|
|
|
|
Phan Thi Kim Phuc - The Human Suffering
 The Vietnamese-born peace activitst Kim Phuc Phan Thi is the living symbol of the suffering of innocent war victims. Her image of being burned by napalm during the Vietnam war raised worldwide awareness of the horrors of the war and made her the bearer of the message of forgiveness, reconciliation and tolerance.
She has forgiven, but has not forgotten, and in a commemorative ceremony to the Vietnam War she publicly pardoned the person who had launched the napalm bombing in her village in Vietman. Ever since, she has dedicated her life to promoting peace, and to this end she founded the "Kim Phuc Phan Thi Foundation" ([email protected]). This foundation helps children who are victims of war everywhere by providing medical and psychological help to surmount their traumatic experiences.
Who could ever forget this photo! I Can't...
 On June 8, 1972 a South Vietnamese aircraft accidentally dropped its napalm payload on the village of Trang Bang. With her clothes on fire, 9 year old Phan Thi Kim Phuc ran out of the village with her family to be airlifted to hospital.
Then...and Now
Biography of Kim Phuc Phan Thi
- Mrs Kim Phuc was born in Vietnam
- The photo of Kim Phuc Phan Thi, as a burned child escaping from her Vietnamese village which has been bombed with napalm (8 June 1972) has travelled across the world and has earned the photographer, Nick Ut of the Associated Press a Pulitzer Prize. The photograph showed Kim - "the girl in the picture" - a nine year old running down the road in the village if Trang Bang. It was UT who took her to hospital. Kim's skin was so badly burned by napalm that she was not expected to survive, but after 14 month in a Saigon hospital, she returned to her village to begin rebuilding her life
- After numerous operations, she continued her studies in Cuba and there she met fellow student Bui Huy Toan. They married in 1992. She demanded political asylum for herself and her Vietnamese husband in Canada on the way back from their sons, Thomas and Stephen
- As a believer, she wants to be the bearer of the message of forgiveness, reconciliation, and tolerance, especially concerning the civil victims in war-stricken countries
- In 1977, The Kim Foundation was established in Chicago and later in Canada, in Kim's name to help heal child victims of war
Participation of Kim Phuc Phan Thi in UNESCO Activities - Mrs Kim Phuc Phan Thi was appointed Goodwill Ambassador on 10 November 1994
- She participated in conferences and colloquia in Canada, the United States, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Spain, and Italy for the promotion of peace and pardon
- Mrs Kim Phuc Phan Thi attended events for peace and human rights at the Headquarters
- She attended the Annual meeting of Goodwill Ambassadors on July 2000, on February 2002 and on February 2003 at UNESCO Headquarters
- Mrs Kim Phuc Phan Thi attended the Charity Gala for the Purcell School in the presence of H.R.H. Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales on February 6, 2003 at UNESCO Headquarters
Kim Phuc Phan Thi delivers the speech during the "International Day for the peace" in Luxemburg
|
|
|
|
|
|
Vietnam War History
