"Napalm baby" life after 50 years is surprising

Fifty years after the photo "Napalm baby" shocked the world, Mrs. Phan Thi Kim Phuc had to undergo many surgeries and suffer from daily pain.

The photo "Napalm baby" was taken by photographer Nick Ut in 1972 in Trang Bang (Tay Ninh) during the war between the US and Vietnam. The main character in the photo is a naked, scared little girl running on the street with other children after the US plane bombed Napalm.

This photo was quickly published around the world, appeared on the front pages of many international newspapers, clearly depicting the fierceness of the war and was praised for contributing to the end of the war in Vietnam. Male.

In 1973, the picture "Napalm Baby" was awarded the prestigious Pulitzer Press Prize. In 2019, "Napalm Baby" was voted the most influential photo in human history.

The baby character in the photo is Mrs. Phan Thi Kim Phuc (SN 1963). At that time, Mrs. Kim Phuc was just a 9-year-old girl. After witnessing the incident, photographer Nick Ut took Phuc to the hospital with 30% burns on his arms, legs and back.

50 years after the photo shocked the world, at the age of 59, Kim Phuc is living in the Toronto area, Canada with her husband and 2 sons. She feels "lucky" to be the "Napalm baby" in the photo, despite having to live with huge scars and lingering pain from having to undergo dozens of major and minor surgeries over the years.

Ms. Phuc said that at first, she hated the photo because it embarrassed her. She spent a long time facing public attention for being the main character of that picture. For her, the fearful, painful moments after the napalm bombing were personal memories.

In fact, no one can criticize her if she tries to stay hidden and escape the attention of the public. However, she did not escape reality in the photo.

After a period of ideological struggle, Kim Phuc realized that if her pain and fear were not recorded on that day, the bombs - and many other tragic stories of the war - may disappear with the passage of time.

From there, she began to think more about what the photo could do, rather than what it took from her.

"I consider my photo a powerful gift. The war has almost destroyed my body and my life, leaving me in despair. But now, I want to tell everyone that the world can. It becomes better if everyone learns to live together in peace, hope and forgiveness," Phuc shared.

In 1997, Mrs. Kim Phuc founded the Kim Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Canada to help children who were victims of war. This organization has organized many activities such as building hospitals, schools and houses for children of war victims. Ms. Phuc also became a peace campaigner and goodwill ambassador for the human rights organization UNESCO.

On October 22, 2004, Ms. Kim Phuc was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by York University in Toronto, Ontario for her efforts to help children of war victims around the world. She was also awarded the Order of Ontario, the highest honor of the province of Ontario, Canada.

In February 2019, Mrs. Kim Phuc received the Dresden Prize in Germany for her contributions to UNESCO and helping children injured in the war..

Every year, she continues to travel around the world telling the story of her survival journey to help people better understand the cruelty of war, campaigning against war, building economy, culture. culture, science in peaceful circumstances, especially health activities to help the elderly, children and the homeless...

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