INDY'S WEEKLY ALTERNATIVE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTING ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

The “girl in the picture”

by Editors

Lecture

It hardly matters how old you happen to be, you’ve probably seen the picture: a photograph of a young Vietnamese girl, her body burned by napalm, running down a road. On June 8, 1972, Nick Ut, an Associated Press photographer, happened to be on that road. He took the girl’s picture, which was transmitted around the world and won a Pulitzer Prize. The girl’s name was Kim Phuc. Kim was not expected to live, but she did.

In 1992, while studying in Cuba with her husband, she defected and settled in Canada. Since then, Kim has become an important spokesperson for peace and an advocate for children living in war-torn parts of the world. She has met with an American veteran involved in dropping bombs on her village on June 8 and forgiven him. Now Kim lives in Toronto with her husband and two sons. In 1997, UNESCO named her a Goodwill Ambassador for Peace.

Saturday, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. Kim will speak on “Love, Hope and Forgiveness” in the Shelton Auditorium at Christian Theological Seminary, 1000 W. 42nd St. Her appearance is free and open to the public. Donations to the Kim Phuc Foundation for healing children of war will be accepted. For more information call 876-7278.