Words matter. These are the best Phan Thi Kim Phuc Quotes, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.
Religion doesn’t help me at all. But the relationship between me and God and Jesus, that changed my life.
When those four bombs fell, I was in the middle and I should have died.
My faith in God is healing my heart so I can have peace.
People ask me a lot, ‘How can you smile all the time?’ I tell them, ‘I was never angry. God created me this way. He created me laughing and smiling.’
Those bombs have brought me immeasurable pain. Even now, some 40 years later, I am still receiving treatment for burns that cover my arms, back, and neck. The emotional and spiritual pain was even harder to endure.
That little girl became me now. I have accepted it and I’m thankful that my picture worked for good.
There’s such a connection between Vietnam and America, but it should be one of friendship. Not bitterness. Not enemies.
I was as alone as a person can be. I could not turn to a friend, for nobody wished to befriend me. I was toxic, and everyone knew it. To be near me was to be near hardship. Wise people stayed far away. I was alone, atop a mountain of rage. Why was I made to wear these awful scars?
My character is not sad, not angry. In my house, I’m always laughing, smiling, smiling.
I went through 17 operations. I had to deal with the pain every single day. I used to compare my scars with buffalo skin. And because my skin wasn’t have any pores, I cannot sweat, make me feel so tired, so headache.
From time to time I look at the picture when I am very sad. I just want to remember my past and that scene made a deep impression on me.
I suffered too much and I want to stop the suffering of other people.
For years, I prayed to the gods of Cao Dai for healing and peace. But as one prayer after another went unanswered, it became clear that either they were nonexistent or they did not care to lend a hand.
I did not think that I could marry or have any children because of my burns. But now I have a wonderful husband, a lovely child and a happy family, thank God.
In 1974, I cried all day long. I kept putting my well arm next to my left one, which could not move. My mother kept saying, ‘Don’t be sad. If you cry, I will cry and then we will all be twice as sad.’
If I ever see those pilots who dropped the bombs on me – or any American pilots – I would say to them, ‘The war is over. The past is past.’ I would ask those pilots what can they do to bring us all together.
Dear friends: faith and forgiveness is much more powerful than napalm could ever be.
If the picture hadn’t been taken, people wouldn’t know what happened in the war.
I was a happy child, just 9 years old, and I knew nothing about war.
My dream is that one day, all people will live without fear, in real peace, with no fighting and no hostility.
I never thought that the child who was a famous symbol of war would one day be invited to become a symbol of peace.
I just wish one day I am free from pain.
Sometimes I could not breathe, but God saved my life and gave me faith and hope.
I do not want to talk about the war, because I cannot change history.
As a child, I loved to climb on the tree, like a monkey.
You will remember me as a little child in another time, during another war, and involving another airplane.
Even if I could talk face to face with the pilot who dropped the bombs I would tell him, ‘We cannot change history, but we should try to do good things for the present and for the future to promote peace.’
Having known war I know the value of peace. Having lived under government control I know the value of freedom. Having lived with hatred, terror and corruption I know the value of faith and forgiveness.
When I meet children and people who suffer, when they mention any kind of pain, emotional pain, physical pain, I know what they need, because it’s the same thing I need. They need healing, they need peace, they need joy, they need hope.
I love my scars. It reminds me where I come from.
