My Name Is Banlang Phommasouvanh

I was born in Laos in ‘46/With a family of 8 kids/After school, when I came home/I would tutor my younger siblings I would babysit, my mom didn’t/Have to pay anybody/With chickens and pigs, so we could live/Didn’t have a lot of money/In a big family/My name is Banlang Phommasouvanh

From the mango, lychee, banana trees/From watching my mother/I learned to share and how to care/For my sisters and brothers/For one another/ My name is Banlang Phommasouvanh

I would walk a mile from my home/In dry and wet weather/To bring food to the monks/And to feed the poor stranger With a scholarship, I went to France/To get my degree/When I returned the war broke out/To become a refugee Lots of friends die/In the Mekong River crossing over/Into Thailand with my youngest/Daughter on my shoulder/In my arms I did hold her/ My name is Banlang Phommasouvanh

 Together we made it safely here/Not that long ago/From Thailand to America/Ten thousand miles from home Life is full of ups and downs/But with an education/I know you will survive/In any situation/With an education This is my song, this is my story/Never to lie, speak the truth only/Do not steal from anybody/Do not kill or hurt somebody/ My name is Banlang Phommasouvanh

I taught ESL to refugees. At the meantime, I helped recruiting students- Indochinese students- to become teachers. During Clinton’s era, the second term, before the second term, Miss Hillary came to Minnesota. I told her about the concerns of our refugees in our state. I helped Lao community set up Lao PTA to help Lao youth and parents to understand Americans’ education system.