Kim Phuc, “the napalm girl”, receives reconstructive treatment in Miami

kim phucthe so-called “napalm girl” whose photo taken 50 years ago running naked and terrified became iconic, arrived on Tuesday in the south of Florida (USA) to receive reconstructive treatment for the conditions he suffers, according to local media.

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Phuc, now 59, was in South Florida on Tuesday receiving final reconstructive laser treatment for injuries he sustained five decades ago.

According to Local 10 television, dermatologist Jill Waibel provided the treatment pro bono at her southwest Miami-Dade office.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Phuc said. “50 years later, she still needed help,” said the activist.

“The main reason she sought treatment was pain. She was at a 9 out of 10 (on the pain scale) ”, collected the aforementioned medium.

Dr. Waibel practices as a board-certified dermatologist specializing in medical dermatology, cutaneous laser surgery and cosmetic dermatology for all ages, according to the Miami Institute of Dermatology and Laser website, where Waibel serves as medical director and owner.

Dr. Waibel is also known for pioneering laser treatments used to help wounded veterans and burn and trauma victims like Phuc, associated with one of the most recognizable images from the Vietnam War.

“I am so excited,” Phuc said before her treatment.

Used as a propaganda symbol against the brutality of the US Army, Kim Phuc, the so-called “napalm girl” is, 50 years after she was taken in a photo running naked, an uncomfortable character for the Vietnamese regime because of the way she fled from the country in search of freedom.

The photo of little Kim Phuc crying in pain from the napalm that corroded her skin on June 8, 1972 can be seen today at the Ho Chi Minh War Museum (former Saigon), where the atrocities committed by soldiers are exhibited Americans, but for twenty years the most iconic image of the conflict was missing.

The photograph was one of the most prominent in the museum in the 1980s, when, according to the Canadian writer Denise Chong in the book “The Girl in the Photo”, Kim Phuc herself was surprised to run into it in the enclosure, but disappeared after Phuc fled Vietnam and sought asylum in Canada in 1992.

Source: Elcomercio

Ronald Payne

I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.