Myanmar refugees among high numbers of Asians, Hispanics settling in south Louisville neighborhood

Children originally from Myanmar gather Wednesday at the Americana Community Center in southern Louisville. From left are Hea Klay, Sein Myint, Hei Sher, Nay Kaw, Day Day Po, Sein Myint (no relation) and Pleh Reh. (By John Rott, The Courier-Journal) / cj

Sein Myint's heritage is Karen, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand. His taste in sports is pure Kentucky.

“Basketball is better,” the 9-year-old proclaimed during a debate over the merits of basketball and soccer.

Sein is among the hundreds of immigrants from Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, who have settled recently in parts of the Beechmont and Southside neighborhoods.

After recording no one from Myanmar in its 2000 count, U.S. Census Bureau data released today show that nearly half the city's 512 immigrants from Myanmar live in a neighborhood bounded by the Watterson Expressway, Southside Drive, Southland Boulevard and Strawberry Lane.

Welcome to Census Tract 56, home to the largest concentrations of Louisville's Asians and Hispanics — the two fastest-growing minority populations, according to the census data.

This part of southern Louisville has long been a destination for refugees resettled with help from social-service agencies. The nearby Americana center on Southside Drive serves people representing nearly 80 nations and ethnic groups and provides summer and after-school programs for adults and their children.

Census counts of immigrants are often low because many may be suspicious of the questions and not respond. Catholic Charities and Kentucky Refugee Ministries have resettled more than 1,000 refugees from Myanmar in Louisville since 2000, according to data from the Kentucky Office of Refugees.

No other Louisville-area census tract comes close to having as many from Myanmar, with more than twice as many living near the Americana Community Center as in any other tract, the new figures show. Political and military turmoil in Myanmar in the past decade have led to a flood of refugees fleeing the country.

John Lazum said he left his native Myanmar in 2004 and spent six years in Malaysia before arriving in Louisville last year.

Lazum, who works for Catholic Charities, said he translates several times a week for people who speak the ethnic Kachin and Burmese languages.

Source : www.courier-journal.com