Peace Activist and Napalm Girl in The Famous Photo-Kim Phuc

[Markd]

Kim Phuc is the young girl who had been severely burned by napalm seen in the Pulitzer Prize winning photograph taken during the Vietnam War. After 14 months in hospital recovering from her burns, she was released but was under constant control of the government who used her as a symbol of Vietnam. She eventually was permitted to study in Cuba and met her husband there. They took their honeymoon to Moscow and while stopping for fuel in Newfoundland, got off the plane and defected to Canada. She became a Canadian citizen in 1997.

That same year she founded the Kim Phuc Foundation which helps young people in developing countries and was named UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for peace.

I went to see her speak here in Ottawa last night and afterwards got her to sign a copy of the famous photo. She was very nice and a very powerful and inspirational speaker.

[arrowsup]

Congrats, that is an awesome success.....one of the most famous photos, ever. Unfortunate last name (at least as its spelled...I'm guessing it isn't pronounced that way?)

[Markd]

Yeah I am really glad to have met her. I was actually planning on sending out for her but then I saw the posters up and hoped for an in-person, which I got. It's so much better when you actually get to meet the person.

And yeah her last name is pronounced like fook.

[WildChild96]

That's a very powerful photo. I'm glad you were able to meet her, let alone get it signed.

[Markd]

Thanks WildChild, I was actually a little hesitant at first about getting her to sign it, I really didn't know what her reaction would be. Obviously it must bring back bad memories and so I decided I would listen to her speech before I made the decision. Luckily she said that although she used to try to hid from the picture she has now embraced it and appreciated that it can be used as a tool. When I heard that I had a feeling she would be willing to sign the photo which she did happily.