Little Daughter

Zoya Phan was born in the remote jungles of Burma, to the Karen tribe. For decades the Karen have been fighting Burma's military junta, her mother a guerrilla soldier, her father a freedom activist. She lived in a bamboo hut on stilts by the Moi 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. But at age thirteen 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, her brothers deeper into the war, Zoya went to a Thai refugee camp. So sick was she when she got there that doctors were barely able to save her life. A gifted pupil, Zoya now had to care for her ailing mother. Incredibly, Zoya went on to win a scholarship to study for a degree, but she was torn between study and caring for her dying mother. Still her enemies pursued her, and in 2005 she fled to the UK and claimed asylum.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. This is the story of the girl from the jungle who became an icon of a suffering land.