Lao-American Buu-Van Rasih is a native of Luang Prabang, Laos. Buu-van received his degree in hydraulic engineering in Nonthabury, Thailand, under a scholarship provided by the former Royal Lao government. He had also worked for the United States Agency for the International Development (USAID) in Laos; thus English became his 5th language, in addition to his native tongue-Lao, Vietnamese, Thai, and French. After the fall of the Royal Lao Government, he escaped to Thailand and eventually arrived in the United of America in mid-1970’s.
Buu-Van started working right away once he arrived in San Diego, California in April of 1976. He coordinated resettlement activities for Indochinese refugees and began his work as an accredited court interpreter for the San Diego Superior Court for the Lao, Vietnamese and Thai languages the following year. Since then he has interpreted in a number of languages and is considered a language and culture expert. Buu-Vann had served and supported many Asian communities in the San Diego areas, especially the Laotian-American community, for many years. Attracted to Christianity and the Holy Spirit, he became ordained as a Christian minister in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1994. He later dove into literature, and began writing American poetry.
He is a winner of both the Asian Heritage Awards 2006 for art, philosophy and literature, and the International Society of Poets for the Editor's Choice Award in 2005 and 2006. Marriage, family, romantic relations and trust all form the basis for much of the work by this new American poet, Buu-Van A. J. Rasih, who is the author of "My Other half," a piece of work that reveals his concern for marriages ending up in divorce due to lack of understanding, romantic relations, and trust between partners.
Buu-Vann told VOA that he is very
honored and proud to be selected to be a part of the Marquis’ Who’s Who in
America, a special volume for 2009. The 2009 Edition of
Who's Who in America provides information on over 110,000 of the nation's most
noteworthy people in a single, comprehensive resource.
Buu-Van encourages all Laotians around the globe to work hard, have the
determination and ambitious to strive for something higher and better, and to
become a self-established. “Acquire
success by doing great things for yourself and once you get there, do give
back. Never give up your dream,” Buu-Van concluded.
Listen to audio files for more details.
