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2 unusual facts about Zoya Phan


Zoya Phan

After ten months, Zoya and her older sister, Nant Bwa Bwa Phan, were able to get to Mae Sot in Thailand for three months, hoping for a chance to go to a university in Australia; however, this fell through, and they decided to complete their education at another refugee camp, Mae La.

Zoya got her unusual name from her father, who named her after the Russian World War II hero Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya because he saw several parallels between the Soviet fight against the Nazis and the Karen struggle against the Burmese government.


Nant Bwa Bwa Phan

Her sister Zoya Phan is a high profile activist, and is International Coordinator at Burma Campaign UK.


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