Edwin Koo, Singapore

Tea time at the Pakistani refugee camp Sheikh Yasin: children waiting in line with their teapots to get some of Pakistan’s national beverage. The tradition that goes along with it hopefully helps them to forget the conflict in their homeland for a few minutes every day. These children are all from the Swat valley, one of the strongholds of the Taliban. They are among the 2.5 million refugees who fled the fights between the Pakistani Army and the Taliban.

Pakistan today has the highest number of refugees since the country’s independence in 1947. More than one billion children worldwide live in regions that are affected by conflicts and wars.

Photographer Edwin Koo has documented the everyday life of Pakistani refugee families at the camp.

Curriculum Vitae: Edwin Koo

Age: 31
DOB: 1978/05/30

Press photographer
(Streats - national tabloid) 2003-2005.

Press photographer
(The Straits Times - national broadsheet) 2005-2008.

Freelance photographer
(represented by ZUMA Press) 2008

Awards and Experiences

• Participant: Asia-Europe Foundation / World Press Photo Photojournalist Workshop (Hanoi - Vietnam) 2004
• Winner (2nd Prize - Behind the Scenes category): ClickArt, World Photojournalist Meet (Singapore) 2003
• Joint exhibition: UNHCR World Refugee Day 2009 Exhibition (Kathmandu, Nepal)

Edwin is a Nepal-based freelance photographer represented by ZUMA Press agency. Born in Singapore, Edwin holds a Bachelor of Communications degree from Singapore's Nanyang Technological University. He worked as a press photographer with media conglomerate Singapore Press Holdings for five years, . In 2008, he left his staff job and went freelance. Intrigued by the events unfolding in Nepal, he moved to the Himalayan nation to be based there. From Kathmandu, he has covered stories spanning the South Asian subcontinent, including the transformation of the Nepalese monarchy, the Tibetan exodus, and Pakistan's Swat Valley crisis. He has been published in magazines in Asia and Europe, including Rhythms (Taiwan) and Stern (Germany). UNICEF Photo of the Year is his first major international award.

kookookookoo(at)gmail.com