Burmese excited for Suu Kyi visit

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE)--Fort Wayne houses the largest population of Burmese refugees in the country.  In the wake of the visit from the Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi, many in the Burmese community are anxiously awaiting what some call the most important thing since they’ve been in the United States.

When she was a young girl, Win Tun's family fled Burma to a refugee camp in Thailand.  At nine-years-old, they were admitted to the United States.  In 2006, they made it to Fort Wayne.

“We couldn't stay in Burma.  If you stay in Burma, somebody's going to kill us.  So we had to get out of there,” Tun said.  “My mom and dad know a lot of people here and we liked it here because we have Burmese people here.”

Many Burmese share similar stories around Fort Wayne.  Debbie Schmidt, executive director of Catholic Charities , said from 1991 to 2011, more than 2,700 Burmese refuges have been placed all across the city.  Not to mention, refugees placed elsewhere in the country deciding to move to Fort Wayne.

“People who were primary, resettled in another community and then moved with family and friends just like we would do,” Schmidt said.

Monday, there was a buzz across the refugee community, hence the sign in Tun's front yard welcoming Aung San Suu Kyi.

“It's the first time I've ever seen any political leader that comes here from our country.  I was really happy and like, ‘Oh, we've got to go see her. We've got to listen to what she's got to say,’” Tun said.

For many in Fort Wayne, it may be just another political figure.  But for Tun's family and others, the visit means so much more.      

“My parents always talked about her, so we have in our head, ‘Oh she's our leader.  She will do good thing for us,’” Tun said.  “My parents always put that in our head and I just want my kid to see who she is and she's going to make some changes, I hope.”

It's not just area Burmese refugees who are excited.  Tun, 19, said she knows family and friends who are coming from as far as Texas and Minnesota for Tuesday’s event.