Kim Phuc (means "Constant Happiness") was born in a Vietnamese village in 1963. At the age of nine, her body burnt on napalm attack at her birth place. While she was screaming in pain from her burns and fleeing naked, a reporter took her photo along with other children. The photo remains as a vivid testament that innocent children are the primary victims of war and it made Kim Phuc an international symbol of the horror of war. She spent 14 months recovering from her wounds in a Saigon hospital, where she underwent 17 transplants and other operations. Though she had pain from her wounds, she gave birth to her second child in 1997.
This is the reality in liberation war anywhere in the world. Thousands of innocent children were killed during the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971. Some areas were very risky and people over there seriously tortured. We can take the case of Bhatiapara located in the north-western corner of the district of Gopalgonj. Pak Army along with their local collaborators established their camps at the wireless station in Bhatiapara that was an extra benefit for them for easy communication to their head office or other locations. About four decades back the wireless communication was almost a magic tool but they used the wireless with high tower as their weapons. Moreover, they used the river Modhumoti that flows along the birth-places of the Father of the nation and that of the Respected Prime Minister. They used the boats and motor launches as their easy transports to the targeted villages. The road communications at that time between Bhatiapara and Gopalgonj was not so good. Now it is only fifteen minutes drive.
Taking Bhatiapara as the centre of a circle, the Pak army used to torture people of an area of 2000 square kms. From early May to 19th December (the day the army surrendered there) in 1971, they continued their barbaric tortures to the innocent people including children and women. They used to gherao the villages at night and burnt houses, looted costly things and then killed people standing them in a line using just one or two bullets. Most people left their houses and took shelters in India or elsewhere beyond that circle. When they came back after liberation war was over, they found the grassy fields instead of their houses. In only nine months, it was huge massacres in comparison to Vietnam.
In the month of October 1971, Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India came to visit the Bangalee refugee camps along the borders of West Bengal and Bangladesh. She was shocked to find the refugees sufferings due to heavy rain and assured them saying "You will go back to your places as independent citizens of Bangladesh by December" after two months. It seemed quite unbelievable because the bright example of 11 years of fighting for Vietnam liberation was in front of us.
The war continued further and they succeeded. Since the war ended, they were trying to develop their country in all the possible ways. Ms. Kim Phuc made excellent examples of reconciliation targeting the development of her country.
During the 29th Session of the General Conference of UNESCO held in 1997, Kim Phuc was named by the Director General Federico Mayor a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for a Culture of Peace. In the ceremony held in November 1997 Federico Mayor presented Kim Phuc with her UN passport and a certificate in recognition of her new status.
Kim Phuc said in that event, "I thank God for saving my life and giving me strong faith and hope so that I can be strong enough to overcome physical and emotional pain. Peace must be based on love, emotional understand and forgiveness. If we don't love others as ourselves and if we don't forgive, we cannot come together."
The Director General Mayor said, "The photo of Kim Phuc revealed in all its horror the madness of war and the sufferings of innocent victims. Through this picture, Kim Phuc became a symbol of the struggle against violence, conflict and destruction, a symbol conveying simple but strong message: No more War."
Addressing Kim Phuc, Mr. Mayor said, "UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, through their public prominence, can bring home to people worldwide the role that each of us can play in helping to bring about the transition from the logic of force and fear to the force of reason and love".
As a Goodwill Ambassador for a Culture of Peace, Ms. Phuc spread a message on the need for reconciliation, mutual understanding, and dialogue to replace confrontation and violence as a means of settling conflicts. She proved her statement true showing reconciliation with John Plumer, a Methodist Minister who ordered the bombing in her village.
Something is surely there for us to learn from the example created by Ms. Kim Phuc of Vietnam. Considering the present status of our country in respects of liberation war and the war criminals, what should be our next step? This is the high time to keep in mind that the culture of peace seeks to eliminate root causes of violence by promoting a set of attitudes, values and behaviors that reflect and inspire social inter-action and sharing, based on principles of freedom, justice, democracy, human rights, tolerance and solidarity. (UNESCO News, Nov. 1997)
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