ALL ABOUT HIM: A HERO, A COMMUNITY ADVOCATE AND AN AMERICA'S NEW TRIUMPH MONUMENT BUILDER

Buu-Van A.J. Rasih was born on March 1, 1950 in Luangprabang, Laos; he’s the youngest son of three children to his Vietnamese immigrant parents. He attended a Laotian school where French was the primary language, this childhood multi-lingual experience laid the ground work for more to come.

Observing that there was no dam construction or irrigation system available in Laos, Buu-Van majored in hydraulic engineering in Nonthabury, Thailand; where he also learned to speak Thai. While initiating his career in irrigation engineering in Laos, Buu-Van also worked for the United States Agency for the International Development (USAID); thus English became a part of his language repertoire. Since he speaks five languages, Buu-Van jokes,”I’m Polyglot!”

When he arrived in San Diego, California, U.S.A. on April 9, 1976, he coordinated the resettlement activities for Indochinese refugees and began his work as an Approved Court Interpreter in Lao, Vietnamese and Thai for the San Diego Superior Court the following year. He was an Interpreter Examiner for the Washington State Superior Court in 1993 and became a "Language and Culture Expert” by accident when a defense attorney subpoenaed him. He also sharpened his financial skills as a Life and Health Underwriter with New York Life Financial Services where he was recognized for outstanding sales and management performance and qualified for New York Life Executive council two years in a row and also qualified applicant for Million Dollar Round Table. He is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of Global Childe, a community legal services and publishing company, for the last 18 years.
On January 29, 1977, he married his other half Vilaykhone Connie Simuong. They went on to have three children; Bobby Amata, born on November 20, 1978, George Amarit, born on August 11, 1984, and Valentina Cupid, born on February 01, 1994. Bobby and his wife, Lisa had a daughter (Buu-Van’s only Grandchild) Hayelee Angel on March 11, 2005.
In 1994 he feels the presence of the Holy Spirit and gets ordained as a Christian minister, in Las Vegas, Nevada. After this incident Buu-Van submerges himself into literature, and begins writing new American poetry. He is a communicator and the enchantment that comes from his writings comes from his blessed heart and his deep feelings on the American culture of life and society to transform humanity from within and to make it new. His simplest and shortest of new American poems can snap open, enlightening people's lives, while enhancing people's pleasure of language. Family, marriage, romantic relations and trust all form the basis for much of the work by New American poet. Buu-Van A.J. Rasih, who is the author of "My Other Half" a piece of work revealing his concern for marriage ending up in divorce due to the lack of understanding of dependence, romantic relations, and trust. A remarkably ambitious undertaking, it is the fruit of working for the juvenile dependency and delinquency in family, adult, deportation hearing, immigration, criminal and juvenile courts for the past 23 years. Many of his new American poems are rooted in American life, culture, society, family values, faith, justice, civilization and Christianity. All of his new American poems come from the heart of an American Spirit, the America's new Triumph. He is the winner of the 2006 Asian heritage Awards for Art, Philosophy and Literature and the International Society of Poets for the Editor's Choice Award in 2005 and 2006.

Buu-Van has continued promoted employment, business and cultural opportunities for Southeast Asian and South African communities. His many community leadership positions include: City Commissioner of the San Diego Human relations Commission, Chairman of the Board of the California Court Interpreters Association, Indochinese Council of the City Council Third District, International Mutual Assistance Association, Indochinese/Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce, San Diego Coalition for the Homeless and Indochinese Community Service Officers Store Front Mid-City San Diego. He has been an advocate and integral link between the Southeast Asian and South African communities of San Diego and government services for more than 20 years, first as San Diego's first Human Relations Commissioner, helping resolve discrimination, crime, gang and employment issues, working as a Court Interpreter in the federal, state and municipal court systems. He co-founded the first Indochinese Community Service Officers Storefront with the Police Department to promote public safety and reduce crime in Mid-City and East San Diego, earning him a city council commendation and a San Diego County Board of Supervisors Proclamation, and as a co-founder of the Indochinese/Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce, was instrumental in promoting the growth of more than 400 Vietnamese businesses.

To many Asian Americans, Buu-Van is as much a hero as he is a community advocate. He has balanced a litany of volunteer duties with business career that includes heading the upcoming international Cultural Global Village of the New Millennium and an America's New triumph Monument. He has touched so many lives through work with the United States Catholic Conference Migration Refugee Services and Catholic Charities, Agapi/Tolstoy Foundation, International Mutual Assistance Association, Indochinese Cultural Fair, Art and Freedom Festival, and Diego City Human relations Commission and San Diego Coalition for the Homeless.

Buu-Van is a 32-year resident of San Diego. He enjoys reading, traveling, collecting American memorabilia, antiques and collectibles, art, music and poetry. He continues to work on establishing platforms for people to appreciate and learn about each other's cultures and to create a better global world.

SAN DIEGO'S OCTOBER FIRESTORM

On the morning of Monday October 23rd, 2007, at around 5 O'clock we were notified to be evacuated out of 4S Ranch Rancho Bernardo are immediately. At the time it was a massive mandatory evacuation. We (the Rasihs) were ordered to evacuate and we joined another 513,000 people( about 17% of the region population 3.1 million to fled our home due to the dangerous fire conditions and hazardous air quality that was to be worse throughout the San Diego region in the next of couple days, and hopefully they will allow us to move back in sometime tomorrow the 24th of October. More than 1,775 homes and businesses were destroyed, 7 people died and 79 others were injured and also more than 488,099 acres burned but were still counting. Gusty winds reached about 60 miles per hour, high temperatures and low humility blowing from the East, cause more damage to the coastal areas: Del mar, Rancho Santa Fe, and Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Regional Headquarters. At first we felt the heavy winds, and it smelled heavily of smoke and left our home in Rancho Bernardo. Just after 6:00 a.m., my family and I (Buu-Van A.J. and my family included my son George, my daughter Valentina and my wife Connie) gathered, and packed up our belongings(address books(electronic organizers), batteries, cash, CD-Roms,cellular phones,clothings, collectible items, compact discs, electronic games, eye glasses, family photos, First-Aid Kits, flashlights, food, GPS, important documents of car, home equity, mortgage and tuition loans, home, health & life insurance papers, jewelry, laptop computers, living wills, medication, passports, portable radio, toothbrush & toothpaste, towels, USB/SIM cards, vitamins & minerals, and watches.) and my family headed to my oldest son's house in National City. It took 1 1/2 hour to get out our way to my son's house(which usually took 25 minutes). But we still are very fortunate to have a place to stay but others didn't and they did not know where to go. They ended up in Qualcomm stadium it could house over 10,000 people, cars, trucks, RV mobile homes, pets and good air quality, services and facilities, and other generous donations from the blessed San Diegans. Some donated goods and many others donate blood, as did I at the Qualcomm Stadium Evacuation Center.
Traffic were completely jammed and barely moved in inch. But we are all safe, and that's all matters. I stayed in touch with my son Bobby by cellular phone and found the way out on the small road, to avoid the hectic traffic on the freeways and road closures. By 3:00PM on Monday morning of October 23rd , 10,000 people rushed to the Qualcomm Stadium Evacuation Center to take refuge in the parking lot, while waiting for an update to go home. We were evacuated four years ago on October 25, 2003, it was known as the "Cedar Fire" and it burned 422 square miles versus 488, 099 square miles burned this year. And also destroyed 2,400 homes this year rather than the the1,775 homes. Fifteen(15) people died in 2003 but this year we have improved and only 7 persons were killed in this travesty and we are still haunted by memories of returning the burned homes. The Witch Fire renewed our fears. Connie, my wife was curious and in a bit of fear. We never thought we'd see a day like this again. But this time of year is the worst of the worst in the history of the State of California. All schools are to be closed throughout the week. More Spirit, more money, more food, more donations pour in San Diego County and endless support from all over the world just like You, Me and other American Spirit.