LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB Fox 41)---Meeting with hundreds of Burmese refugees, U,S. Senator Mitch McConnell got right to the point when speaking about his recent trip.
"I thought they'd be interested in hearing my view of where we were with the reform. I do think there have been some important steps in the right direction. Long way to go, but a lot of progress has been made in the last year and a half," McConnell said.
Many of these refugees like Ka Waw spent years fleeing the Burmese government.
"I had to leave my village and come across to Thailand and be a refugee for fifteen years," says Ka Waw, who is living in Louisville.
Ka Waw says he still has family members in Burma, also known as Myanmar. They are known as "internally displaced persons" because they've been forced to flee their home.
"Just like my mother and father, they have to be IDP. They live in Burma, but they have to be IDP. They cannot go back to their village," says Ka Waw.
"The reason so many of the Karens are in refugees in Thailand is because they were being killed and harassed in their own country, and you can understand the level of skepticism. Is it really gonna change or not?, McConnell said.
Senator McConnell has consistently called for the release of Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and hundreds of political prisoners.
With this recently happening, the Republican Senate Minority Leader says the country is moving toward new reforms.
He's hoping an upcoming election will be a win for Suu Kyi, and for improving bilateral relations.
"She's there. Hopefully after April 1st she'll actually be in the government and able to pressure them from inside to continue down the path of reform," says McConnell.
"I hope that the city will improve and I hope that the cease-fire agreement with the Karen and the Burmese will go well," says Ka Waw.
Senator McConnell is recommending that international observers be allowed in Burma for the election on April 1st to make sure everything goes smoothly, and is fair.
He says the country still has a long way to go, before refugees can return home.
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