601 are added to melting pot
Ceremony largest in state's history
They came to the United States from dozens of countries,
their routes as varied as their native languages.
Some fled war, while others escaped oppressive regimes or
sought greater opportunities.
Yesterday morning, 601 people stood together at the Kentucky Center, raised
their right hands and spoke in one language, taking an oath of allegiance as
American citizens.
It was the largest naturalization ceremony in Kentucky
history, according to federal officials, as immigrants from 75 countries became
citizens during an event marking the start of the WorldFest downtown.
"It's a big step, you know," said Sergio Estrada, who
left Cuba five years ago. "A real part of this society is becoming an American."
For Estrada, an electrical engineer in Cuba who worked as
a carpenter in Louisville while taking night classes to learn English, becoming
a citizen means he'll be able to vote.
"I want to be part of this in November. Definitely," said
Estrada, now a real estate agent.
The new citizens are diverse, from Armenia to Vietnam to
Belgium to Uzbekistan. Some came from the small African nation of Togo, which at
5.7 million people is about the size of Tennessee. Others came from much larger
countries like Brazil -- population 190 million.
To be considered for citizenship, immigrants must have
lived legally in the United States for at least five years, be able to read,
write and speak English, display an understanding of American history and
government and agree with the tenets of the Constitution.
At least 10 of those who became citizens yesterday have
served in the U.S. armed forces in foreign conflicts. U.S. District Judge Edward
H. Johnstone, who presided over the ceremony at Whitney Hall, asked the military
members to stand and thanked them.
"This country is grateful for your service. We recognize
you now," Johnstone said. "We will never forget what you have already done."
U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, D-3rd District, told the new
citizens about meeting a woman from Eastern Europe at last year's WorldFest
naturalization ceremony. She was so overcome with emotion, Yarmuth said, that
she couldn't speak and instead expressed herself by placing her hand over her
heart.
Yarmuth said the moment has stayed with him.
"Unfortunately, too many of us forget how great a thing
it is to be a citizen of this country," Yarmuth said. "And it is through people
like you and your determination and your perseverance and your respect for this
country that we gain respect again for our own."
Daniel Kuol knows what it means to persevere. Kuol said
he arrived in Louisville six years and 21 days ago after an odyssey in which he
walked from his native Sudan to Ethiopia to escape the Sudanese civil war. After
living in Kenya for nine years, he moved to Louisville in 2001.
"It's a great day for me today," he said.
Before filing in to Whitney Hall, the immigrants
surrendered their "green cards," which had given them permanent residence, and
received copies of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
They also received small American flags, which were waved
throughout the ceremony.
Jenny Flores, a nursing student from the Philippines who
lives in Brandenburg, summed up the sentiment shared by several new citizens.
"It's a wonderful wait and it's been something that I've
been looking forward to," she said.
Most of the new citizens are from Bosnia and Herzegovina,
part of the former Yugoslavia ravaged by ethnic wars in the mid-1990s. They
numbered more than 100. Vietnam and Cuba had the next highest number of new
citizens with about 25 each, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services.
Muris Hrnjic, a machine operator who has been in
Louisville for about seven years after leaving Bosnia, said becoming a citizen
is a milestone that will give him new opportunities.
"It happens one time in your life," he said.
Reporter Marcus Green can be reached at (502) 582-4675.
