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The picture exploded the cynical manipulations of language that were used by political and military leaders to distort reality and to pacify resistance to the war. And every one of the millions of people who saw the photograph immediately related to it on a human level. What happened to Kim Phuc was a fundamental aspect of the war. “Collateral damage” is an attempt to confuse the unjustified injury and death of civilians – children, the elderly, entire families – with something no more serious than defaulting on a loan. “Boots on the ground” is an abstraction, as if sending thousands of young people to fight wars, to kill and to die, is only a matter of numbers and sturdy footwear.

So-called ethnic cleansing is a euphemism designed to make the conditions of genocide sound as if they are somehow clean. Wars are often characterized by dehumanizing phrases invented by politicians to divert public attention away from reality. In fact, it’s one of the reasons I decided to become a photographer. What she has done with her life since that terrible moment has been her own doing, and it is transcendent – an affirmation of the best instincts that lie within the humanity of each one of us.įor 37 years, I’ve been deeply involved in documenting wars and conflicts worldwide, and I’d like to talk about what the photograph of Kim Phuc has meant to me as a photographer. That she became a victim of war, that she was a child at the time, and that she was photographed were determined by history and by fate. Kim Phuc is famous for being the subject of a photograph – a photograph of such power that it galvanized public opinion around the world, especially in the United States, about the war in Vietnam and helped change the course of history. Being in the presence of such an extraordinary human being is indeed both humbling and inspiring. It’s a tremendous honor to be here today, on this joyous occasion, to pay tribute to Kim Phuc Phan Thi.

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Read Nachtwey’s full speech honoring Kim Phuc Phan Thi: In 1997 Kim was designated as UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for culture of peace.

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Kim, now 55 years old, lives in Canada and is the founder of the Kim Phuc Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting the work of international organizations that provide free medical assistance to children who are victims of war and terrorism.

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