Bomb girl escorts Ukrainian refugees away from war

Pan Jinfu, the protagonist of “Napalm Girl”, hopes her story and dedication to refugees can send a message of peace to the world. (Provided by The Associated Press)

Fifty years ago, a reporter from the Associated Press took a shocking classic photo on the front line of the Vietnam War. A 9-year-old Vietnamese girl was severely burned by a burning bomb and ran naked, becoming a symbol of the horror of the Vietnam War. Pan Jinfu, the protagonist of Napalm Girl, is now a Canadian citizen and works for peace. On the 4th, she accompanied 236 Ukrainian women and children refugees who were displaced during the Russian-Ukrainian war on a humanitarian charter flight from Warsaw, the capital of Poland, to Canada to settle.

Pan Jinfu, 59, said she hopes her story and dedication to refugees can deliver a message of peace to the world. Accompanied by her husband Pei Huiquan, she set off from Toronto to Warsaw and boarded a private NGO chartered flight to escort the refugees to Regina, the capital of the western Canadian province of Sakchiwan. Argentine pilot and philanthropist Enrique Pineyro, founder of the NGO Solidaire, personally flew the Boeing 787.

The refugees on the chartered flight were mainly women and children from all over Ukraine. Millions of Ukrainians have fled their homes since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. According to the United Nations, nearly 5.5 million Ukrainians are registered with humanitarian organizations across Europe. Canada has issued humanitarian visas to thousands of Ukrainians.

On June 8, 1972, the then 9-year-old Phan Kim Phuc was severely burned by a fire bomb in southern Vietnam. He ran naked crying and fled the attacked village. Associated Press photojournalist Huang Gongwei took a photo titled “The Girl Who Burns the Bomb”, which won the Pulitzer Prize. The photo was printed on the fuselage of the charter plane carrying Ukrainian refugees, alongside the slogan “No War.”

Early last month, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the photo session, Pan Jinfu wrote in the New York Times, recalling that when she and other children were playing in the courtyard of the temple, a plane suddenly swooped down, and then exploded, suffocating people. of pain. Huang Gongwei saved her life, she said, and wrapped her in felt after taking the photo for medical treatment. Pan Jinfu suffered 65% burns to his body and spent more than a year in the hospital suffering from persistent pain and limited mobility for life.

As an adult, Pan Jinfu fled to Canada and later helped create a foundation to provide medical and psychological assistance to war-torn children. Last week, she finally had her 12th and final laser treatment done by a burn specialist in Miami, USA.

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