In remembrance of Juantxu Rodriguez: Photos from the Saharawi refugee camps

Juan Antonio ‘Juantxu’ Rodriguez Moreno (Bilbao, 1957 – Panama, 1989) portrayed the reality from a independent perspective until he died while working in Panama. On December 21, 1989 an American marine shot him to death, becaming the first Spanish photojournalist killed in armed conflict. He was reporting the Panama invasion by USA army for ‘El Pais’.

Juantxu Rodriguez began his photographic career in 1979. Melilla was one of his first destinations, where he met a Saharawi who made him beign increasingly inspired by the Saharawi culture and traditions.

His first trip to Tindouf was in March 1983. This encounter with the Saharawi community was followed by three more visits until 1986. All his work in the camps were tigned with the lucidity of his lenses.

Juantxu began his career in the diary ‘Hierro de Bilbao’. He also published for Spanish newspapers like ‘El Pais’ or ‘La Vanguardia’, as well as for international papers such as ‘Liberation’, ‘Newsweek’ and ‘The New York Times’.
Source: Poemario por un Sahara Libre (unpublished photos assigned by his family).