Quotes from Phan Thi Kim Phuc

I did not think that I could marry or have any children because of my burns. But now I have a wonderful husband, a lovely child and a happy family, thank God.

That little girl became me now. I have accepted it and I'm thankful that my picture worked for good.

I wished I died in that attack with my cousin, with my south Vietnamese soldiers. I wish I died at that time so I won't suffer like that anymore... it was so hard for me to carry all that burden with that hatred, with that anger and bitterness.

Nine years old, I became the victim of war. I didn't like that picture at all. I felt like, why he took my picture, when I was agony, naked, so ugly? I wished that picture wasn't taken.

I was as alone as a person can be. I could not turn to a friend, for nobody wished to befriend me. I was toxic, and everyone knew it. To be near me was to be near hardship. Wise people stayed far away. I was alone, atop a mountain of rage. Why was I made to wear these awful scars?

I hated myself. I hated people who made war. I hated people who were normal. I envied them. I wish I would be normal.

Through my experiences, I was living with anger and hatred, which was a really bad thing for me. Then I learned how to forgive, and it freed me from hatred and helped me a lot.

My faith in God is healing my heart so I can have peace.

I count my blessings and do things to help others.

We should work together to be of peace and happiness for all people in all nations.

My dream is that one day, all people will live without fear, in real peace, with no fighting and no hostility.

Behind that picture of me, thousands and thousands of people, they suffered - more than me. They died. They lost parts of their bodies. Their whole lives were destroyed, and nobody took that picture.

You will remember me as a little child in another time, during another war, and involving another airplane.

I love my scars. It reminds me where I come from.

From time to time I look at the picture when I am very sad. I just want to remember my past and that scene made a deep impression on me.

I saw the bombs, and, like a kid, I looked back at them. Instantly there was fire everywhere.

My own people, the South Vietnamese, had been bombing trade routes used by the Viet Cong rebels. I had not been targeted, of course. I had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

People can learn the tragedy of war from me.

Those bombs have brought me immeasurable pain. Even now, some 40 years later, I am still receiving treatment for burns that cover my arms, back, and neck. The emotional and spiritual pain was even harder to endure.

I want to be a doctor, to give treatment to other people.

As a child, I loved to climb on the tree, like a monkey.

People ask me a lot, 'How can you smile all the time?' I tell them, 'I was never angry. God created me this way. He created me laughing and smiling.'

My character is not sad, not angry. In my house, I'm always laughing, smiling, smiling.

I want to give back all the love and care that I have received over the years from so many people.