Hippy man raises over £1000 for good causes
In June 2013 Mike Thexton recounted his story at a special event organised to raise money for Kids’ Company, a national charity for vulnerable inner-city children and to support a local community football club for children. Over £1,000 was raised on the night and more than 100 people attended.
In the words of one audience member: "I actually felt very privileged to hear the story in Mike's own words – it was moving, funny, crazy and thought provoking, all at the same time! I am full of admiration for the way in which he conveyed such a deeply personal experience to such a large audience, with such humility and humour."
"I'd like to thank everybody for their support," said Mike after the event.
In the words of one audience member: "I actually felt very privileged to hear the story in Mike's own words – it was moving, funny, crazy and thought provoking, all at the same time! I am full of admiration for the way in which he conveyed such a deeply personal experience to such a large audience, with such humility and humour."
"I'd like to thank everybody for their support," said Mike after the event.
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What happened to the hippy man?
Daybreak, Karachi, Pakistan, 5 September 1986: Four heavily armed Palestinian terrorists storm a Pan Am jumbo jet. The terrorists shoot a passenger and throw him off the plane. They then choose a bearded and unkempt young man, on his way home after a climbing expedition, as the next to die. He walks to the front of the plane past the other hostages including a young Indian girl, who, for months afterwards, asks her parents: “What happened to the Hippy Man?” This is his extraordinary story... Everyone has secretly thought what their last seconds would be like if they were the one about to be executed. How do you deal with the terror? What is it like years later to come face to face and be asked for forgiveness by someone who has slaughtered twenty people? Mike Thexton, 'the Hippy Man', tells us in the tale of Pan Am 073, the remarkable heroism of the day itself and its long aftermath now entangled in the American war on terror – right up to the launch in 2006 of a $10bn lawsuit against Libya and Colonel Gadaffy. |
Get Out Alive
Drama documentary
UK Discovery Channel British actor Dan Gingell plays Mike Thexton in a drama documentary about the hijacking... |
