Anton Foek
Anton Foek (born Paramaribo, Suriname September 3, 1941) Anton JieSamFoek, is a Dutch radio and television producer, and freelance journalist.
Life
Anton JieSamFoek is of Surinamese origin with Chinese, African, Portuguese-Jewish and Dutch ancestors. In 1954 he migrated to the Netherlands attending High Schools in Utrecht and Hilversum. He studied International law at the University of Amsterdam after attending the Sorbonne in Paris where he studied European culture and International relations. He started working as a foreign correspondent for the Dutch media [ AVRO, NOSR/TV ] in 1969 and was almost immediately transferred to South America and based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was trained by KlaasJan Hindriks who then was the Washington Bureau chief.
In 1971 he was transferred to Santiago de Chile to report on the Allende years only to be kidnapped and imprisoned in Sept 1973. Upon his release he was kicked out of Chile by the Pinochet regime. During his time as a reporter and foreign correspondent he was imprisoned several times. Twice in Chile, but also in Mexico, Southern Sudan and Bolivia.
He reports, among others, for CorpWatch, and The Washington Times,, BBC, RNW BBC Human,, VPRO, the new combination of Dutch Radio Stations NPS,Teleac and RVU NTR NPS Trouw,, TheHumanistTheHumanist
In 1982, he started his own television production company Columbus Cine Ltda in Brazil. He produced a one hour a week program aired on the Satellite Program Network in Tulsa Oklahoma. owned by Ed Taylor and Ted Turner.
He travelled the world having visited over 125 countries producing radio and TV programs often with human rights and other humanitarian themes. Several Dutch and international newspapers have printed his stories, including prx, and de Ware Tijd,, a leading newspaper from Suriname. In 1997 he won the prestigious Project Censored award from the Sonoma University in California. He has invested in a television production company Hollywood Stars II owned by Sam Summerlin of New York.
Family
He married Leonie Hoebeke in 1980 in Houston, Texas. Two children, Laura Antoinetta and Frances Barbara [Zsa Zsa ], were born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in May 1986 and Feb 1989. In 1990, he returned to Europe only to be divorced by his wife. He then continued his reporting life based in New York. He now spends his time with his long time partner Elisabeth de Laat in Amsterdam, and Jacksonville, Florida where he has bought a summer house.