Dear Editor -- The following is offered for your consideration should you wish to publish it. I trust that it will prove to be of interest.
That certain naked and frightened girl turned 37 running unclothed through the highway. This image, that perpetrated the horrors of the Vietnam War, has appeared thousands of times throughout the entire Media, especially throughout all television networks. The girl, Kin Phuc, is today’s UNESCO Ambassador and manages a foundation that aids children who have become victims of war and violence.
Far away are the 17 operations that treated her Napalm acquired burns in 65 percent of her diminutive body. Nick Ut, author of the 1973 Pulitzer Prize winning image, took her to the policlinic and saved her life. She remained hospitalized for 14 months.
She would faint every time the nurses would place her in the tub and would cut off her dead skin. However, she did not die. “Inside of me – she’d say - there was a strong little girl that wanted to live. I overcame everything thanks to the love of my family and of God”. One of the lessons learnt from this experience has been to ask for forgiveness. When she first read Jesus’ words “love your enemies”, she did not know how to do it. She thought it would be impossible. “I had to pray a lot and it was not easy. But in the end I did it”.
In 1996 she met one of the pilots that had participated in the bombing of her town. She forgave him because, she assures, “forgiveness stronger than whatever weapon in the world”. She is convinced that her life is a symbol of forgiveness and hope.
Forgiveness ennobles the spirit
“One forgives just as much as one loves. On the contrary, vengeance gets rid of peace. According to “In the Solitude of Silence”, forgiveness, the magnanimity and oblivion of offenses, is the best way to live in peace”. (Translated by Gianna Alessandra Sánchez Moretti).
Author and journalist Clemente Ferrer has led a distinguished career in Spain in the fields of publicity and press relations. He is currently President of the European Institute of Marketing.
Clemente Ferrer -- clementeferrer3@gmail.com from Spain
