Photo by TREVOR KAPRALOS The first Karen family from Burma to arrive in Utica was the Win Family. Members of the family include, from left, Kaw Soe, Naw Win May, and three daughters who live in Utica, Esther, 17, Christina, 15, and Tabetha, 18. The couple has four other children, who no longer live in Utica. They are members of the Karen ethnicity, one of the minority groups in the country.

Prayers for home answered

By KELLY HASSETT
Observer-Dispatch

Kaw Soe Win had high hopes for his family’s new life in America.

He fled Burma with his wife, Naw Win May, and seven children. They arrived in America in 1999 with nothing except a desire for freedom and a better life.

Now he works for ConMed Corp., his children are in school and the work force, and soon the family will be moving into a Habitat for Humanity house.

"As a Christian, we have prayed to have a house provided for us," Win says. "We can’t pay to buy an expensive one."

Myanmar, formerly Burma, became the scene of turmoil in the late 1980s, when a military government took over. Many residents subsequently fled the country to avoid persecution.

Win knows the opportunities his children have now in America and marvels at his family’s good fortune.

"Here we are free from fear and far from persecution," he says.