Phan Thi Kim Phuc
child depicted in the Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph taken during the Vietnam War on June 8, 1972
Phan Thị Kim Phúc (born April 6, 1963), referred to informally as the Napalm girl, is a South Vietnamese-born Canadian woman best known as the nine-year-old child depicted in the Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph taken at Trảng Bàng during the Vietnam War on June 8, 1972. The well-known photo, by AP photographer Nick Ut, shows her at nine years of age running naked on a road after being severely burned on her back by a South Vietnamese napalm attack.
Quotes edit
- I became a victim all over again; my life became as a bird in a cage. I asked, why me? Why do I suffer so much? I felt so bitter and angry, I wanted those who had caused me suffering to suffer even more than me.
- Try not to see her as she was then – suffering, crying out in pain and fear. Try to see her as she is today: as a mother, a grandmother and a survivor, calling out for peace.
- The more I prayed for my enemies, the softer my heart became. When I felt real forgiveness, my heart was set free. If I can do it, all of you can do it too.
- I came through the fire, and I am so blessed to be with you today. My dream is that one day, all people will live without fear, in real peace, with no fighting and no hostility.
- The fire burned off my clothes. And I saw my arm got burned with the fire. I thought, oh, my goodness, I get burned. People will see me different way. Nine years old, I became the victim of war. I didn’t like that picture at all. I felt like, why he took my picture, when I was agony, naked, so ugly? I wished that picture wasn’t taken. I went through 17 operations. I had to deal with the pain every single day. I used to compare my scars with buffalo skin. And because my skin wasn’t have any pores, I cannot sweat, make me feel so tired, so headache.
- All my journey, I help children, building school, building hospital, orphanage home. It’s about relationship. Now I’m working, not because of my duty, not because of my mission, but because of my love.
- If I could talk face to face with the pilot who dropped the bomb, I could tell him we cannot change history. But we should try to do good things for the present and for the future to promote peace.
- "`Time To Heal, Time For Peace'" in Chicago Tribune (12 November 1996)
- When I was growing up, the pain was so sharp, it was like I’d been cut by a knife. As I get older, the pain is different, it is deep in there and stays there.
- Every time I touch my scar I am so thankful. My scar reminds me that God is with me. It is the mark that God stamped on my body to remind me he is there. I touch my scar and I love it – it humbles me, it makes me love people and do the work I am doing now. It takes me back to being that little girl, but now I have no upset or anger about it, I just go to the Lord and pray. And the more I pray, the more peace I have over my suffering. My scar makes me have more intimacy in my relationship with God. It’s the strength inside of me. My scar is a miracle.
