Secret training video for Thai security force: How to recognize the MIB "Men In Black"

In case the Thai security force does not know what the MIB look like, here is a secret training video for them:

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Thai] Security tightened over rumours of assassination plots [on Abishit by assasins trained in Cambodia]

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September 17, 2010
The Nation

A group of men, reportedly living in a condominium near the prime minister's home, are being watched closely, deputy secretarygeneral to the PM Panitan Wattanayagorn said yesterday. Meanwhile, Deputy PM Suthep Thaugsuban, suggested that these men might be linked to the "men in black" behind the April 10 clashes.

Police are also keeping a close eye on a weapons expert from Cambodia, who might instigate violence during the redshirt rally on Sunday.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Santhan Chayanont had previously claimed that a group of "men in black", trained for combat in Cambodia, were staking out Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's residence from a condominium nearby. This has prompted the beefing up of security for the PM as well as 50 VIPs, as police monitor people coming in and out of highrises, he said.

While telling the public not to panic, Panitan said yesterday that the police had been watching the PM's house for a few months now and noticed dubious men taking turns entering a condominium nearby. However, the police have not taken any action because the men had not done anything wrong so far. Also, they have not checked the condominium because it is private property, he said.

Admitting that reports claim this group was comprised of "experts" reportedly preparing for something, he said whether or not they are successful would depend wholly on security measures taken. However, he wouldn't say if there were any plans to relocate Abhisit.

Meanwhile, Abhisit said yesterday that he was being careful but added he was not that worried about being "watched" by the so-called "men in black". He said such reports came up occasionally, but the police provided him with good security.

In related news, Suthep told the press yesterday that Bangkok police was ready for the red shirt rally from Friday to Sunday, adding protesters were not allowed to block roads or use amplifiers.

Asked whether VIPs, including Abhisit and Suthep himself, should be moving to safe houses amid rumours of assassination plans, the deputy PM said there was no need.

As for the "men in black", he said, they first emerged on the night of April 10 and became known as an armed group that killed the general public and officials. He said that though the media called this group that allegedly carried out terrorist attacks and plotted assassinations the "men in black", nobody knew what colour they were wearing this time.

He added that following claims of there being plots to assassinate the PM, he had told security officials to check the neighbourhood for spots where the attacks might be launched. However, he said the officials must have moved so loudly that the suspects have already fled.

Meanwhile, former deputy permanent secretary for Defence, Admiral Bannawit Kengrien said he too had heard about the so-called assassination plot and that a large number of Cambodian warriors of Vietnamese descent, who had undergone military training and were great snipers, had been brought in to do the job.

He said this was in line with news about the chaos that is expected to bubble up by the end of this month. However, Bannawit said he didn't think this rumour had anything to do with the socalled "men in black" renting a condominium near Abhisit's home because these imported warriors keep moving around to avoid detection.

"Although I often criticise this government, I must warn the premier about the reports of an assassination plot against him. If he were harmed, the country's image would be ruined," he said.

Bannawit also said he did not know if former premier Thaksin Shinawatra was linked to this plot and that it was the government's job to investigate.

Meanwhile, emergency police chief Pol Maj General Thanapol Sonthes said reports about "men in black" plotting the assassination of VIPs had been filed since April, when the red shirts were rallying at the Rajprasong intersection. He added that all VIPs, especially the premier, were being provided with maximum security. He said a "trainer" from Cambodia was keeping a low profile in Thailand but the police knew his name and whereabouts, and were keeping an eye on him.

A team of 450 police officers had been given the job of guarding the upcoming rally, and initial investigation has not revealed any signs of the protest being prolonged or becoming violent, Metropolitan Police Area 5 chief Pol MajGeneral Anuchai Lekbumrung said.

Meanwhile, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration deputy governor Theerachon Manomaipibul yesterday presided over the launch of the "citizens' watch for danger" campaign, which runs until Monday. The campaign urges Bangkok residents to keep an eye out for signs of crime, terrorism and other disasters, and is handing out handbooks at Pathum Wan intersection as well as at Siam and National Stadium Skytrain stations.

Theerachon said city officials were also working with police to guard 40 key locations, especially VIP residences as well as subway and Skytrain stations.

Corrections Department chief Chatchai Suthiklom said yesterday that he had notified the directors of some 100 prisons nationwide to be on alert because from 10am today, the red shirts were going to lay roses in front of prisons holding their comrades. "Though we believe that there will be no violence, we have to be prepared," he said.

Currently, 252 redshirt protesters are being detained in 17 prisons across the country, Chatchai said.

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Cambodia rejects Thai information on plan by Cambodian "MIB (Man In Black)" of Viet origin to assassinate Thai PM

Club of MIB (Men In Black)?

18 Sept 2010
Rasmei Kampuchea
Translated from Khmer by Komping Puoy

A high-ranking Cambodian official categorically denied information published by a group of Thai officials indicating that there are men in black trained in Cambodia to create turmoil in Bangkok. This alleged group of men is composed of Cambodians fighters of Vietnamese origin who are classified as “Dac Cong” or the group of cross border suicide attackers from Cambodia traveling to Bangkok to attempt to assassinate Abhisit Vejjajiva, the Thai PM.

On 17 September 2010, Tith Sothea, a government advisor and mouthpiece of the Press and Quick Reaction Unit (PQRU) of the Council of Ministers, considered this news as baseless fabrication which Thai officials use in an attempt to link unrest in Thailand to Cambodia.

Tith Sothea added that there is no reason for Cambodia to provide training ground to oppose other countries and Cambodia does not hide any force inside its territories with the aim of conducting assassination attempt on the Thai PM as claimed by this group of Thai officials. Furthermore, due to this baseless accusation leveled by the Thai officials, Cambodia must demand that the Thai government brings out an urgent correction to this issue because it could affect the planned meeting between the PMs from the two countries during the US-ASEAN meeting which will be held on 24 September 2010 in the US.

Nevertheless, Tith Sothea pointed out that Cambodia never authorized any foreign military presence on its territories, nor does it allow any Cambodian military bases overseas with the exception of peacekeeping missions requested by the UN. However, Cambodia still reserves the right to accept military aid and training in order to protect its territorial integrity.

Tith Sothea’s reaction came immediately Panitan Wattanayagorn, the deputy secretary of the Thai PM cabinet, said on Thursday that there is a group of men reportedly living in a building near Abhisit Vejjajiva’s house and who are being closely watched by the Thai police.

At the same time, Suthep Thaugsuban, the Thai deputy-PM, also said that these men could be linked to the “men in black” behind the April 10 clashes in Bangkok.

Click here to read The Nation’s report on this issue of “Men In Black”

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[Khmer] Temples of delight in Thailand

Wat's up? ... Buddhist monks outside the main shrine at the Khmer temple at Phimai, Thailand. Photograph: Getty
Making a splash … Tok Haew Narok waterfall. Photograph: Alamy

There are no full moon parties in Isaan, perhaps Thailands' least touristy region. Instead you'll find sleepy villages, Khmer architecture, and a boutique hotel right on the Mekong

Saturday 18 September 2010
Chris Coplans
The Guardian (UK)

After hacking through undergrowth for a couple of hours, we emerged sweaty, muddy and bedraggled at the 25m-high Tok Haew Narok falls, which (please excuse yet another reference to The Beach in a Thailand article) are the ones Leonardo DiCaprio leapt from in the film. We scrambled down to swim in the turquoise pool below it.

My guide – called Apple – and I were following a challenging 8km trail through the Khao Yai national park, a huge tract of monsoon forest and a Unesco world heritage site two hours north of Bangkok. On the western edge of the Isaan region, it is home to tigers, bears, leopards, deer, gibbons, hornbills and elephants.

The Isaan region covers a huge swathe of north-east Thailand stretching to the Mekong river, Laos and Cambodia. It is the country's least visited area – as close to the "old Thailand" as you can get, and a welcome change from the tour group- and backpacker-choked northern destinations of Chiang Mai and the Golden Triangle.

Boutique hotels are few and far between, a steaming broth of noodle soup replaces the banana pancake breakfast, and pedicabs rather than taxis or tuk-tuks are the main mode of transport. I encountered sleepy, small rural towns that depend on farming, not tourism, despite the fact that this area is not only a stunning natural wilderness, but also full of fantastic Khmer temples.

Just like those in Cambodia (including Angkor Wat), the 182 Khmer sites in Isaan were built by the God Kings of Angkor, who at the height of their supremacy, from the ninth to the 13th century, extended their empire into Burma. Many of the finest examples of Khmer architecture are to be found on Issan's Khorat Plateau, clustered around Buriram, Surin and Khorat provinces. I explored many of them and, more often than not, I had them pretty much to myself.

The jewel in the crown was undoubtedly Phimai, 60 miles north-east of Khorat, less than three hours from Bangkok. The temple complex is right in the heart of the otherwise humdrum little town of Phimai, and entering it is like walking into a secret, mythical garden. The whole complex is dominated by an exquisite prang (tower), the iconic corn-on-the-cob-like Khmer structure – in fact, some claim that Angkor Wat was modelled on Phimai.

Apple and I sat, cocooned in a soporific tropical haze, transfixed, as the sandstone of the temple absorbed the last rays of the weakening sun, and were joined by a group of novice monks in saffron robes, who imparted spiritual wisdom about Lampard and Rooney.

The next morning we were up at dawn for a two-hour drive east across the flat, dusty landscape of the Khorat Plateau to another great Thai Khmer monument, Phanom Rung. Although Isaan is a vast region, distances between the Khmer temples are short, and all the main sites can be seen in a couple of days.

Phanom Rung is perched atop an extinct volcano, with panoramic views of the surrounding plain, and I climbed up steps worn down by centuries of visiting Buddhist pilgrims to a promenade overlooking the exquisite sandstone tower of the main temple, with its labyrinth of hidden chambers.

A few miles on was the Meuang Tam complex, based on the design of Angkor Wat, but with four L-shaped ponds covered with colourful lotus flowers.

I ventured east next, towards the Mekong valley, into rural landscapes full of paddy fields broken up by palm trees – Thailand is the world's largest rice exporter and much of the crop is grown in Isaan.

Isaan hot is a different kettle of spice from regular Thai hot as I found out when I ordered larb moo (minced pork salad) in a small roadside restaurant.

Several hours later we had made it to Khong Jiam, a somnolent river town, beautifully located on a peninsula where the blue waters of the river Mun are overwhelmed by the bubbling chocolate that is the Mekong. After staying in many basic rural lodges during our journey, I was overjoyed to find a boutique hotel here, the Tohsang Khong Jiam, right on the bank of the Mekong, with enchanting views of the mountains of Laos on the other side.

Leaving Kong Jiam to head back to Bangkok, we stumbled upon Wat Tham Khuha Sawan, which overlooks the town and the river. In complete contrast to the bewitching Khmer temples, this modern temple, built in 1978, has a surreal theme park feel to it, with a mish-mash of flamboyant architectural styles. A huge elephant protects the Buddha images below, and the main stupa's golden spires wink conspiratorially in the dazzling light. There is a dreamlike bell tower, topped with fierce nagas (mythical serpent deities) and golden spires. In Isaan, always prepare for the unexpected.

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CWS: 'Clean Water Scarce in Rural Cambodia'

Church World Service
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Water as human right hasn’t reached rural Cambodia, CWS tells Geneva consultation

GENEVA, Switzerland –Sept. 17, 2010 -- Cambodia has made strides over the past two decades in providing clean water and sanitation to its urban areas. But those gains have yet to reach the majority of rural Cambodians, according to Cambodian humanitarian agency water program specialist Mao Sophal.

Sophal, senior staff member for Church World Service Cambodia, spoke on the issue of affordability of clean water and sanitation for Cambodia’s poorest, during a consultation earlier this week in Geneva between international civil society representatives and Catarina de Albuquerque, United Nations independent expert on issues of access to safe drinking water and sanitation as a human right.

Sophal and Agneta Dau Valler, Country Representative for CWS Vietnam and Cambodia, attended the consultation after last week’s World Water Week summit in Sweden, where this year’s Stockholm Industry Water Award was given to the Phnom Penh Water Supply authority for its achievement in providing water to nearly 90% of the city’s population.

“We applaud Cambodia’s advances in making clean water accessible to so many more people in Phnom Penh,” said Dau Valler. “However, the situation is still completely different in the countryside.”

In rural Cambodia -- where 80 percent of the country’s population resides -- UNICEF estimates that only 16 percent of people have access to adequate sanitation and 65 percent to safe water.

The overall lack of clean water and sanitation is costing Cambodia around half a billion dollars every year in poor health and loss of tourism.

But for clean water and sanitation to become a reality for all in Cambodia and the rest of the world’s poorest countries, water and sanitation infrastructure and management also have to be accessible and affordable to all, says CWS’s Sophal.

“There also has to be equal focus on civil society’s advocacy at government and world body levels and cooperative engagement with local and regional authorities,” she said.

Sophal was one of 19 civil society panelists from developing countries and from the U.S. selected from some 50 applicants to present at the Geneva consultation, based on their responses to de Albuquerque’s questionnaire on good practices in water, sanitation and human rights programs.

In her presentation, Sophal said that CWS has focused its sustainable development work in rural Cambodia in great part to align with the country’s stated rural water and sanitation strategy—that, by 2025, every person in rural communities will have “sustained access to safe water supply and sanitation services” and will be living in “a hygienic environment.”

Specifically, CWS aims to help the “poorest of the poor” in rural Cambodia.

To realize that goal, CWS had to develop a valid, consistent and inclusive method of “ranking wealth” among residents, so communities can identify who will receive clean water and sanitation facilities and training in the villages CWS serves in Svay Rieng, Kompong Thom and remote Preah Vihear Provinces.

Mao said the agency’s team follows the humanitarian “do no harm” approach, with a participatory appraisal process in each village that engages district and provincial authorities, village chiefs, commune development leaders and water user groups to establish their own criteria to identify residents as “poorest of the poor,” “poor” or “better-off poor.”

In one village, “better-off poor” families may be identified as having a wooden house with a zinc roof, a certain number of draft and livestock animals, a small amount of land, agricultural income sources, and just enough food to make it through the year, and “poorest of the poor” families as having no draft or livestock animals beyond a few poultry, no land, no income source beyond their own labor, living in a tiny cabin, and insufficient food seven to ten months of the year.

Families selected for assistance receive priority facilities such as upgraded wells, latrines, or bio-sand water filters for safe drinking water.

To promote ownership, CWS said the Cambodian beneficiaries contribute labor and resources as possible and appropriate to their situations. The program also provides water and sanitation resources for health centers, commune offices and primary schools.

Sophal said the CWS approach requires a lot of NGO staff time and energy, but the benefits have been significant. Communities served now experience less water-borne disease, rarely have diarrhea, and households, schools and community centers have improved sanitation and hygiene. With community guidance, households are assisted in growing and maintaining productive home gardens for better food supply and income-generation.

She said the process promotes the human right to water and sanitation among community members and authorities, promotes community solidarity, accountability and honesty, and empowers women in decision-making.

On July 28, the UN General Assembly approved an historic non-binding resolution recognizing "the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right.” On Monday, de Albuquerque told the Geneva civil society gathering that her mandate from the UN is to clarify the content of human rights obligations related to access to safe drinking water and sanitation and to make recommendations that could help reach Millennium Development Goals, particularly the goal relating to safe water and sanitation.

The UN water expert has held related consultations with governments, private sector leaders and other stakeholders.

Worldwide, an estimated 884 million people lack access to safe drinking water, more than 2.6 billion people do not have access to basic sanitation, and some 1.5 million children under the age of five die each year from water- and sanitation-related diseases.

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Lesley Crosson, (212) 870-2676 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (212) 870-2676 end_of_the_skype_highlighting, media@churchworldservice.org
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Khmer Rouge Tribunal indictment after 31 years

This combination shows file photos of four top surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime. From left to right: Nuon Chea, 84, the group's ideologist; former head of state and public face of the regime, Khieu Samphan, 79; former Foreign Minister Ieng Sary; and his wife Ieng Thirith, ex-minister for social affairs, both in their 80s. Photo: AP

Phnom Penh, September 18, 2010
Parvathi Menon
The Hindu

The indictment pronounced by the Co-Investigation judges of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal against former Khmer Rouge leaders comes 31 years after the fall of the regime, and 12 years after its military and political structures were finally dismantled

The indictment pronounced by the Co-Investigation judges of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal against former Khmer Rouge head of state Khieu Samphan, Foreign Minister leng Sary, Social Action minister Ieng Thirith (wife of Ieng Sary and sister-in-law of Pol Pot), and Nuon Chea (known as Brother No. 2 in the Khmer Rouge hierarchy) comes 31 years after the fall of the regime, and 12 years after its military and political structures were finally dismantled. Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, the notorious head of the S-21 prison was tried and convicted separately by the Tribunal on 26 July 2010.

Their crimes include extermination, murder, enslavement, deportation (of Vietnamese people), imprisonment, torture and persecution on political, racial and religious grounds, rape, and other inhumane acts. According to the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) between 1.7 and 2.2 million people died under the Khmer Rouge regime, and around 800,000 of these were violent deaths.

It is a phase of Cambodian history that has passed an entire generation of young Cambodians by. They know of it only through their parents, and memorials like the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh where the chilling history of that period is brought to life. The innocuous school building in which classrooms became torture chambers, and where 17,000 Cambodians were killed, is today a place where that past is relived.

“There are mixed feeling towards this trial,” said a judge from the Asian region who is on the Supreme Court Chamber of the Tribunal, known as the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia for the Prosecution of Crimes Committed during the Period of Democratic Kampuchea. “Some people want justice, others do not want to rekindle the past. The procedures followed by the Tribunal is based on the French legal system which makes it very slow, and will prosecute only the “most guilty”.”

Unforgettable mental trauma

Kay Kimsong, Editor-in-Chief of the Phnom Penh Post dismisses the view that time has erased collective memory. “There is a great deal of public and media interest in the cases,” he said. “Justice may be delayed but this trial is very important for the Cambodian people. Many young people cannot believe what their parents tell them, but here is documentation and evidence, here is Duch confessing to his crimes. My parents and everyone in their generation lost one or more family members, everyone suffered acute mental trauma. They can never forget.”

The ECCC was established in 2001 by a law passed by the Cambodian National Assembly. On Cambodia’s request, the United Nations agreed to participate, and the ECCC became fully functional in 2007. The five-tier tribunal has both national and international prosecutors and judges.

The ECCC is only prosecuting the top leaders of the Khmer Rouge, those who planned and gave orders and who are guilty of the most serious crimes. Of this group, Pol Pot and Ta Mok are dead, and the rest are old and frail.

The court’s second trial is likely to take place in the first half of next year, giving rise to fears that the accused may not survive that long. “Cambodians want the courts to move faster,” said Mr. Kimsong. “The prisoners have been getting excellent treatment and good medical care in custody. We want to hear them speak and defend themselves, we want to know what went on behind the scenes.”

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Social Enterprise Helps Cambodian Teens Kick Drug Addiction

Saturday, September 18, 2010
JustMeans.com

A social enterprise in Cambodia is promoting fair trade practices while helping recovering drug addicts overcome their afflictions. Justees, a portmanteau of "just" and "tees", is providing young men with jobs printing t-shirts that display positive messages. The organization also gives its staff the flexibility to continue their schooling. Justees emphasizes the value of hard work and is committed to operating as a self-funding project; it encourages its staff to take ownership in the success or failure of the project. The shirts are sold in Cambodia and in other countries worldwide.

Cambodia, a country where 36 per cent of a population of 14.2 million live below the poverty line, is a high-volume trafficking point for narcotics, especially heroin and methamphetamine. Drug addiction in Cambodia is compounded by the growing risk of HIV infection. In Phnom Penh, 35.1 percent of injecting drug users were found to be HIV positive in 2007, according to statistics from the National Authority for Combating Drugs.

Cambodia has just begun to acknowledge the seriousness of its drug problem. On Wednesday, the country opened its first methadone treatment centers in Phnom Penh in an effort to help heroine users. This approach starkly contrasts with anti-drug strategies pursued in the past. Reports of electric shocks, beatings, rapes, forced labor and forced donations of blood have been reported in Cambodia's drug detention centers.

Justees is doing its part to help fight Cambodia's drug problem. According to the website, "Justees began out of a fusion of compassion for young men suffering from the crippling effects of growing up in poverty, a concern for justice, and an interest in creative expression, in particular through screen-printing." The project is still small, employing seven ex-drug users between the ages of 15 and 17. These teens are paid fair wages and work with a Cambodian project assistant who serves as a mentor.

The t-shirts feature socially progressive messages in English. Slogans such as "Earth provides enough to satisfy everyone's need but not everyone's greed!" and "Moaning doesn't help - you do!" adorn the front the t-shirts. Justees are also available for contract screen-printing for clubs, churches, sports teams, NGOs or other groups. Justees also encourages those interested to contact them to learn how to get involved. You can even submit t-shirt designs.

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If you live in Long Beach or LA, you may want to know this

For orientation purposes, the above Google Earth map shows the Southern California coastline along with the location of the City of Los Angeles, the City of Long Beach and the City of San Diego. Please note the peculiar shape of the coastline near the City of Long Beach (Click on the map to zoom in)



3-D Simulation Predicts LA Will Bear Brunt of the 'Big One'.

Wed Sep 15, 2010
Analysis by Michael Reilly
Discovery News (USA)

Any time there's a magnitude 8.0 earthquake, you'd expect a nearby city to get walloped. But according to a brand new simulation of what would happen if the "Big One" hit the San Andreas fault in southern California, the shaking would be particularly severe and last much longer in Los Angeles than in other parts of the region.

Using the world's fastest supercomputer, Thomas Jordan of the University of Southern California and a team of researchers simulated how the ground would shake throughout Southern California and into Mexico in the event of a magnitude 8.0 earthquake centered northwest of Los Angeles.

The team found that the ground beneath the city shakes harder and longer than surrounding areas, likely because of soil effects that amplify seismic waves. This means that buildings in L.A. have to put up with much more punishment.

As the above news report from KTLA mentions, this result is doubly interesting because scientists recently found evidence that big earthquakes on the southern part of the San Andreas happen far more often than anyone thought:

They found that strong earthquakes -- between 6.5 and 7.9 magnitude -- shook the area every 45-144 years, instead of the previously established 250-400 years.

Since the last big 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck southern California in 1857, or 153 years ago, scientists believe the next "Big One" could happen at any time.

The scientists on Friday provided an abstract of their study, which will be published in full in the September 1 issue of the magazine Geology.

"What we know is for the last 700 years, earthquakes on the southern San Andreas fault have been much more frequent than everyone thought," said the study's lead author Sinan Akciz.

This doesn't mean that a powerful earthquake is imminent; scientists cannot predict earthquakes. What it does mean is that anyone living in southern California should make sure they have an emergency plan and supplies in place in case the unthinkable -- but certainly possible -- happens.

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Out But Not Down, Cambodian Candidate Vows to Press On

Meas Sam, a Cambodian-American making a run for the US House of Representatives. (Photo: VOA, Khmer)

Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer
Washington, D.C Friday, 17 September 2010

“I'll continue involvement in politics because I want to represent our community, especially the Cambodians. I want progress and unity within the Cambodian community. I want them to exercise their rights, which start with going to vote, because there are a lot of us in the US, but most don't vote. That's why we don't get what we want. We don't benefit much.”

Meas Sam, a Cambodian-American making a run for the US House of Representatives, saw his campaign come to an end in Tuesday's primary election, but he says that won't stop his engagement in politics.

A former refugee who was entering politics for the first time, Meas Sam lost to Jon Golnik for the Republican nomination in Massachusetts' fifth district.

“I'll continue involvement in politics because I want to represent our community, especially the Cambodians,” he told VOA Khmer after the defeat. “I want progress and unity within the Cambodian community. I want them to exercise their rights, which start with going to vote, because there are a lot of us in the US, but most don't vote. That's why we don't get what we want. We don't benefit much.”

Sam Meas received substantive support in his congressional bid, placing second, above two other candidates from his Republican party. He won in four out of 29 towns, including Lowell, where a sizable population of Cambodians lives.

He'd campaigned on a platform of job creation for Cambodian-Americans and putting a halt to the deportation of Cambodians under a US immigration law, earning 7,588 votes—26 percent—to Golnik's 11,377.

“This time he was not successful, but he is still young and active,” said Khut Khaoly, a Lowell resident who voted for Sam Meas. “If he continues patiently, the next time he will received more votes and win the election.”

Sam Meas said his next move will be to help encourage Cambodians to run for town councils and school committees.

“Sam has set a good example for our people in America,” said Yap Kimtung, president of the group Cambodian Americans for Human Rights and Democracy. “If there is a candidate, we the Cambodians should contribute our funds so that they can win the election.”

Golnik will battle Democratic incumbent Niki Tsongas in November's mid-term election.

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Germany assists in flood control in Cambodia

September 17, 2010
Xinhua

Germany has provided assistance to Cambodia for flood control system project that will benefit about 700 households with approximately 3,500 farmers and their livestock, according to a statement released by German Embassy on Friday.

The statement said the project was just completed and the hand- over ceremony of the flood control system built in the three districts in Kandal and Prey Veng Provinces, located about 65 kilometers southeast of Phnom Penh, was organized on Friday.

It said that the newly constructed Safety Areas, 900 to 2000 square meters in size, consist of sufficiently raised foundations (several meters above the respective highest flooding levels of the severe flooding in the year 2000), equipped with latrines and drinking water supply facilities.

The assistance was made available after it has learned that severe flooding, as recently witnessed in Pakistan and China, poses substantial threats for human lives.

Flooding also occurs frequently along the Mekong River, and based on requests from the respective district governors, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) - under its Flood Management and Mitigation Program (FMMP) - constructed five Safety Areas in the three districts.

The activities have been financially supported by the German Government and implemented by GTZ (German Technical Cooperation Agency).

Following the year 2000 flood in Cambodia, safety area identification and management by the provincial and district authorities became one of the important flood preparedness activities for evacuation and temporary shelter for flood affected people and their livestock.

The statement said the project costs of the five Safety Area constructions were approximately 20,000 U.S. dollar in total, and the beneficiaries are almost 700 households with approx. 3500 farmers and their livestock, who will be able to evacuate with their belongings to those Safety Areas in times of severe flooding.

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Thailand, Cambodia look beyond Thaksin

(Photo: Reuters)

Sep 18, 2010
By James O'Toole
Asia Times Online

PHNOM PENH - Former Thai premier and fugitive from justice Thaksin Shinawatra's arrival on his private jet in Phnom Penh last year was broadcast live on local television, the climax of weeks of diplomatic intrigue that brought relations between Thailand and Cambodia to their lowest point in years.

Arriving nominally as an economics adviser to the Cambodian government, the ousted leader served mainly as a pawn in a spat between Bangkok and Phnom Penh that saw the countries withdraw their respective ambassadors and engage in an unflattering war of words over the next several months.

The abrupt announcement of Thaksin's "resignation" from his post last month has been cause for rapprochement, with ambassadors returned to their posts and a meeting scheduled between Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and his Thai counterpart Abhisit Vejjajiva in New York next week.

Yet for all the pomp attached to Thaksin's comings and goings, the current rapprochement between Thailand and Cambodia can only steal the spotlight for so long from their more fundamental disagreement over their shared border. Ironically, Thaksin's advisory appointment caused significant economic harm for Cambodia.

In retaliation, Bangkok tore up a 2001 memorandum of understanding on joint development of a 26,000 square kilometer area in the Gulf of Thailand thought to contain significant oil and gas reserves. Cambodia's exports to Thailand plunged 50% year-on-year in the first six months of 2010, while many Thai investors have likely been dissuaded from investing in Cambodia in view of the acrimony between the countries.

Politically, though, Thaksin provided Hun Sen with a chance to ratchet up tensions with a traditional enemy and intensify his border rhetoric to a rather outlandish extent. "Do you dare to swear on magic that could break your neck, on a plane crash or a dissolution of the countries, that your soldiers did not invade Cambodia's territory?" Hun Sen said in a speech last year, apparently addressing Abhisit.

Tension over the border erupted in 2008 after the listing of Preah Vihear temple as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage site for Cambodia, as both sides laid claim to a 4.6-square-kilometer patch of land adjacent to the temple. The issue flared up again last month after a meeting of UNESCO's World Heritage committee in which Cambodia submitted management plans for the temple.

The countries are in the process of demarcating their border, but talks have been stalled since last year pending approval of the latest round of negotiations in the Thai parliament. Abhisit and his Democrat party-led government are under intense pressure from hardline elements of the nationalist "yellow shirt" movement not to give any ground in the territorial dispute, and a vote in the Thai parliament to approve the latest negotiations was again postponed last month, to the ire of Cambodian leaders.

Cambodia has been pressing aggressively to bring attention to the dispute, appealing to both the United Nations and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for assistance. ASEAN assistance was required, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said, to help avoid "large-scale armed conflict" along a frontier in which at least seven soldiers have been killed in periodic skirmishes since 2008.

These appeals have irked Thai officials, who have repeatedly stated their opposition to border talks in any forum but a bilateral one. The move to cut ties with Thaksin may be the latest element of Cambodia's border strategy, said Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights.

"It gives Cambodia the upper hand when the Thaksin issue has been played out," Ou Virak said, with the move allowing Phnom Penh to "separate the Preah Vihear conflict or tension from other kinds of issues".

Amid its diplomatic maneuvering, Cambodia is also bidding very publicly to upgrade its military capabilities at the border. This week, the government announced the purchase of dozens of T55 tanks and armored personnel carriers.

Meanwhile, in a bizarre bit of corporate charity that has drawn condemnation from rights groups, a local television station is collecting donations to help build reinforced concrete bunkers for combat troops at the border.

Carlyle Thayer, a professor at the Australian Defense Force Academy, said these efforts were largely "grandstanding" for the benefit of a domestic audience. "You can't take it at face value - there's no way that Cambodia is ever going to acquire the military power to take on Thailand in a conventional military conflict," Thayer said.

He said the militarization that Hun Sen has been pushing in relation to the border may be an effort to consolidate his support in the military, an institution that is the only conceivable counterweight to his near-absolute power. "It keeps the military on his side if you talk about an external threat or their importance," Thayer said.

For Thailand, the border dispute with Cambodia remains a key issue in a domestic political crisis that shows no sign of being resolved any time soon.

"The real reason that the border issue is a problem is not because Cambodia has these claims - the real reason the border issue is a problem is that the yellows accuse the reds [Thaksin supporters] of giving away a national asset," said Michael Montesano, a visiting fellow at Singapore's Institute for Southeast Asian Studies.
"The government doesn't want to have to deal with large-scale yellow-shirt demonstrations, and the lives of people in the government can be made very difficult and the lives of their families can be made very difficult if they are seen as somehow stepping back from the yellow cause."

Signs do, for the moment, point to a warming of relations. With the return of their ambassadors - absent for more than nine months - Cambodia and Thailand have now resumed full diplomatic ties, and Abhisit and Hun Sen are scheduled to meet again in October following their meeting in New York next week.

Montesano said Thaksin's "resignation" had in fact likely been brokered in secret talks between the two governments, with Bangkok perhaps hoping to get closer to apprehending red-shirt leaders known to be hiding out in Cambodia after the May 19 military crackdown on protests in Bangkok.

In a surprise move in early July, Cambodian authorities apprehended two Thais believed to be red-shirt supporters and suspected of involvement in a bomb attack on the headquarters of Bhum Jai Thai, the second-largest party in Abhisit's ruling coalition. Phnom Penh handed over the suspects to Thai authorities without a formal extradition request from Bangkok.

"This is to show the willingness of the government in fighting terrorism," Koy Kuong, Cambodia's Foreign Ministry spokesman, said after their arrests.

At the very least, Thaksin's departure has given Hun Sen and Abhisit the political cover to hold talks on economic issues and other obvious common interests. The border dispute continues to loom large in their relationship, however, and for the moment, appears indifferent to external developments.

Just one day after Thaksin's resignation was announced, the Cambodian government's Press and Quick Reaction Unit (PQRU) issued a statement accusing Abhisit of becoming "an accomplice and a sponsor of criminal-prone activity" by the yellow shirts.

"Once again, the [PQRU] urges Thai political figures to put an end to the malicious campaign of innuendo, suggestion and speculation to fault Cambodia by raising the issue of the Temple of Preah Vihear," the statement read.

James O'Toole is a Phnom Penh-based journalist.

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"Tolakar Avuth Praha Yaang Sahav" a Poem in Khmer by Sam Vichea

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The Killing Fields and Indonesia's Relations with Cambodia Revisited

Dr. Benny Widyono with Prime Minister Hun Sen who after the clash in 1997 continued to consolidate his power until today 2010.
Benny eventually represented the U.N. Secretary General in Cambodia after the Killing Fields in which about two million Cambodians perished
In his capacity of UNTAC Governor, Benny inspected U.N. forces in Cambodia.
Benny Widyono, Mrs. Bintari Sudarpo, King Norodom Sihanouk, Queen Monineath,
with Indonesian Ambassador Taufik Sudarpo, and Benny's wife Francisca.
Benny sits on the Board position of an NGO running slum area schools in Phnom Penh
founded one of his former staffers honored as a CNN hero for her work with children.

September 16, 2010
Jim Luce
The Huffington Post (USA)

I first met Benny Widyono at an Indonesian Consulate fete years ago. I knew upon meeting him that he had an extraordinary mind and knew Asia's southeast as well as he knew this nation's northeast. Living in Connecticut and commuting to his office at the U.N. for decades - when he wasn't living in Phnom Phen, clued me into that reality. I told him if he ever wrote his memoirs I wanted to read them. Sure enough, they arrived by post last week. And they are riveting.

The book Dancing in Shadows: Sihanouk, the Khmer Rouge, and the United Nations in Cambodia has just been published. It is excellent. I had planned to read it next month, but I could not put it down. It is well written, engaging, and highly informative. I now understand so much more of Cambodia's Cold-War history and how it led to the Killing Fields in which about two million Cambodians perished. Google reviewers have given this excellent book 4.5 stars.

Dr. Benny Widyono was born "Hong Lan Oei," but during the madness of the anti communist/anti-Chinese period in Indonesia that killed 800,000 suspected Communists including ethnic Chinese - also a result of the Cold War - his name was "nativized" under the Suharto regime. Indonesians were still not allowed to read or speak Chinese when I first arrived there in 1995. Thus, my struggle to adopt an Indonesian Chinese infant then to get him away from there. However, today normalcy has returned to the Republic and Chinese language and culture are no longer criminalized.

Benny is thus an excellent guide to post-colonial Cambodia. As a recipient of the title of Commandeur de L'Ordre Royal de Sahametrey in 2004, the highest title for civilians bestowed by H.M. King Sihanouk of Cambodia, Benny played an integral role working with the U.N. in the recovery from the death and destruction of Pol Pot in a way that a non-South East Asian could have. Another key player at the time was the Japanese head of United Nations in Cambodia, Yasushi Akashi.

Benny notes in his book the King's words to the Japanese head of the U.N. presence in Cambodia:

"I wish to thank you, Excellency Mr. Yasushi Akashi, for sending another prince from Java to help bring peace to Cambodia," quipped Norodom Sihanouk, the King of Cambodia, referring to me.

We were at the official inauguration of my office, the provincial headquarters of the U.N. Transitional Authority on Cambodia (UNTAC) in Siemreap, Cambodia in 1992, the U.N. Peacekeeping operation established to bring peace to Cambodia.

Prior to our arrival, Cambodia was, due to its political location, been for 20 years the subject of turmoil, civil war and Khmer Rouge induced genocide. To end the stalemate of Cambodia having two governments... the U.N. became the temporary government until elections could be held.

Yasushi Akashi was the head of UNTAC and therefore, temporarily, the head of the country. I was his "governor" of Siemreap Province, home of the world famous Angkor Wat temple.

Benny's life is fascinating because he was raised in Indonesia in a minority religion - Roman Catholicism - and yet he attended the most prestigious university there, the University of Indonesia in Jakarta. He went on to study economics in the University of Texas. His Ph.D. dissertation compared the role of petroleum in economic development in Mexico and Indonesia. One week after he graduated he was offered a position with the United Nations in Thailand, beginning his professional and personal odyssey.

In 1981, Benny was transferred back to New York to work on helping countries cope with multinational corporations. In his new capacity he writes of coming home late from New York City as now his work at the U.N. consisted of "going to endless cocktail parties to lobby with ambassadors and other diplomats of member states. Most of the work gets done in these parties."

At the U.N. cocktail parties, he notes ruefully, the poorer the country the more lavish its reception:

One day Ethiopia celebrated its tenth anniversary of the Marxist revolution in that country with unlimited shrimps and other delicacies and whiskey and wine flowing all evening while we see pictures on BBC TV of starving Ethiopians looking like corpses.

Another anomaly was that the Khmer Rouge ambassador, who was responsible for killing 1.7 million of its own people, would strut about shaking hands with everybody to lobby against that bad fellow Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Cambodia who de facto ruled the country since 1979, because the U.S. and China spearheaded a resolution in the U.N. to continue to recognize the Khmer Rouge instead of the People's Republic of Kampuchea.

It is this encounter with the Khmer Rouge ambassador, plus his experiences in Thailand where he had witnessed Cambodian refugees escape the Khmer Rouge atrocities and appear -- one by one -- from the jungle like emaciated corpses. These survivors reminded him of those in Ethiopia which made me decide to volunteer for Cambodian service for the U.N. I wrote about such survivors such as my good friend Ambassador Sichan Siv, whose story I have also told.

We all have this myth that we control our lives. Benny tells it as it is:

One day, in the restroom of my floor, the 31st floor of the United Nations, I stood next to Yasushi Akashi, who just became the head of UNTAC in Cambodia. I congratulated him and asked whether he can take me along to Cambodia. Knowing me well he said yes, you will be the governor of Siemreap Province., which has Angkor Wat and is the most Khmer Rouge invested province.

I said yes as I did not want to languish in some idyllic province on the beach where nothing happened. Thus the last five years I was transferred to Cambodia, where I was at the political forefront of the political turmoil in the tragedy of Cambodia. It turned out to be the best assignment and I found out that my real fascination was with politics which I watched first hand. It is like studying while getting paid at the same time.

Benny writes in his book that Akashi was right:

I got plenty of excitement and adventure in Siemreap where the Khmer Rouge murderers were ever present although at day time Hun Sen's People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK) reigned supreme in almost all the country.

Siemreap was attacked many times by the Khmer Rouge. Since it was too dangerous for wives to join their husbands my wife stayed in Connecticut although she came to visit me several times. Live was very primitive as the Hun Sen government was isolated by the U.N.

Danger was ever present and at night I could not sleep if I don't hear mortar fire as Hun Sen's troops were fighting the Khmer Rouge. One day Siemreap was attacked by 800 Khmer Rouge. I called my wife in Stamford from the only telephone at my headquarters. After a full day Hun Sen troops drove them away.

Soon he received a phone call from the powers that were in U.N. Headquarters in New York and he was appointed the political envoy of the Secretary-General Boutros Boutros Ghali in Cambodia.

Soon, his wife joined him full time. They were often invited, together with other ambassadors, to dinner with the King. He watched over dinners and diplomatic dispatches - and reported to his new boss Kofi Annan - that as Cambodia acquired two prime ministers who were former enemies, and with the "wily king pulling the string from behind the scene," he smelled trouble. Both sides clashed and in 1997 Hun Sen became the only prime minister. Benny then reached the age of 60 -- the mandatorily retirement age at the U.N. - and he moved back to the U.S. to teach at several universities including Cornell.

Benny has remained active with Cambodia and continues includes a board position with the Peoples Improvement Organization, an NGO running slum area schools in Phnom Penh now with 850 students who each day get lunch and education in English. These schools were founded one of his former staffers, Phymean Noun, who became a CNN hero in 2009 for her work with children.

I have been delighted to know Dr. Benny Widyono, born "Hong Lan Oei," as an outstanding Indonesian-American active with the United Nations in Cambodia and around the world. His compassion for all - especially children - has impressed me greatly. Above and beyond being a thought leader and global citizen, Benny has been able to share his gripping life in an exceptional book. I highly recommend it.

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Thailand plans to restore Ta Moan Thom temple, will Cambodia agree to this plan?

KI-Media note: As can be seen on the third photo below, the Bangkok Post reporter noted that a portion of the temple was damaged during Cambodia Civil War. For this situation to occur, it simply means that the temple was under Cambodian control during all this time and the current occupation of the temple by Thai troops is merely an aggression on Cambodian territories, is it not?

Small yet elegant Ta Muen Thom sanctuary in Surin’s Phanom Dong Rak district. Both Thailand and Cambodia have claimed ownership over the 13th century temple, which is on the overlapping border. An ownership dispute caused the Thai Fine Arts Department to abandon the site in 2001. PHOTO: SANITSUDA EKACHAI
CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE
✦ Ta Muen Tot chapel, built during the reign of King Jayavarman VII, on the Ta Muen complex. Also known as ‘arokhayasala’, the structure once served as a hospital.
✦ A ‘soam sutra’ drain, which siphoned sacred water during a Hindu ceremony from one of Ta Muen Thom chapels.
✦ Ta Muen chapel is a rest house for travellers. Like Ta Muen Tot, restoration on the Bayon-styled structure, is completed.
✦ This file photo shows a Thai military ranger standing guard at Ta Muen Thom temple. The site is open to visitors from both sides except when the border dispute heats up.
Traces of damage left behind from the Cambodian Civil War on Ta Muen Thom’s delicately carved sandstones.
Deputy Director-General of the Fine Arts Department Bovornvate Rungrujee hopes there is a chance to resume restoration work at the ancient site.

Thai-Cambodia impasse hinders restoration work

Archaeologists and historians hope an agreement over the long-standing border and ownership dispute can be reached so restoration work at Ta Muen Thom sanctuary can resume

16/09/2010
Bangkok Post

For some, Ta Muen Thom sanctuary in Surin's Phanom Dong Rak district is a testament of a shared heritage between Thailand and Cambodia. For others, however, it is an attestation of long-standing antagonism of the two rivalry neighbours.

Whatever it is, the monumental Khmer-styled sanctuary opposite Oddar Meanchey province in Cambodia has become one of the first casualties of territorial disputes between the two neighbouring countries, which each have aggressively claimed ownership over the ancient site located in the so-called Ta Muen complex, incorporating two other nearby ruins, Ta Muen Tot - also an overlapping site - and Ta Muen chapel.

The Thai Fine Arts Department registered the whole complex as a national archaeological site in 1935 and later began restoration work on the three ruins, which had sustained a great deal of damage from shells during the Cambodian Civil War. Ta Muen, which was an ancient rest house for travellers during the reign of King Jayavarman VII, and Ta Muen Tot, an arokhayasala (hospital) built in the same era, both received proper restoration. However, territory tensions forced the Thai Fine Arts Department to abandon the Ta Muen Thom sanctuary in 2001, leaving the restoration work incomplete, as advised by the security agencies and the Ministry of Foreign Ministry, in response to protests by Phnom Penh that argued the site was on Cambodian soil.

Both sides since then have deployed several units of armed rangers just a stone's throw away from the site, while the surrounding areas are known to be heavily landmine-infested.

Regretfully, the Preah Vihear dispute has aggravated border tensions, particularly at this ancient site, given the overlapping claims between both sides.

Yet the Ta Muen site _ about an hour's drive south of Surin town _ remains a tourist attraction for both Thais and Cambodians who are allowed access into the region to get a glimpse of the ancient beauty; the access would be closed to visitors only if tensions hit the red alert level. Tensions hit a peak earlier this year when a planned visit to the ancient temple by Cambodian strongman Hun Sen during his high-profile border tour, which almost resulted in a confrontation between the two sides.

The Fine Arts Department, meanwhile, is looking for the possibility to resume and complete the restoration work at Ta Muen Thom. This time, it hopes to invite Cambodia to join the restoration effort, if it is to truly happen.

Deputy Director-General of the Fine Arts Department Bovornvate Rungrujee, who led a group of judges and justice personnel on a visit to the ancient site earlier this month, said the half-restored sanctuary has evidently deteriorated, with a number of sandstone blocks crumbling to the ground.

The idea of resuming reconstruction work was proposed during the trip. It was agreed that Thailand and Cambodia should work together for the sake of heritage conservation, putting aside the border conflict and ownership dispute _ at the least temporarily.

Bovornvate said the Fine Arts Department, through the Ministry of Culture, will raise the issue with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as the security agencies to find ways to continue the unfinished repair work.

Bovornvate, who was responsible for the Ta Muen Thom excavation in the 1980s, said that Ta Muen Thom is a unique sanctuary, regarding the location of the structure, which lies exactly on a rock-cutting site.

The Ta Muen complex stands on the Angkor-Phimai royal road. Along the route, there were several arokhayasala, cited in an ancient Khmer inscription, as well as rest houses (or dharmasala, also known previously as agnisala, meaning a house with lit-up fire.

Bovornvate noted that Ta Muen Tot is the most complete arokhayasala ever found in Thailand. There are nearly 20 such ancient hospitals _ all built during the reign of King Jayavarman VII _ in the lower part of the Northeast. An ancient inscription found at this particular chapel cited the name of Phaisatchaya Kuruwaituya, a Bhodhisattva who blesses its worshippers with good health.

"The Fine Arts Department has used this arokhayasala as a prototype for restoration of similar chapels in other areas," he said.

It is well realised that the idea of having Cambodia in the renewed restoration plan will not be easy. Immediate question involve with the legitimate right over the overlapping site, if any party is to do _ or continue _ the restoration work.

Historian Charnvit Kasetsiri doubts if Cambodia would consider the "invitation", given the bitterness of both sides.

"Ideally, joint work [on the sanctuary] is good," he said. But personally he does not believe that Cambodia will ever take an interest.

"Such cooperation can be made when two sides truly trust each other. And that is, unfortunately, not the case between Thailand and Cambodia," said Charnvit, who notes that the Ta Muen conflict is but a small part of the Preah Vihear problem, which has worsened due to ultra-nationalism and racial nationalist sentiments that surged after Cambodia's successful bid to have the site registered on the Unesco World Heritage list.

"The Preah Vihear problem will haunt us again and again as long as we are trapped in old history, shrouded by racial nationalism," he said.

The historian also said it is necessary that Thais are better educated about treaties and conventions concerning the obligations and commitment the country has with its neighbours, as well as the international community, otherwise border conflicts, in particular, the Preah Vihear problem, will erupt again and again.

And if that were the case, the historian said that he sees no end to the Ta Muen tension.

"For some issues like border disputes, we'd be better to leave it as it is if we can't fix it. And just wait until we are ready," said Charnvit.

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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.

In 1979, the Headricks’ good friends, Lloyd and Patricia Smith, contacted World Vision about hosting a refugee family from the Cambodian war.

“My wife and I were watching (war coverage) on TV, and we came up with this idea. We had a house, an empty house, there on the farm. If we could fix that house up, we could maybe take care of one of the families. So she made the call to the agencies. In about six weeks, a family arrived.”

Eang Tang along with her parents and three brothers were assigned to the Smiths. According to Tang, they had been living at refugee camps throughout Thailand after fleeing Cambodia.

“Before we get to the United States, we had been shipped to different refugee camps. They try to put you back to your county. We stayed together because we’re not going back.”

Tang’s sister, Thek Uy, said they fled Cambodia because, “They killed a lot of people. We ran away from that.”

Betty Nell and Charlie’s son, Larry Headrick, who is currently assistant principal at Maryville Intermediate School, said the family was running from the Communist regime under dictator Pol Pot, who is often described as the ‘Hitler of Cambodia.”

Headrick said the 1984 film “The Killing Fields” describes what the family was escaping in the mid-1970s. “They basically tried to take over the country,” he said of the Khmer Rouge. “and they killed everybody that was educated or did anything that represented the Western World.”

Uy said the family ran on foot to Thailand. “We were in the jungle and had to go at night. The soldiers, they would be watching for you. We came to Thailand by night, and I carried my children there. In the jungle, my daughter was a baby. I had to keep her quiet.”

During the journey, Uy lost three children. She came to the United States in 1981 with her husband and two surviving sons; three years after her parents and siblings came to the U.S.

Uy had to stay behind at the refugee camp because she had a husband and children so they had to find their own sponsor.

The Smiths were determined to get the other family members to Tennessee and asked the Headricks to help. They knew each other from attending church together at Fairview United Methodist.

The Headricks sponsored the family after Smith told her, “They’ve got a sister over there, and we need to get them here.” She said. “So I talked to Butch, my sister, and our brother Bobby, and we said ‘yeah, let’s go for it.”

Larry said it took a while for his parents and the Smiths to get the family to Tennessee. He was 17 years old when they finally arrived. “They lived in a little house next to ours. It was where we kept fertilizer for the golf course. We spent about a month fixing it up, remodeling it for them to live there.”

Uy’s daughter, Kim Roth was born in Maryville two months after the family arrived. Kim Roth was primarily responsible for organizing the reunion in August.

Roth said she hopes to eventually record her family’s history in a book.

“There were members of our family who didn’t make it. It’s a testament to their strength. I keep thinking, we need to get this down on paper. I’ve been reading about the history and learning about how that applied to my family. It’s interesting and heartbreaking at the same time.”

She said her mother is just now sharing some of the stories. “It’s all still very painful for them. It will be a lifelong process. The reunion was a good step for them.”

The reunion officially began with Lloyd Smith tearfully addressing the crowd of about 75 people. “Over the years they’ve told us how much they appreciated us. What hasn’t been told is how much we appreciate them. You’ve prospered well. The Lord has blessed you and has blessed us by knowing you. It’s just more than what can be put into words,” Smith said.

Smith said he remembered getting an urgent phone call almost 30 years ago from World Vision that a family had arrived for them to host.

“We got ready real quick to go to Nashville to get them,” Smith said. “My oldest son was living in Kentucky about 40 miles north (of Nashville), so he was with them until we got there.”

Smith said when he greeted them at the airport; the family was tired and malnourished. Tang’s husband had to stay behind because of tuberculosis but joined the family six months later.

Tang said in 1979, she was not sure what to expect from a host family. While at the refugee camp, her family participated in interviews with several agencies in search of a host family. Tang said they listed several countries. “We just want to get out.”

Then she added, “We got lucky.”

Once they arrived to the U.S., she said the language barrier was difficult but the Smith’s were patient and generous. “We didn’t speak any English. They gave us a Cambodia to English dictionary. Mr. and Mrs. Smith bring clothes and food. They come help us out. They teach us everything from turn on hot water, cold water, turn on the stove.”

Smith said the children learned the language at a fast pace after getting settled in Tennessee. The older children completed high school in two years and most of the children from both families have college degrees.

Betty Nell said, “Seeing how they’ve turned out is just amazing.”

When Uy arrived to stay with the Headricks in 1981, Betty Nell said the family had many needs. “The little girl, Kim Sol, was really sick. It was about as bad as you can get without dying. You could see scars all over her body. Her stomach was swollen. I just don’t know how she made it. She’s a little miracle baby.”

Betty Nell’s daughter, Jan Herzbrun, worked at a pediatrician’s office and helped coordinate care. Betty Nell said, “They were so scared. That was a rough time.”

Not only did they have great physical needs but struggled emotionally. “They were scared that first night. They had come out of a horrible situation.”

Betty Nell credits her sister and brother as well as her church family at Fairview UMC for helping rally around the family.

After recovering, the family thrived in the tenant house at the Wallace Farm. Betty Nell said she bonded with Kim Son and sang to her often. She said one of her fondest memories was hearing the little girl learn English.

“Larry was playing football for Maryville High School. The boys would come in Fridays before the game, and we always fed them. Little Kim would always be around. Her first word was ‘football.’ Then from there, she just picked it up.”

The families moved to North and South Carolina in 1983 but they remained close to their host families. They have visited each other about two to three times a year since they left 17 years ago.

Kim Roth said some of her fondest childhood memories are of visiting the host families. “We visited mostly during the summers. I remember once we went and stayed for two weeks. I thought it was like camp.”

Her father passed away five years ago, and she said, “I would love for Papa Charlie (Headrick) to walk me down the aisle when I get married.” She said, “I always joke to my friends and my family back home that they are my second parents.”

Kim Roth graduated from the University of South Carolina in Aiken and is a marketing manager for Richard Petty Motor Sports.

She said her success is in large part because of the Headricks and the Smiths. “I think its really rare that you find a family like that. They genuinely wanted us to do well and because of them, we did. I’m not sure they grasp their importance in shaping our lives. We could never make them understand the significance they play in our lives.”

Betty Nell said the feelings are mutual. “I wish we could convey the feelings we have for each other. I can’t remember ever regretting any of this. It’s been a blessing.”

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