50 years ago, at the height of the Vietnam War, when the US decided to drop napalm from the sky and scorch the earth below, a still was captured of a nine-year-old Vietnamese girl running naked while screaming in agony.
Now, at 59, she finished her skin treatment for the burn damage in the land of the very country responsible for her condition.
Kim Phuc Phan Ti, nicknamed through the photograph as ‘Napalm Girl’ has been through various kinds of treatments and procedures to relieve her of the pain of the napalm-inflicted burns.
After having to stay hospitalised for a year and going through over two dozen surgeries, she was discharged. But she still had a long way to go before she could move again. She, along with her husband was granted Canadian asylum in 1992 when fleeing from 1992 communist Vietnam.
Several years later, she found Dr. Jill Zwaibel from Miami who agreed to treat her condition free of cost upon learning her story.
Read more: Watch: Deadliest Wars In History That Aren’t World Wars
The photographer credited for the ‘Napalm Girl’ still is Nick Ut. A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. After the click, she was immediately rushed to the hospital by him. On the day of the final procedure, he had joined Phan Ti where he took more pictures.
In an interview, she recalled this life-altering experience where she was playing with other children when she was asked to run by some Vietnamese soldiers.
Upon looking up, she witnessed an airplane dropping bombs over her village causing it to burst into flames. While running away, she was exclaiming “Too hot! Too hot!” while the clothes burned away from her body.
At the moment, she recalled, she was most concerned with how she would be perceived by the world at large for the disfiguration caused by the flames. After 50 years now, she no longer identifies as a war victim but as a survivor and seeker of peace.
Image Credits: Google Images
Feature Image designed by Saudamini Seth
Sources: ITV News, India Times, India Today
Find the blogger: @SreemayeeN
This post is tagged under: 50 years later, Miami, napalm girl, napalm girl vietnam photo, skin treatment, Vietnam, vietnam war
Disclaimer: We do not hold any right, copyright over any of the images used, these have been taken from Google. In case of credits or removal, the owner may kindly mail us.
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