were the Hakkas, whose Fui Toong On Association on 12 Charlotte Street was the first ethnic Chinese association; it celebrates its 80^th anniversary today. Actually, the Hakka headquarters began in George Street - the Yee Lee Club, which changed its name to Ku Sing. Finally, on July 24, 1919 they combined the names of their countries - Fui On, Tung Kwan and Po On - to create the Fui Toong On Association.

Its aim, then as now, was to assist the newcomers in settling down, finding a livelihood, socializing, and if necessary, dying. Immigrants were housed, jobs were found for them, advice given to assist in dealing with the unfamiliar laws, language, customs and economic opportunities.

Chinese shopkeepers were scattered throughout the country, providing their invaluable services to every remote village ignored by established traders. And when the Hakkas came to town for supplies or whatever, they slept over at the Fui Toong On.

Even for those in Charlotte Street, however, the association was important, because it brought together people who spoke the same dialect. There they limed, exchanged news, ate, drank and gambled - the most often heard sound in the association's large hall, was the slapping down of Mahjong tiles.

"They gambled all the time, including the women," says Chang. "There were stories of them gambling away shop and wife, and although I don't know about the wives, shops probably did change hands."

In December 1959 the Fui Toong On was officially incorporated, and about 15 years later it gave birth to a Vancouver branch, some of whose members have returned for today's feast.

Times have changed. The various Chinese associations have united under the China Society, an umbrella body. Immigration from China has practically ceased, removing one of their most important functions. Fui Toong On gives a few scholarships, provides board and lodge for a few indigent members, and maintains cemetery plots at Lapeyrouse. But that's all.

Still, the association soldiers on, despite the declining foreign-born membership, even though their children are fully integrated English-speaking Trinidadians. As its China-born President Leslie Chang says, "If you draw a line on a piece of paper, no matter what you do it's always there."

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