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Who is Kim Phuc Phan Thi? 50 years on, iconic 'Napalm Girl' shares message of hope

'I believe that peace, love, hope, and forgiveness will always be more powerful than any kind of weapon,' wrote Phan Thi in an opinion piece

The iconic 'Napalm Girl' photo was taken on June 8, 1972, in Trảng Bàng by the South Vietnamese photographer Huynh Cong Nick Ut. The image went on to win a Pulitzer Prize and became one of the most popular images of the Vietnam War.

The image captures children fleeing a Napalm bombing of Trảng Bàng during the Vietnamese War. The crying and nude 9-year-old in the center of the picture is Kim Phuc Phan Thi, who has been known as the 'Napalm Girl' ever since. 50 years later, Phan Thi relives the horror of war, the events behind the photo, and how it changed her life, along with a message of hope for people.

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Phan Thi wrote for The New York Times, "I have only flashes of memories of that horrific day. I was playing with my cousins in the temple courtyard. The next moment, there was a plane swooping down close and a deafening noise. Then explosions and smoke and excruciating pain. I was 9 years old. Napalm sticks to you, no matter how fast you run, causing horrific burns and pain that last a lifetime."

"You've probably seen the photograph of me taken that day, running away from the explosions with the others — a naked child with outstretched arms, screaming in pain. Nick changed my life forever with that remarkable photograph. But he also saved my life. After he took the photo, he put his camera down, wrapped me in a blanket, and whisked me off to get medical attention. I am forever thankful," she continued.

"Yet I also remember hating him at times. I grew up detesting that photo. I thought to myself, 'I am a little girl. I am naked. Why did he take that picture? Why didn’t my parents protect me? Why did he print that photo? Why was I the only kid naked while my brothers and cousins in the photo had their clothes on?' I felt ugly and ashamed," Phan Thi explained.

"The child running down the street became a symbol of the horrors of war. The real person looked on from the shadows, fearful that I would somehow be exposed as a damaged person. Photographs, by definition, capture a moment in time. But the surviving people in these photographs, especially the children, must somehow go on. We are not symbols. We are human. We must find work, people to love, communities to embrace, places to learn and to be nurtured," she added.

Talking about the war in Ukraine and the Uvalde shooting, Phan Thi wrote, "It is easier to hide from the realities of war if we don’t see the consequences. We must face this violence head-on, and the first step is to look at it." She went on, "I have carried the results of war on my body. You don't grow out of the scars, physically or mentally. I am grateful now for the power of that photograph of me as a 9-year-old, as I am of the journey I have taken as a person. My horror — which I barely remember — became universal."

"I'm proud that, in time, I have become a symbol of peace. It took me a long time to embrace that as a person. I can say, 50 years later, that I'm glad Nick captured that moment, even with all the difficulties that image created for me. That picture will always serve as a reminder of the unspeakable evil of which humanity is capable. Still, I believe that peace, love, hope, and forgiveness will always be more powerful than any kind of weapon," Phan Thi concluded.

Where is Kim Phuc Phan Thi now?

The 59-year-old lives in Canada and has established the Kim Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides help to child victims of war around the world. She was named a United Nations goodwill ambassador in 1997 and wrote a book about her experiences. "Fire Road is a story of both unrelenting horror and unexpected hope, a harrowing tale of a life changed in an instant. Struggling to find answers in a world that only seemed to bring anguish, Kim ultimately discovers strength in someone who had suffered himself, transforming her tragedy into an unshakable faith," as per the description.

"Now I can look back and embrace it... I'm so thankful that [Nick] could record that moment of history and record the horror of war, which can change the whole world. And that moment changed my attitude and my belief that I can keep my dream alive to help others. Now, 50 years later, I am so thankful and I'm not a victim of war anymore. I am a survivor and I have the opportunity to work for peace," Phan Thi told CNN.