[Tlc] L-Lao-Americans

Tue Mar 10 08:50:44 PDT 2009

FYI.
Thanks,
justin

2009-0310 - AsianWeek - Lao Americans Discover Homeland

http://www.asianweek.com/2009/03/09/lao-americans-discover-homeland/

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Lao Americans Discover Homeland

March 9, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – “Throughout my school years I was trying to learn about my Lao heritage, which has always been a push and pull of understanding my parents and their values,” says Sandra Siharath. “I have taken courses in Africana Studies, Raza Studies, Native American Studies, Asian American Studies, hoping to piece together my identity as an Asian American, but I was never able to truly capture being Lao in America.”

Now Siharath and other young Lao Americans will have the unique opportunity to learn about their cultural heritage first hand through the Summer Study Abroad in Loas program (SAIL). The first U.S. based study abroad program of its kind will offer participants total cultural immersion through language lessons, country-specific course offerings, travel, social and volunteer opportunities. Sponsored by the Center for Lao Studies the program will be held at the Lao American College in Vientiane, Laos.

Thos interested in learning about Southeast Asian culture are also encouraged to apply; the application deadline is March 15.

Currently there is close to one million people from Laos living in the U.S. Many of these were refugees who, like their neighbors in Vietnam and Cambodia, fled their country in the 1970’s and 1980’s when civil war broke out and new communist regimes assumed power. The war not only displaced 10 percent of the population, but left the country ravaged. During this time, Laos had been involved in a “Secret War” – an unprecedented bombing campaign backed by the CIA to stop North Vietnamese supply lines along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. In a span of nine years, approximately two million tons of bombs were dropped, making Laos the most bombed country in world history.

While many Lao refugees have assimilated to their new country and home in the U.S., others have struggled to find success, and to retain their culture. Today, second generation Lao Americans are growing up speaking English and are fully Americanized with little emotional connection to Laos. As a result, intergenerational conflicts and miscommunication are common. However, like other Asian immigrants, many young Lao Americans have a strong interest in learning about their roots, but lack academic resources as Laos is rarely mentioned in history books thus leaving them with little knowledge of their country. Unable to explain who they are and where they are from, they are faced with an identity crisis.

Dr. Vinya Sysamouth, a Lao American who came to the U.S. at the age of ten, is familiar with the frustrations and cultural assimilation of the Lao community over the last 30 years. As the Executive Director of the Center for Lao Studies, Dr. Sysamouth saw the establishment of the program as one way to bridge the bi-cultural gap.

“The SAIL program aims to educate Lao Americans about Lao history and culture through eight weeks of cultural, volunteer and academic immersion,” said Dr. Sysamouth. “Many families don’t have the time or money to take their families to Laos, so we’ve provided a structured, safe, and instructive venue through which participants can visit their homeland, learn the language, understand their parents better, and create new memories for themselves.”

Although the program is open to anyone with an interest in Southeast Asian culture and language, response to the program has been strongest from Lao Americans.

Yaengsaeng Xayavong, a 25 year-old ethnic Lao-Lue (Tai Lue) who received a BS in Biochemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles, sees the value of the program in raising awareness of Lao culture not only for herself, but for the greater community.

“Sad to say, I do not know much about Lao history, but I know there is no better way of learning about it than going to Laos and studying it,” says Xayavong .It is very important for me to learn about my heritage because it is something I would like to pass on to my children and grandchildren … I will have the opportunity to discover the rich culture of Laos, which will give me a better understanding of my community so I can become an integral part of it.”

Leslie Chanthaphasouk, an International Development Studies, and Asian American Studies major at UCLA, is enthusiastic about the academic opportunities of the program.

“In Orange County, there’s no place for me to study Lao, not even at the temple. Learning about my culture has always been a personal interest of mine, and I was excited to learn about the courses, such as Lao history, offered on the SAIL program,” said Chanthaphasouk. “I also think the program is pretty cheap compared to other study abroad programs now to Europe or even Thailand.”

Even with its reasonable price tag, the economic downturn has prohibited qualified candidates, including Chanthaphasouk, from applying. Scholarship funds are competitive, but are needed to help some participants offset the costs.

“It’s a shame that the financial crisis is affecting potential applicants as we launch the program for the first time” says Samantha Miller, who has lived in Laos for three years and is assisting with the SAIL program. “We’ve explored options to help students with the program cost, but Foundation grants are drying up too. We are now appealing to individual donors to sponsor applicants for whatever they can. Even $1,000 would go a long way!”

The SAIL program is part of the Center for Lao Studies’ greater mission to advance knowledge and engagement in the field of Lao Studies through research, education and information sharing. Founded in 2006 as an outcome of the First International Conference on Lao Studies, the non-profit has established itself as a resource center for both the general public as well as those of Lao heritage, and serves as a liaison to cultural and community organizations, universities, and academic institutions. Among its programs are the publication of an annual peer-reviewed Journal of Lao Studies, and forthcoming Lao Oral History Archive that will document the experiences of Lao refugees in the U.S. through audio and video media, and create an on-line archive of interviews, videos, and historical documents. For more information about the Center for Lao Studies, please visit: http://www.laostudies.org.

Written by AsianWeek Staff Report · Filed Under Bay Area

______________
Dr. Justin McDaniel
Dept. of Religious Studies
3046 INTN
University of California, Riverside
Riverside, CA 92521
951-827-4530
justinm at ucr.edu