The Girl in the Picture

This picture of a naked little girl who was running down a road is well-known, and made an impact all over the world during the Vietnam War. This picture taken by Nick Ut won the Pulitzer Prize in 1972.

The little girl is Kim Phuc. This book "The Girl in the Picture" is her biography with Vietnamese historical background written by Denise Chong.

Kim Phuc's village was mistakenly burnt by a South Vietnamese air force napalm strike instructed by American military advisers. She suffered serious burns on her back. Nick Ut and Western journalists took her to a hospital in Saigon and her life was barely saved.

After the war, she was used for a propaganda as a symbol against American imperialism. She , however, wanted to be a doctor to save people like her. She also had a faith in Christ secretly.

Prime minister Pham Van Dong loved her like a granddaughter, so she was allowed to go to Havana to study. In 1992, she married a Vietnamese student and went on their honeymoon in Moscow. On the way back to Havana she sought political asylum with her reluctant husband in Canada.

In 1996, on Veteran's Day in Washington D.C, after Phuc's speech a man who thought he was responsible for the napalm attack came to see her and apologized. She said "It's Okay, I forgive, I forgive.".

I couldn't hold back my tears in the last part of this book.

Now she has two sons and lives with her husband and parents in Canada. She also set up her own foundation for child victims of war and works as a goodwill ambassador for UNESCO.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Flowers at Dusk

Image
They say, in Japan, that cherry blossoms, the sakura, is the symbol of the joyful moment and the transience, which is associated with Buddhistic influence. The flowers in full bloom come suddenly and fall soon. It is epitomized as " mono no aware ". Cherry blossoms also can be the symbol of sadness. Ichiyo Higuchi depicted the saddest scene with falling flowers in her first novella, 'Flowers at Dusk' . Flowers at Dusk (Yamizakura) by Ichiyo Higuchi, 1892. Ryonosuke is 22 years old and Chiyo is 16 years old. They grew up together as childhood friends. At dusk on the Day of the Martial Guardian in February, they go out to enjoy browsing at community events. Chiyo clings to Ryonosuke's arm as they stroll along. And then her girlfriends see them and tease, "You two certainly look friendly! What are you up to?" Since this happened, Chiyo has become aware of yearning for him. However, Ryonosuke hasn't noticed her love. Chiyo gets sick. She s
Read more

Dawkins Scale

Image
I dare not to mention this book but a spectrum. In this book, Richard Dawkins presented 7 milestones from 100% theist to 100% atheist. It's known as ' Dawkins Scale '. 1. Strong theist. 100 per cent probability of God. In the words of C.G. Jung: "I do not believe, I know." 2. De facto theist. Very high probability but short of 100 per cent. "I don't know for certain, but I strongly believe in God and live my life on the assumption that he is there." 3. Leaning towards theism. Higher than 50 per cent but not very high. "I am very uncertain, but I am inclined to believe in God." 4. Completely impartial. Exactly 50 per cent. "God's existence and non-existence are exactly equiprobable." 5. Leaning towards atheism. Lower than 50 per cent but not very low. "I do not know whether God exists but I'm inclined to be skeptical." 6. De facto atheist. Very low probability, but short of zero. "
Read more

Totoro Trail and the flying carp

Image
Totoro trail reminds us of 'My Neighbor Totoro', and is very popular among many hikers and cyclists. You can enjoy viewing the flying carp, or koinobori,  in the Ishikawa River and the Yamato River until 5th May. in the Ishikawa River in the Ishikawa River route map the Totoro Trail the Totoro Trail the flying carp in the Ishikawa River the flying carp in the Yamato River
Read more