Cambodia & 17 April 1975: These few witnesses to the fall of Phnom Penh
- Editorial team
- 9 hours ago
- 5 min read
Several eyewitnesses, including foreign journalists and local residents, have provided photos and gripping accounts of the fall of Phnom Penh on 17 April 1975, when the Khmer Rouge took the city, marking a tragic turning point in the history of Cambodia.
Al Rockoff
The American photojournalist Al Rockoff was one of the few foreign journalists present during the final moments of Lon Nol's regime. He witnessed the capture of soldiers and weapons by the Khmer Rouge and described the shift from initial joy to a sombre mood as the reality of the takeover set in. Rockoff also attended a meeting at the Ministry of Information where survivors of the former regime attempted to negotiate with the Khmer Rouge.
On that day, Rockoff witnessed and documented the chaotic and tragic events that marked the Khmer Rouge's capture of the city. He took striking photographs showing key moments, such as Khmer Rouge cadres capturing Lon Nol regime soldiers.
His images and eyewitness account offer a gripping account of the initial euphoria of civilians and soldiers at the announcement of the Khmer Rouge victory, followed by a rapid shift to fear and despair as the consequences of the takeover became apparent.
Before the fall, Phnom Penh was under siege and had become a huge refugee camp, with tens of thousands of people crammed into places like the Cambodiana Hotel and the area around the Raffles Le Royal Hotel. Rockoff described the difficult conditions faced by the refugees and the military situation.
After the Khmer Rouge took power, Rockoff and other foreigners sought refuge in the grounds of the French embassy for about three weeks before being evacuated. He recounted his interactions with Khmer Rouge soldiers and the tense atmosphere within the foreign community trapped in the city.
Rockoff attempted to forge a passport for Dith Pran, a Cambodian journalist who worked with Sydney Schanberg, using an old passport belonging to Jon Swain.
Rockoff said he was furious at the way the film ‘The Killing Fields’ had portrayed this situation, particularly the scenes that appear to show him repairing a makeshift dark room and chemical solution while a photo of Pran fades in and out, until he finally succeeds. In reality, Pran had an old photo that Rockoff managed to attach to a passport. In the end, Pran left the embassy of his own accord.
In 2013, Rockoff then testified in detail before the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), sharing his personal experiences and photographs that shed light on the fall of Phnom Penh and the early days of the Khmer Rouge regime.
Sydney Schanberg
Sydney Schanberg, correspondent for the New York Times, is known for his daring report on the fall of Phnom Penh to the Khmer Rouge. Schanberg stayed in Cambodia as the Khmer Rouge closed in on the capital, defying evacuation orders, alongside his colleague and Cambodian friend, Dith Pran. Their decision to stay was motivated by their desire to document the harrowing realities on the ground, even as almost all Western journalists and diplomats fled for their lives.
As Phnom Penh fell, Schanberg reported on the eerie silence that had gripped the city after the Khmer Rouge forced millions of civilians to evacuate urban areas as part of a grim social experiment aimed at creating an agrarian utopia.
His dispatches described the city as ‘an echo chamber of silent streets,’ with abandoned cars and empty shops lining the roads, and civilians forced on brutal marches to the countryside.
Schanberg and Pran were detained by Khmer Rouge soldiers but were eventually released to take refuge in the French embassy. However, while Schanberg was evacuated to Thailand, Pran, as a Cambodian citizen, had to leave the city and survive under the brutal regime, enduring years of forced labour and famine.
Schanberg's report, which won him the Pulitzer Prize in 1976, was not only a journalistic triumph, but also a deeply personal story.
After his evacuation, Schanberg is said to have searched tirelessly for Pran and attempted to rescue him. Pran's survival against all odds became the subject of Schanberg's Pulitzer Prize-winning articles and later inspired the acclaimed 1984 film The Killing Fields.
Schanberg's film and writings brought worldwide attention to the Cambodian genocide and the human cost of the Khmer Rouge's reign of terror.
Schanberg's work remains a powerful testament to the role of journalism in conveying history's darkest moments. His detailed accounts and personal connection to the Cambodian tragedy continue to resonate as an essential record of the fall of Phnom Penh and the devastating impact of the Khmer Rouge regime.
Roland Neveu
French photographer Roland Neveu, one of the few foreign journalists to remain, recalls the initial calm and the seemingly relaxed atmosphere that masked the imminent danger.
On 17 April 1975, as the Khmer Rouge made a final and brutal attempt to seize Phnom Penh, the young French photographer Roland Neveu found himself in the city streets, capturing the last heart-rending moments before the fall of the capital. Neveu, then aged 25, was one of the few Western journalists to remain in the country as the Khmer Rouge closed in, documenting the chaos, fear and despair that marked the end of an era and the beginning of one of the 20th century's greatest tragedies.
The photographs taken by Mr Neveu on that day and in the weeks that followed offer a rare and privileged insight into the collapse of the Cambodian government and the forced evacuation of more than two million people.
Armed with his Nikon F camera and a few lenses, Neveu moved cautiously among the disconcerted Khmer Rouge soldiers and fleeing civilians. He captured iconic images of unarmed government soldiers calmly marching to their sad fate and surreal scenes of a city emptied of its life and dynamism. His courage and intuition enabled him to document these moments despite the constant danger of being mistaken for a spy or having his equipment confiscated.
For three weeks, Neveu and other foreigners were held within the grounds of the French embassy, in the hope of evacuation flights that rarely came. Finally, they were escorted in a convoy to the Thai border, crossing deserted towns and empty roads, a striking testimony to the devastation left by the Khmer Rouge.
Roland Neveu's work is not limited to the fall of Phnom Penh; his images of Cambodia remain among the most powerful visual testimonies of the rise of the Khmer Rouge and the genocide that followed.
Today, Roland Neveu's photographs constitute an essential historical archive and a haunting reminder of the human cost of war and totalitarianism. His testimony and his images continue to inform and educate about the dark chapter in Cambodia's history that began with the fall of Phnom Penh.
Local survivors also recount harrowing experiences. Kim Ly, a retired resident, lost family members to malnutrition and disease after the evacuation. Hong Sareth, a farmer, described being separated from his brothers and sisters during forced marches into the countryside, many of whom did not survive. Um Sarin, a journalist, remembers the calm that reigned in the city after the Khmer Rouge arrived and the houses were destroyed. Yos Phal, a former policeman, witnessed executions and had to feign ignorance in order to survive during his evacuation to Takeo province.
British journalist Jon Swain, whose memoirs River of Time recount his experiences, described being detained by armed Khmer Rouge soldiers and narrowly escaping execution.
These testimonies paint a picture of a city gripped by fear, forced evacuation and the beginning of a devastating regime that would lead to considerable suffering and loss of life. The fall of Phnom Penh was not only a military conquest, but the beginning of a genocide that left a deep mark on Cambodia.
Comments