Product Description

Zoya Phan was born in the remote jungles of Burma, to the Karen ethnic group. For decades the Karen have been under attack from Burma's military junta; Zoya's mother was a guerrilla soldier, her father a freedom activist. She lived in a bamboo hut on stilts by the Moei River; she hunted for edible fungi with her much-loved adopted brother, Say Say. Many Karen are Christian or Buddhist, but Zoya's parents were animist, venerating the spirits of forest, river and moon. Her early years were blissfully removed from the war. At the age of fourteen, however, Zoya's childhood was shattered as the Burmese army attacked. With their house in flames, Zoya and her family fled. So began two terrible years of running from guns, as Zoya joined thousands of refugees hiding in the jungle. Her family scattered, Zoya sought sanctuary across the border in a Thai refugee camp. Conditions in the camp were difficult, and Zoya now had to care for her ailing mother. Zoya, a gifted pupil, was eventually able to escape, first to Bangkok and then, with her enemies still pursuing her, in 2004 she fled to the UK and claimed asylum. The following year, at a 'free Burma' march, she was plucked from the crowd to appear on the BBC, the first of countless interviews with the world's media. She became the face of a nation enslaved, rubbing shoulders with presidents and film stars. By turns uplifting, tragic and entirely gripping, this is the extraordinary true story of the girl from the jungle who became an icon of a suffering land.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #42097 in Books
• Published on: 2009-04-20
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

About the Author
Zoya Phan is a 28-year-old ethnic Karen refugee from Burma. As a teenager she was forced to flee her country after her village was attacked by the Burmese Army. She now lives in London and works for the human rights organization Burma Campaign UK. See: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WW4fd8pUb1M

Customer Reviews

Voice of the voiceless, a passionate first-hand account from a Burmese refugee
This is an excellent, well written and extremely moving first-hand account from one of the millions of victims of the Burmese government.
Written by a Karen woman in her late twenties, anyone can compare and contrast their own childhood and life story with hers. From an at times idyllic beginning in a poor though strong community, life takes a serious turn for the worse as the Burmese army attack and destroy her village.
This book is a testament to both the best and worst of humanity, as the account of the trials and sufferings of her family and people are vividly recreated. Her own story is one of great courage and determination.
An extremely timely rallying cry to stand for poor and voiceless victims of injustice, and against one of the world's most brutal regimes.

A must-read for anyone who cares about peace and justice.
Zoya Phan was born 28 years ago in a small village in the jungle area of Karen State in Burma. Her father, a notable resistance leader, named her after a Russian partisan, who had fought against the Nazis in the Second World War. Her early childhood was marked by periods of ill-health. At the age of two, she was saved from death only by her mother's determination to carry her daughter through the jungle to a clinic in the next village.

The persecution of the Karen by the Burmese military, and the organised resistance of the Karen National Union and the Karen National Liberation Army form a constant backdrop to the narrative, which also gives a fascinating insight into the everyday life and customs of the Karen; the use of tamarind bark as a cosmetic, the different edible plants used in cooking and the meaning of Karen names.

When the war erupts with horrendous violence into the village where Zoya and her family are living, the nightmare begins. We follow the family and their fellow refugees in their desperate flight through the jungle, where they exist constantly in fear of detection and are always hungry and desperately tired,until they reach the relative safety of Mae Ra Mo refugee camp. Here they are able to recover for a while before moving back across the border and then into Mae La refugee camp, where Zoya finally succeeds in gaining a scholarship to study in Bangkok.

A highly-motivated and successful student, she has to face the choice of either pursuing a secure business career in Bangkok or returning to her now ailing mother in the small border town of Mae Sot. For her there is no real choice and she returns to help her people. Hearing that the situation in Burma has worsened, Zoya and a group of friends return to Burma, facing considerable personal danger, to offer support to the destitute Karen still living there.

Her academic ability later takes her to Bradford University and from there to London, where she campaigns vigorously for Burma, taking her cause to Downing Street. Now with official refugee status, Zoya Phan lives in London and works for the human rights organization, Burma Campaign UK.

Little Daughter - story of joy, terror and hope.
This is the autobiography of an intelligent, brave, loving and tenacious member of an oppressed group of people. Zoya Phan has a story that everyone should read, not only to find out what the Burmese regime are doing to their people, but to discover how determination and wisdom can overcome obstacles that would halt and maybe destroy most of us. Little Daughter: A Memoir of Survival in Burma and the West is, at once, full of family fun and joy, tragedy and sorrow, humour and philosophy. This is a very readable book, and should be high on the reading list of anyone who wants to know about Burma, refugees and the wonderful Karen people.