Burmese refugee center to close in Fort Wayne

October 25, 2010 (FORT WAYNE, Ind.) -- One of two refugee placement centers in Fort Wayne is closing as
the government is sending fewer Burmese refugees to the northeastern Indiana city.

After the World Relief Fort Wayne office opened less than two years ago, The Journal Gazette reports the
State Department limited placement to refugees who have parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren
or siblings already living in the city.

Burmese refugees have been fleeing Myanmar, also called Burma, for decades to escape its ruling military government. Since the 1990s, many have been sent to Fort Wayne.

Human-services agencies say Fort Wayne is now believed to have the largest concentration of Burmese
refugees in the U.S., estimated at more than 5,000.