Monivong Boulevard, 17 April 1975: In the early morning, as the last fighting rages in the Tuol Kok area, soldiers and civilians retreat towards the city center. (Photo source: unknown)
Monivong Boulevard, 17 April 1975: A family carrying all of its worldly possessions searches for a place to go as the Khmer Rouge order the population to evacuate the city. (Photo source: unknown)
Monivong, 17 April 1975: Moments later, at a street corner off Monivong, government soldiers surrender their arms under the watchful eyes of the victors. (Photo source: unknown)
Mid-morning, 17 April 1975: A column of Khmer Rouge regulars moves deeper into the city along the Monivong Boulevard in the vicinity of Chamcarmon. (Photo source: unknown)
Monivong Boulevard, 17 April 1975: Throughout the morning, a procession of sympathizers and guerrillas ride around on trucks and army personnel carriers commandeered by infiltrated Khmer Rouge. (Photo source: unknown)
All photos: Roland Neveu
Saturday, April 17, 2010Traversing The Orient Magazine
Georgie Walsh gains insight into the fall of Phnom Penh through the powerful and harrowing images of the French Photojournalist, Roland Neveu
Those with a keen interest in modern history may well be familiar with the work of the French photojournalist Roland Neveu. His pictures have been featured on the cover of Time Magazine whom he worked for throughout the 80’s -covering numerous stories including missionaries in New Guinea and the war in Lebanon from 1982 to 1985.
He took the first images of Soviet prisoners in Afghanistan’s mudjahedeen holy war, the wars in Lebanon and conflicts in Central America. He was also the first to photograph victims of AIDS in Uganda in 1986. He has worked as a stills photographer on many films including the blockbusters Platoon, Born on The Fourth of July, Thelma and Louise and The Doors. As a documentary filmmaker he covered the fall of Marcos in the Philippines, the Touaregs rebellion in the Sahara in 1990 and the plight of Kurd refugees after the Gulf War in 1991.
For his latest project, Roland has returned to the day that launched his career and the work he is most famous for, the fall of Phnom Penh in April 1975.
When Roland first set foot in Cambodia it was 1973 and he was visiting as a sociology student with the dream of becoming a photojournalist. In his student days he photographed anti Vietnam War protests for left wing news organizations. However, before he turned his lens on the fall of Phnom Penh all his work as a photographer had been largely unrecognised and unpaid.
During this period media channels throughout the world were saturated with coverage of the war in Vietnam. With this in mind Roland and a fellow student decided to turn their focus on Cambodia – a country that was teetering on the edge of civil war. They stayed three months and Roland sold his first photo to AP (Associated Press) before returning to France to fulfill his military obligations.
During military service Roland kept a close eye on the turmoil in Cambodia with intent to return once his time was served. Cambodia had gotten under his skin and he had a sixth sense that things were about to explode in the country. As he had previously been lucky to sell the pictures he took of war in Cambodia he thought, with hard work and more experience, he would be able to capture the situation better and in turn make more sales.
He returned to Phnom Penh in March 1975. The city had changed since his first visit and with refugees coming in from the countryside the population had grown to more than two million.
Times were tough. Inflation had gone through the roof and surviving off no more than three US dollars a day meant even obtaining food became a challenge.
Roland confides in his book, The Fall of Phnom Penh, “From a purely selfish point of view I can say that the fall came as a relief to me. Inside the French Embassy compound, I didn’t have to worry anymore about food as there was simply nothing to eat. Everybody was in the same situation. All that really mattered at that time was the story.” And the story he was to cover would launch his career as a world renowned war photographer.
He woke on April 17th 1975, to witness the first batch of Khmer Rouge soldiers entering Phnom Penh. This was the first time he’d seen a Khmer Rouge soldier in the flesh. He was not sure how they would react to having their photo taken. They did not seem to mind so Roland set off on foot, unsure what the situation was, capturing images of these soldiers. He hitched a ride on one of the Khmer Rouge commandeered trucks entering Phnom Penh and rode with the soldiers down Monivong Boulevard that cuts through the centre of the city. He captured many images along the way, some in colour but most taken with black and white film. As the truck reached the other side of town more Khmer Rouge soldiers climbed aboard. These soldiers weren’t as friendly as the first ones had been, one pointed a gun to Roland’s stomach and demanded he hand over his camera and film.
Luckily for Roland, at that very moment several shots were fired and everyone jumped for cover providing a escape route for the young photographer. Not wanting to risk any more chances of loosing the film – let alone his life -he walked back to the French Embassy for safety and to at least try and find out what was going on.
The situation was uncertain and it was to stay that way for the two weeks he spent inside the Embassy. Over a thousand people were stranded inside its gates; journalists, diplomats and foreigners and also about five hundred Cambodians unsure of what the future was to be for Cambodia. The final decision made by the new Khmer Rouge run government was to evacuate all foreigners to Thailand by truck while all Khmer citizens were made to stay.
What was to follow would be one of the worst genocides of the 20th century.
Roland spent the next four years travelling to various parts of the world including visits to the refugee camps along the Thai/Burmese border. However, gaining access to the country was near impossible until 1979 when the Khmer Rouge regime collapsed under the Vietnamese invasion.
In January 1981 he was invited to Phnom Penh to celebrate the two year anniversary of the Vietnamese military victory over the Khmer Rouge. It had been almost six years since he was last in the city and he was amazed at how unrecognizable it was. The population had diminished from two million down to barely a hundred thousand and the streets were almost empty. He was also shocked to discover the torture centre of S-21 and the now famous killing fields at Choeung Ek.
Though his career has taken him to countless places, a big part of Roland’s heart remains in Cambodia where he returns frequently to photograph. He currently has a couple of projects on the go. One is a photographic travelogue on Cambodia called Beyond Angkor. The other is a book of war stories and photography from around the world.
The Fall of Phnom Penh book is available at leading bookstores in SE Asia or can be purchases directly at www.asiahorizons.com with PayPal.
For information on purchasing prints Roland can be contacted at rolandneveu@gmail.com
Those with a keen interest in modern history may well be familiar with the work of the French photojournalist Roland Neveu. His pictures have been featured on the cover of Time Magazine whom he worked for throughout the 80’s -covering numerous stories including missionaries in New Guinea and the war in Lebanon from 1982 to 1985.
He took the first images of Soviet prisoners in Afghanistan’s mudjahedeen holy war, the wars in Lebanon and conflicts in Central America. He was also the first to photograph victims of AIDS in Uganda in 1986. He has worked as a stills photographer on many films including the blockbusters Platoon, Born on The Fourth of July, Thelma and Louise and The Doors. As a documentary filmmaker he covered the fall of Marcos in the Philippines, the Touaregs rebellion in the Sahara in 1990 and the plight of Kurd refugees after the Gulf War in 1991.
For his latest project, Roland has returned to the day that launched his career and the work he is most famous for, the fall of Phnom Penh in April 1975.
When Roland first set foot in Cambodia it was 1973 and he was visiting as a sociology student with the dream of becoming a photojournalist. In his student days he photographed anti Vietnam War protests for left wing news organizations. However, before he turned his lens on the fall of Phnom Penh all his work as a photographer had been largely unrecognised and unpaid.
During this period media channels throughout the world were saturated with coverage of the war in Vietnam. With this in mind Roland and a fellow student decided to turn their focus on Cambodia – a country that was teetering on the edge of civil war. They stayed three months and Roland sold his first photo to AP (Associated Press) before returning to France to fulfill his military obligations.
During military service Roland kept a close eye on the turmoil in Cambodia with intent to return once his time was served. Cambodia had gotten under his skin and he had a sixth sense that things were about to explode in the country. As he had previously been lucky to sell the pictures he took of war in Cambodia he thought, with hard work and more experience, he would be able to capture the situation better and in turn make more sales.
He returned to Phnom Penh in March 1975. The city had changed since his first visit and with refugees coming in from the countryside the population had grown to more than two million.
Times were tough. Inflation had gone through the roof and surviving off no more than three US dollars a day meant even obtaining food became a challenge.
Roland confides in his book, The Fall of Phnom Penh, “From a purely selfish point of view I can say that the fall came as a relief to me. Inside the French Embassy compound, I didn’t have to worry anymore about food as there was simply nothing to eat. Everybody was in the same situation. All that really mattered at that time was the story.” And the story he was to cover would launch his career as a world renowned war photographer.
He woke on April 17th 1975, to witness the first batch of Khmer Rouge soldiers entering Phnom Penh. This was the first time he’d seen a Khmer Rouge soldier in the flesh. He was not sure how they would react to having their photo taken. They did not seem to mind so Roland set off on foot, unsure what the situation was, capturing images of these soldiers. He hitched a ride on one of the Khmer Rouge commandeered trucks entering Phnom Penh and rode with the soldiers down Monivong Boulevard that cuts through the centre of the city. He captured many images along the way, some in colour but most taken with black and white film. As the truck reached the other side of town more Khmer Rouge soldiers climbed aboard. These soldiers weren’t as friendly as the first ones had been, one pointed a gun to Roland’s stomach and demanded he hand over his camera and film.
Luckily for Roland, at that very moment several shots were fired and everyone jumped for cover providing a escape route for the young photographer. Not wanting to risk any more chances of loosing the film – let alone his life -he walked back to the French Embassy for safety and to at least try and find out what was going on.
The situation was uncertain and it was to stay that way for the two weeks he spent inside the Embassy. Over a thousand people were stranded inside its gates; journalists, diplomats and foreigners and also about five hundred Cambodians unsure of what the future was to be for Cambodia. The final decision made by the new Khmer Rouge run government was to evacuate all foreigners to Thailand by truck while all Khmer citizens were made to stay.
What was to follow would be one of the worst genocides of the 20th century.
Roland spent the next four years travelling to various parts of the world including visits to the refugee camps along the Thai/Burmese border. However, gaining access to the country was near impossible until 1979 when the Khmer Rouge regime collapsed under the Vietnamese invasion.
In January 1981 he was invited to Phnom Penh to celebrate the two year anniversary of the Vietnamese military victory over the Khmer Rouge. It had been almost six years since he was last in the city and he was amazed at how unrecognizable it was. The population had diminished from two million down to barely a hundred thousand and the streets were almost empty. He was also shocked to discover the torture centre of S-21 and the now famous killing fields at Choeung Ek.
Though his career has taken him to countless places, a big part of Roland’s heart remains in Cambodia where he returns frequently to photograph. He currently has a couple of projects on the go. One is a photographic travelogue on Cambodia called Beyond Angkor. The other is a book of war stories and photography from around the world.
The Fall of Phnom Penh book is available at leading bookstores in SE Asia or can be purchases directly at www.asiahorizons.com with PayPal.
For information on purchasing prints Roland can be contacted at rolandneveu@gmail.com
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