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Kim Phúc
Phan Thị Kim Phúc, O.Ont
(born 1963) is a Vietnamese-Canadian best known
as the child subject of a Pulitzer Prize winning photograph taken during the Vietnam War
on June 8, 1972. The iconic photo taken in Trang Bang
by AP photographer Nick Ut shows
her at about age nine running naked on the street after being severely burned
on her back by a South Vietnamese napalm attack.
Contrary to popular myth, the US Air Force were not involved in the attack, and
only two US troops were within 60 mi (97 km) of the scene, neither of
whom had any say in the bombings.[1]
"Vietnam
Napalm"
Kim Phúc and her family were residents of
the village of Trang Bang, South
Vietnam. On June 8, 1972, South
Vietnamese planes, in coordination with the American military, dropped a napalm bomb on
Trang Bang, which had been attacked and occupied by North Vietnamese forces. Phúc joined a group
of civilians and South Vietnamese soldiers who were
fleeing from the Cao
Dai Temple to the safety of South Vietnamese held positions. A South
Vietnamese Air Force pilot mistook the group for enemy soldiers and diverted to
attack. The bombing killed two of Phúc's cousins and two other villagers. Associated
Press photographer Nick Út earned a Pulitzer
Prize for his photograph of the aftermath. It also was chosen the World Press Photo of the Year for
1972. The image of Phúc running naked amidst the chaos became one of the most
haunting images of the Vietnam War. In an interview many years later, she
recalled she was yelling "Nong qua, nong qua" ("too hot, too
hot") in the picture.
After snapping the photograph, Út took
Kim Phúc and the other injured children to a hospital in Saigon,
where it was determined her burns were so severe that she probably would not
survive. After a 14-month hospital stay and 17 surgical procedures, however,
she was able to return home. Út continued to visit her until he was evacuated
during the fall of Saigon, three years later.[2]
Thumbnails of the film
footage showing the events just before and after the iconic photograph was
taken. (ITN)
Audio tapes of then-president Richard
Nixon, in conversation with his chief of staff, H. R.
Haldeman, reveal that Nixon doubted the authenticity of the photograph,
thinking it might have been "fixed."[3]
Following the release of this tape, Út commented:
"Even
though it has become one of the most memorable images of the twentieth century,
President Nixon once doubted the authenticity of my photograph when he saw it
in the papers on 12 June 1972.... The picture for me and unquestionably for
many others could not have been more real. The photo was as authentic as the
Vietnam war itself. The horror of the Vietnam war recorded by me did not have
to be fixed. That terrified little girl is still alive today and has become an
eloquent testimony to the authenticity of that photo. That moment thirty years
ago will be one Kim Phúc and I will never forget. It has ultimately changed
both our lives".[4]
Less publicized is film shot by
photojournalists Alan Downes (ITN), and Le Phuc Dinh (NBC) which shows the events just before and after the photograph
was taken.[5][6][7][8]
(See Image on right) In the top-left frame a man (possibly Nick Út) stands and
appears to take photographs as a passing airplane drops bombs. A group of
children, Kim Phúc among them, run away in fear. After a few seconds she
encounters soldiers who give her water (top-right frame) and pour some over her
burns. As she turns sideways the severity of the burns on her arm and back can
be seen (bottom-left frame). A crying woman runs in the opposite direction
holding her badly burned child (bottom-right frame). Sections of the film shot
were included in Hearts and Minds, the 1974 Academy
Award-winning documentary about the Vietnam War directed by Peter Davis.[9]
Adult
life
As a young adult, Phúc was removed from
her university and used as an anti-war symbol by the communist government of Vietnam. In
1986, however, she was granted permission to continue her studies in Cuba. She had converted
from her family's Cao
Dai religion to Christianity four years earlier.[10]
Phạm
Văn Đồng,
the then-Prime Minister of Vietnam, became her friend and patron. After
arriving in Cuba she met Bui Huy Toan, another Vietnamese student and future
fiancé. In 1992, Phúc and Toan married and went on their honeymoon. During a
refuelling stop in Gander, Newfoundland, they left
the plane and asked for political asylum in Canada. It was
granted. The couple now live in Ajax,
Ontario, and have two children. In 1996, Phúc met the surgeons who had
saved her life. The following year, she passed the Canadian Citizenship Test with a perfect
score, and became a Canadian citizen.[11] On
December 28, 2009, National Public Radio broadcast her spoken
essay, "The Long Road to Forgiveness", for the "This
I Believe" series.[10]
Recognition
1996, Phúc gave a speech at the United
States Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Veterans
Day. In her speech she said one cannot change the past, but everyone can
all work for a peaceful future. Rev. John Plummer, a Vietnam
veteran, who believed he took part in co-ordinating the air strike with the
South Vietnamese Air Force met with Phúc briefly and was publicly forgiven. A
Canadian filmmaker, Shelley Saywell, made a documentary about their meeting.
There is also a blog entry that shares this story[12] On
November 10, 1997, Kim Phúc was named a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. Her
biography, The Girl in the Picture, was written by Denise
Chong and published in 1999. In 2003, Belgian composer Eric Geurts wrote
"The Girl in the Picture", dedicated to Kim Phúc. Released on Flying
Snowman Records, all profits go to the Kim Foundation. On October 22, 2004,
Phúc was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Law from York
University in Toronto,
Ontario for
her work to support child victims of war around the world. She was also awarded
the Order of Ontario. On October 27, 2005, she was
awarded another honorary degree in Law from Queen's University in Kingston,
Ontario.[13]
The
Girl in the Picture
The Girl in the Picture: the
Story of the Story of Kim Phúc, the Photograph and the Vietnam War by Denise
Chong is a 1999 biographical and historical work tracing the life story of
Kim Phuc. Chong’s historical coverage emphasizes the life, especially the
school and family life, of Kim Phuc from before the attack, through
convalescence and into the present time.
The Girl in the Picture deals primarily with Vietnamese and American relationships during the
Vietnam war, while examining themes of war, racism, immigration, political
turmoil, repression, poverty, and international relationships through the lens
of family and particularly through the eyes and every day lives of women. Kim
Phuc and her mother Nu provide the lens through which readers of The Girl in
the Picture experience war, strife, and the development of communism in
Vietnam. Like Chong's first book, The Girl in the Picture was
shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award for
nonfiction.[14]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Phuc
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