Jump to content

Jon Swain: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
Final paragraph has been cut as it is wrong, damaging and puts subject at risk
Shell Kinney (talk | contribs)
rm large portions of unreferenced information, please do not re-add without supplying a reliable source for the information
Line 1: Line 1:
'''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 Awards|Oscar]]-winning film ''[[The Killing Fields]]''.
'''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 Awards|Oscar]]-winning film ''[[The Killing Fields]]''.

He was born in [[London]], [[England]] in 1948. After an unhappy education at [[Blundell's School]] in [[Devon|Devonshire]], from which he was expelled, he ran away to join the [[French Foreign Legion]] an experience that he briefly recounts in his 1997 memoir [[River of Time]].

Having escaped from the clutches of the Foreign Legion through the influence of his [[godparent|godfather]] who was a close friend of the [[France|French]] [[ambassador]] to the [[Court of St James]], [[Swain]] embarked upon a career as a newspaperman.

Early jobs included his workmanlike coverage of the trial of the infamous [[Kray twins|Kray]] crime family. After a period of work in [[Continental Europe]] Swain embarked for [[Saigon]] in the late 1960s to cover the [[Vietnam War]].

In 1975 Swain caught the last commercial flight into [[Phnom Penh]], the beleaguered capital of the [[Khmer Republic]]. 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''.

Saved from murder by the courage of Pran, Swain, Pran, and Schanberg took refuge in [[Phnom Penh]]'s French [[Embassy]]. There they tried unsuccessfully to rescue Pran by doctoring Swain's [[United Kingdom|British]] [[passport]] so that it appeared to be Pran's.

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 [[History of Ethiopia|revolution and civil war]] in [[Ethiopia]]. For his accounts of this and his [[Cambodia]]n experiences Swain received numerous awards.


For many years Swain was the [[The Sunday Times (UK)|Sunday Times]]'s [[correspondent]] in [[Paris]]. During this time he had many famous [[scoop]]s including uncovering the financial support extended by [[Libya]]'s [[Muammar al-Gaddafi|Colonel Gaddafi]]'s to [[Arthur Scargill]]'s [[National Union of Mineworkers]] and the links between [[Jean-Marie Le Pen]]'s ''[[Front National]]'' and the Romanian dictatorship of [[Nicolae Ceauşescu]]. He also reported for the newspaper from [[East Timor]] in [[1999]], at the time of its vote for independence, which saw [[Timor-Leste Scorched Earth|widespread violence]] by [[Indonesia]]n-backed [[Pro-Indonesian militia|militias]].[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/454108.stm]
For many years Swain was the [[The Sunday Times (UK)|Sunday Times]]'s [[correspondent]] in [[Paris]]. During this time he had many famous [[scoop]]s including uncovering the financial support extended by [[Libya]]'s [[Muammar al-Gaddafi|Colonel Gaddafi]]'s to [[Arthur Scargill]]'s [[National Union of Mineworkers]] and the links between [[Jean-Marie Le Pen]]'s ''[[Front National]]'' and the Romanian dictatorship of [[Nicolae Ceauşescu]]. He also reported for the newspaper from [[East Timor]] in [[1999]], at the time of its vote for independence, which saw [[Timor-Leste Scorched Earth|widespread violence]] by [[Indonesia]]n-backed [[Pro-Indonesian militia|militias]].[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/454108.stm]

Revision as of 12:01, 7 February 2008

Jon (John) Anketell Brewer Swain is an award-winning British journalist and writer who was portrayed by Julian Sands in the 1984 Oscar-winning film The Killing Fields.

For many years Swain was the Sunday Times's correspondent in Paris. During this time he had many famous scoops including uncovering the financial support extended by Libya's Colonel Gaddafi's to Arthur Scargill's National Union of Mineworkers and the links between Jean-Marie Le Pen's Front National and the Romanian dictatorship of Nicolae Ceauşescu. He also reported for the newspaper from East Timor in 1999, at the time of its vote for independence, which saw widespread violence by Indonesian-backed militias.[1]