Surviving the Killing Fields

The “original” refugees who came to Blount County are, back, from left, Chhay Uy, Ngy Uy, Phek Uy, Eang Tang and Heang Uy; and front, from left, Kim Sal and Bottra. (All Photos by Jolanda Jansma)
Wearing their reunion T-shirts -- From the Mekong River to the Tennessee River, 1979-2010 -- the Uy and Tang extended families enjoy catching up with their Maryville families who sponsored them to come to the U.S. more than 30 years ago.
Lloyd and Patricia Smith sponsored the original family from Cambodia, giving them a home in Maryville and opening the door for other family to get a fresh start in the United States.
Jazmine Garcia, left, and Randon Garcia smile for a photograph at a reunion of their families with the Maryville families that helped their kin escape from Cambodia.

Cambodian families remember kinships that brought them out of danger

September 15, 2010
By Sarah Herron
Blount Today (Maryville, Tennessee, USA)
From a distance, it looked like just another family reunion.

There were tables of homemade food and matching T-shirts. People were catching up and remembering the past. This reunion, however, was anything but typical.

On Aug. 28, in the pavilion next to Betty Nell and Charlie Headricks’ house at Royal Oaks, the food was a mix of Asian and Southern staples.

The guests’ T-shirts read: “From the Mekong River to the Tennessee River, 1979-2010.” Their memories were of a journey from one river to another, and the almost 30 years of kinship that followed.