Pascal Khoo Thwe (born 1967) is a Burmese author from the minority Padaung people, known for his autobiographic writings about growing up in Myanmar under military rule. His 2002 memoir, ''From the Land of Green Ghosts: A Burmese Odyssey'', was awarded the

Kiriyama Prize The Kiriyama Prize was an international literary award awarded to books about the Pacific Rim and South Asia. Its goal was to encourage greater understanding among the peoples and nations of the region. Established in 1996, the prize was last awar ...

Biography

Thwe was born in

Pekon Pekon (, also spelt Pekhon, Phekhon) is a town in far southern Shan State, eastern Myanmar on the shores of the Mobye Reservoir near the border with Kayah State. It is the seat of the Pekon Township in the Kalaw District. It is divided into 7 war ...

, Shan State, Burma (today called Myanmar). By a chance encounter with John Casey, a

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

don, Thwe was rescued from the jungles of Burma, where he and other student refugees were fighting

Burmese soldiers Burmese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia * Burmese people * Burmese language * Burmese alphabet * Burmese cuisine * Burmese culture Animals * Burmese cat * Burmese chicken * Burmese (horse), a ...

for independence. In 1991, he enrolled at

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...

, where he received his BA in

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

in 1995. His 2002 autobiographical book, ''From the Land of Green Ghosts: A Burmese Odyssey'',Pascal Khoo Thwe: The Land of Green Ghosts, Radio Netherlands Archives, October 26 2003
/ref> was published by

Harper-Collins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the " Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette, Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster. HarperCollins is ...

in 2002.

References

External links

* Pascal Khoo Thwe, ''From the Land of Green Ghosts: A Burmese Odyssey'' (2002),

BBC Radio 4: ''Taking a Stand''
– BBC journalist

Fergal Keane Fergal Patrick Keane (born 6 January 1961) is an Irish foreign correspondent with BBC News, and an author. For some time, Keane was the BBC's correspondent in South Africa. He is a nephew of the Irish playwright, novelist and essayist John B. ...

interviews Pascal Khoo Thwe about his life for a radio programme first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 18 December 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Khoo Thwe, Pascal Burmese writers 1967 births Living people Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Burmese Karen people People from Shan State Burmese expatriates in the United Kingdom