Phan Thị Kim Phuc, the girl depicted in the iconic photo of a 1972 Vietnam War napalm attack, accompanied 236 Ukrainian war refugees on a flight from Warsaw to Canada on Monday.
The iconic photograph, in which Phuc runs with his burned naked body along with other children, was printed on the plane of a non-governmental organization that is transporting refugees to the city of Regina, capital of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan . The image was taken in June of that year by Associated Press photographer Nick Ut and won the Pulitzer Prize.
Kim, 59, Canadian, said he wanted his story and his work on behalf of refugees to be a message of peace. She traveled from Toronto with her husband, Bui Huy Toan, to board the humanitarian flight.
The refugees, mostly women and children from across Ukraine, are among thousands of Ukrainians granted humanitarian visas by Canada following Russia’s invasion of their country. Millions of Ukrainians have fled since Russia began the war on February 24. Nearly 5.5 million people have registered with humanitarian organizations in Europe, according to the United Nations.
Canada is one of several Western countries offering refuge to Ukrainian refugees.
The founder of the non-governmental organization Solidaire, Argentine philanthropist and pilot Enrique Pineyro, was the one piloting the Boeing 787. Oscar Camps, of the Spanish organization Open Arms, was also on board.
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