Kim's Story - the Road from Vietnam

Willy-nilly, the 9-year-old Vietnamese girl Kim Phuc became world-famous as a result of a press photograph. On it, she is fleeing naked and severely burned, after her village has been bombed with napalm by the Americans during the Vietnam War. The photo appeared in newspapers all over the world and immediately had an enormous impact. The image helped crystallise public opposition to the use of napalm. For many people, this was the first time they were confronted with the injustice of this war. Others were strengthened by the image of the innocent girl to continue their demonstration marches. Kim Phuc is currently living in Canada. She tries to get a grip on the past by giving lectures at schools, by attending commemorations and by talking and listening a lot. At one of these gatherings, she meets the man who organised this particular air attack. He is consumed by feelings of guilt, but Kim Phuc is able to forgive him. They giggle and stroke each other, like old friends meeting again after many years. As a 9-year-old girl, Kim was an icon of injustice, now she has become the symbol of reconciliation.