Vietnam War’s napalm girl calls for global actions upon Syrian boy death
"The Girl in the Picture" Phan Thi Kim Phuc has joined voices calling on world leaders to work together to end the atrocities that are forcing thousands of Syrians to flee their homes.
Kim Phuc, subject of the iconic photo “napalm girl” taken during the Vietnam War, on September 6 shared her thoughts about another tragic war photo that has garnered attention from around the world.
The photograph of 3-year-old Syrian refugee Aylan Kurdi washed up dead on a Turkish beach has become a symbol of the worst refugee crisis in the world in seven decades.
Phuc was just nine years old when she was photographed naked and screaming after being burned in a napalm attack during the Vietnam War in 1972.
The photo, officially named “The Terror of War,” won its author Nick Ut the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography. It has become one of the most recognizable photos in the world and according to historians, a major inspiration for the anti-war movement.
Phuc, who came to Canada and later studied to be a doctor, told CBC newspaper during the visit that the Syrian boy photo underscores the impact war has on children and the future that is robbed from them.
“I cried a lot. Why do more innocent children have to die like that.
“I know that picture will wake up the whole world. We have to help people.”
“They’re so innocent and they should have a great life ... and enjoy their childhood, not dying and suffering like that.”
Phuc said she hopes the government in Canada, where the Syrian boy's family had been trying to emigrate, and others around the world continue to open their borders to Syrian refugees.
The photograph of 3-year-old Syrian refugee Aylan Kurdi washed up dead on a Turkish beach has become a symbol of the worst refugee crisis in the world in seven decades.
Phuc was just nine years old when she was photographed naked and screaming after being burned in a napalm attack during the Vietnam War in 1972.
The photo, officially named “The Terror of War,” won its author Nick Ut the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography. It has become one of the most recognizable photos in the world and according to historians, a major inspiration for the anti-war movement.
Phuc, who came to Canada and later studied to be a doctor, told CBC newspaper during the visit that the Syrian boy photo underscores the impact war has on children and the future that is robbed from them.
“I cried a lot. Why do more innocent children have to die like that.
“I know that picture will wake up the whole world. We have to help people.”
“They’re so innocent and they should have a great life ... and enjoy their childhood, not dying and suffering like that.”
Phuc said she hopes the government in Canada, where the Syrian boy's family had been trying to emigrate, and others around the world continue to open their borders to Syrian refugees.