BY STEVEN ROSS JOHNSON Staff Writer

ST. CHARLES -- It's Sunday afternoon at Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, 307 Cedar Ave., and while most of its halls and rooms have emptied since the morning's services, the building is anything but vacant.

A new service is about to begin down in the church's lower levels, as elderly parishioners slowly make their way inside while listening to the sounds of children singing in a nearby room.

For some, attending service each week means traveling by bus from places like Aurora, Wheaton, Glendale Heights and Joliet. 

For others, the commute is as simple as walking across the street.

No matter where they now live, each member of this congregation shares a common past. They crossed great distances and oceans to flee a homeland that has been engulfed in conflict for close to 60 years. 

All here are known as Karen, an ethnic group found mostly in the eastern region of Burma that has fought for an independent state since 1949. 

This fight for independence has led to the displacement of roughly 400,000 of Burma's 7 million Karen. Many reside in nine refugee camps in neighboring Thailand.

Most of the church's congregation has lived in the refugee camps the majority of their lives -- seeking escape from the decades-long fight between rebel groups and the Burmese military government.

This past year, all were granted asylum under the Federal Refugee Resettlement Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the State Department.

Those who pass a screening process, consisting of interviews and medical examinations, receive sponsorship from one of 10 recognized national agencies. These voluntary agencies help new arrivals acclimate to their surroundings.

Judson University Southeast Asian Culture and History Professor Angeline Naw, has worked with the group since its arrival. She said regular church services began last June when the number of Karen in the area began to increase. 

"... we only had one or two families arrive," she said, speaking about the number of families that were in the area as of November 2006. "But this year (2007) we've had around 50 families arrive all around the West Chicago area." 

With a congregation of about 80, Naw said the group was looking to become the first Karen church in Illinois where services are conducted entirely in the Karen language.

In 2007, approximately 12,000 Karen came to the U.S., living in more than 30 cities, according to statistics obtained from the Ohio-based, Karen Konnection, a Christian Karen refugee advocacy group. Of that number, they estimate around 600 have come to Illinois, with most residing in Chicago and Rockford.

Aside from allowing the group to hold its services each week, the church has housed a Karen family since 2006 in a home it owns across the street.

"We had church property that we had been renting out to the general public and one of the units became open, so we got together and decided to support a refugee family," said Ben Adams, a church member who has been involved with refugee programs for years. "Turns out our central location to the Karen community became an ideal spot for them to go ahead and have a church service."

Leading the group is the church's minister, Han Nay Thaw, a Karen refugee who arrived in the U.S. with his family last September. 

He said he's found it difficult to explain to those unfamiliar with Burma's situation the problems the Karen people face.

"When I was in the refugee camp, I used to tell the foreigners about the situation in Burma, but people don't understand -- they do not believe it," Thaw said. 

International human rights groups have reported alleged human rights violations by the Burmese military against the Karen over the years, including acts of rape, killing and the burning of villages by soldiers.

Others have noted the government's refusal to build schools or hospitals in the Karen region.

As church service comes to a close, Thaw tells the congregation what his expectations were when he first arrived in the U.S., and how things have changed.

He smiled as he said he once dreamt of becoming an educator. He now focuses on simply supporting his family and building up the church.

He thought just making it to this country was enough. But even miles and a world away from the refugee camp he was forced to call home for 24 years, he soon realized there were challenges yet to overcome.