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{{Short description|British journalist (born 1948)}} |
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'''Jon''' (John) '''Anketell Brewer Swain''' is an award-winning [[United Kingdom|British]] journalist and writer who was portrayed by [[Julian Sands]] in the [[1984]] [[Academy Award|Oscar]]-winning film [[The Killing Fields]]. |
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{{for|the American football player|John Swain}} |
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{{Use British English|date=September 2016}} |
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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2016}} |
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'''Jon''' (John) '''Anketell Brewer Swain''' (born 1948) is a British journalist and writer. |
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Swain's book ''River of Time: A Memoir of Vietnam '' chronicles his experiences from 1970 to 1975 during the war in Indochina, including the fall of Cambodia.<ref name=RiverofTime>{{cite book |
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He was born in [[London]], [[England]] in 1948. After an unhappy education at [[Blundell's School|Blundell's public school]] in [[Devonshire]] he ran away to join the [[French Foreign Legion]] an experience that he briefly recounts in his [[1997]] memoir [[River of Time]]. |
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|author=Swain, Jon |
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|title=River of Time: A Memoir of Vietnam |
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|publisher=[[St. Martin's Press]] (15 September 1997) |
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|year=1997 |
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|isbn=0-312-16989-2 |
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|url-access=registration |
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|url=https://archive.org/details/riveroftime00swai |
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}} |
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</ref> |
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==Early life== |
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Having escaped from the clutches of the [[Foreign Legion]] through the influence of his [[godfather]] who was a close friend of the [[French]] [[ambassador]] to the [[Court of St James]] [[Swain]] embarked upon a career as a newpaper man. |
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Swain was born in London in 1948 and is of English, Scots, Irish, French, and Spanish descent. After an unhappy education at the independent [[Blundell's School]], from which he was expelled, he ran away to join the [[French Foreign Legion]]. |
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==Career== |
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Early jobs included his workmanlike coverage of the trial of the infamous [[Kray]] crime family. After a period of work in [[Continental Europe]] Swain embarked for [[Saigon]] in the late [[1960s]] to cover the [[Vietnam War]]. |
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| ⚫ | For many years, Swain was ''[[The Sunday Times]]' '' [[correspondent]] in [[Paris]]. During this time he had many famous [[Scoop (term)|scoop]]s, including uncovering the financial support extended by [[Libya]]'s [[Muammar al-Gaddafi|Colonel Gaddafi]] to [[Arthur Scargill]]'s [[National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain)|National Union of Mineworkers]]. |
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He also reported for the newspaper from [[East Timor]] in 1999, at the time of its vote for independence. This period saw [[Timor-Leste Scorched Earth|widespread violence]] by [[Indonesia]]n-backed [[Pro-Indonesian militia|militias]] and by the Indonesian military itself, as Swain experienced first-hand.<ref>{{cite news |
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In [[1975]] Swain caught the last commercial flight into [[Phnom Penh]], the beleagered [[capital]] of the [[Kingdom of Cambodia]]. It was there that he witnessed the fall of the city to the [[Maoist]] [[Khmer Rouge]] in the company of [[Dith Pran]] and [[Sydney Schanberg]] - events portrayed in the [[Roland Joffé]] film [[The Killing Fields]]. |
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|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/454108.stm |
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|title=Missing journalists found in East Timor |
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|date=21 September 1999 |
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|work=BBC News}}</ref> On the road to [[Becora]], just east of [[Dili]], together with American photographer Chip Hires and their Timorese driver and interpreter, Swain encountered, and was detained by, Indonesian soldiers of [[Battalion 745]]. In the same district, only a couple of hours later, these same soldiers would kill Dutch-born ''[[Financial Times]]'' journalist [[Sander Thoenes]] and attempt to kill his driver. The soldiers immediately abducted Swain's interpreter, rifle-butted the driver and gouged out an eye, and were looking for a discreet location to kill the two journalists and the driver. These three decided to escape, under fire, and hid in the bush. They then called ''The Sunday Times'' office in London on a mobile phone and ''The Times'' alerted the Australian forces in nearby Dili. Swain and Hires were rescued by helicopter. They located driver Sancho Ramos soon afterwards and were able to persuade the Australians to fly him to [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]] for immediate medical attention. The interpreter, Anacleto da Silva, has never been seen since. Swain has recounted the incident in print, and in a television interview for fellow journalist [[Step Vaessen]], who was reporting from central Dili with her cameraman spouse, André.<ref>{{cite book |
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|author=O'Clery, Conor |author-link=Conor O'Clery |
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|title=May You Live In Interesting Times - The Journals of an Accidental Correspondent |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-84223-325-2 |page=307|publisher=Poolbeg |
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}}</ref> |
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French journalist [[Denis Robert]], who unveiled the "[[Clearstream]] affair", wrote in 2006 in his book ''Clearstream, l'enquête''<ref>{{cite book |
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Saved from murder by the courage of Pran, Swain, Pran, and Schanberg took refuge in [[Phnom Penh]]'s [[French]] [[Embassy]]. There they tried unsucessfully to rescue Pran by doctoring Swain's [[United Kingdom|British]] [[passport]] so that it appeared to be Pran's. |
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|author=Robert, Jon |author-link=Denis Robert |
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|title=Clearstream, l'enquête |year=2006 |isbn=2-35204-022-1 |language=fr |
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|pages=229–230|publisher=Arènes |
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}}</ref> that he believes Jon Swain was working in 2005 for Hakluyt & Company Limited, a private intelligence firm based in [[London]] with close links to [[MI6]].<ref name=Smith>{{cite web |
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|access-date = 2008-10-19 |
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|url = http://www.michaelsmithwriter.com/pdf/intelligence_companies.pdf |
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|title = Private Intelligence Companies |
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|year = 2007 |
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|author = Smith, Michael |
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|author-link = Michael Smith (newspaper reporter) |
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|url-status = dead |
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|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090205143528/http://michaelsmithwriter.com/pdf/intelligence_companies.pdf |
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|archive-date = 5 February 2009 |
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|df = dmy-all |
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}}</ref> |
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Swain was portrayed by [[Julian Sands]] in the film ''[[The Killing Fields (film)|The Killing Fields]]'' (1984). |
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Having escaped back to Europe Swain's next brush with death occurred when he was kidnapped and held hostage for several months by [[Eritrean]] [[Separatists]] whilst covering the [[Revolution]] and [[civil war]] in [[Ethiopia]]. For his accounts of this and his [[Cambodian]] experiences Swain recieved numerous [[awards]]. |
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==References== |
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| ⚫ | |||
{{Reflist}} |
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[[Colonel Gaddafi]]'s to [[Arthur Scargill]]'s [[National Union of Mineworkers]] and the links between [[Jean-Marie Le Pen]]'s [[Front National]] and the Rumanian Dictatorship of Nicholas [[Ceausescu]]. |
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==External links== |
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| ⚫ | |||
*{{Official website|http://jonswain.org/}} |
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<!-- *[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/jon-swaine/ Column archives] at ''[[The Telegraph]]'' |
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*{{C-SPAN|jonswaine}} |
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*[http://journalisted.com/jon-swaine Jon Swaine] at [[Journalisted]] --> |
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{{Authority control}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Swain, Jon}} |
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[[Category:1948 births]] |
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[[Category:Living people]] |
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[[Category:Journalists from London]] |
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| ⚫ | |||
[[Category:People educated at Blundell's School]] |
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[[Category:Soldiers of the French Foreign Legion]] |
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{{UK-journalist-stub}} |
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{{Cambodia-stub}} |
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Latest revision as of 11:41, 6 July 2024
Jon (John) Anketell Brewer Swain (born 1948) is a British journalist and writer.
Swain's book River of Time: A Memoir of Vietnam chronicles his experiences from 1970 to 1975 during the war in Indochina, including the fall of Cambodia.[1]
Early life
[edit]Swain was born in London in 1948 and is of English, Scots, Irish, French, and Spanish descent. After an unhappy education at the independent Blundell's School, from which he was expelled, he ran away to join the French Foreign Legion.
Career
[edit]For many years, Swain was The Sunday Times' correspondent in Paris. During this time he had many famous scoops, including uncovering the financial support extended by Libya's Colonel Gaddafi to Arthur Scargill's National Union of Mineworkers.
He also reported for the newspaper from East Timor in 1999, at the time of its vote for independence. This period saw widespread violence by Indonesian-backed militias and by the Indonesian military itself, as Swain experienced first-hand.[2] On the road to Becora, just east of Dili, together with American photographer Chip Hires and their Timorese driver and interpreter, Swain encountered, and was detained by, Indonesian soldiers of Battalion 745. In the same district, only a couple of hours later, these same soldiers would kill Dutch-born Financial Times journalist Sander Thoenes and attempt to kill his driver. The soldiers immediately abducted Swain's interpreter, rifle-butted the driver and gouged out an eye, and were looking for a discreet location to kill the two journalists and the driver. These three decided to escape, under fire, and hid in the bush. They then called The Sunday Times office in London on a mobile phone and The Times alerted the Australian forces in nearby Dili. Swain and Hires were rescued by helicopter. They located driver Sancho Ramos soon afterwards and were able to persuade the Australians to fly him to Darwin for immediate medical attention. The interpreter, Anacleto da Silva, has never been seen since. Swain has recounted the incident in print, and in a television interview for fellow journalist Step Vaessen, who was reporting from central Dili with her cameraman spouse, André.[3]
French journalist Denis Robert, who unveiled the "Clearstream affair", wrote in 2006 in his book Clearstream, l'enquête[4] that he believes Jon Swain was working in 2005 for Hakluyt & Company Limited, a private intelligence firm based in London with close links to MI6.[5]
Swain was portrayed by Julian Sands in the film The Killing Fields (1984).
References
[edit]- ^ Swain, Jon (1997). River of Time: A Memoir of Vietnam. St. Martin's Press (15 September 1997). ISBN 0-312-16989-2.
- ^ "Missing journalists found in East Timor". BBC News. 21 September 1999.
- ^ O'Clery, Conor (2008). May You Live In Interesting Times - The Journals of an Accidental Correspondent. Poolbeg. p. 307. ISBN 978-1-84223-325-2.
- ^ Robert, Jon (2006). Clearstream, l'enquête (in French). Arènes. pp. 229–230. ISBN 2-35204-022-1.
- ^ Smith, Michael (2007). "Private Intelligence Companies" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2008.
External links
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