Just 50 years have passed since Nick Ut, a Vietnamese photographer, captured the horror of the Vietnam War with a shot that has gone down in history. “Napalm girl” – so the main protagonist of that photo was nicknamed – he was 9 years old and on the runnaked (her clothes had caught fire) and terrified, from her home in the city of Trang Bang, which had been hit by a napalm bomb, with the body covered with third degree burns.
Kim Phuc – this is the real name of the “Napalm girl” – is now 59 years old and, after decades of treatments to soothe the pain of burns and reduce scars, she has been subjected tolast session of laser therapy, which lasted 12 hours, at the Miami Dermatology and Laser Institute. Today Kim Phuc is a Canadian citizen. She met photographer Ut and, together, they remembered the agonizing moment of the shot.
“I heard a noise, bup-bup bup-bup, and then suddenly there was fire everywhere around me, even all over my arm,” the woman told the American broadcaster. NBC6. “He (Ut), after taking the picture, he put down the camera and rushed me to the hospital closer”. But after the photographer made it to the hospital, the staff initially refused to treat the child, telling him to take her to another center, a two-hour drive away. Nick Ut was angry and replied: “I’m a journalist: if you die, my photo will be on the front page of all the newspapers tomorrow.” Little Kim was immediately taken to the ward.
Helping her heal was Dr. Jill Waibel, who used laser therapy. “Before, anyone with an injury like Kim’s would have died. Now we are lucky to be able to keep people alive ».
On New York Timesthe Lady Phuc wrote that he hated that photo for a long time icon, as she struggled to heal emotionally and physically. But she now she appreciated its power. “I am proud to have become, over time, a symbol of peace. It took me a long time to accept it. I can say, 50 years later, that I am happy that Nick captured that moment, despite all the difficulties that that image created for me », she explained. “That image will always serve as a reminder of the unspeakable evil of which humanity is capable. However, I believe that peace, love, hope and forgiveness will always be more powerful than any kind of weapon ».
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Kim Phuc, in Toronto, founded the Kim Foundation Internationalto provide medical assistance and psychological support to children who are victims of war.
Source: Vanity Fair
