My dream is that one day, all people will live without fear, in real peace, with no fighting and no hostility.
Interpretation
This quote expresses a hope for a world where people coexist without fear or conflict.
Phan Thi Kim Phuc's quote envisions a future where humanity can achieve true peace, free from the burdens of fear and hostility. It reflects a longing for a harmonious existence, where collaboration and understanding replace discord and violence, inspiring individuals to strive for a more compassionate world.
In practice
This quote can be used during a speech on global peace initiatives.
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.
My name is Kim Phuc, though you likely know me by another name. It is one I never asked for, a name I have spent a lifetime trying to escape: 'Napalm Girl.'
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.'
I never thought that the child who was a famous symbol of war would one day be invited to become a symbol of peace.
For years I bore the crippling weight of anger, bitterness and resentment toward those who caused my suffering. Yet as I look back over a spiritual journey that has spanned more than three decades, I realize the same bombs that caused so much pain and suffering also brought me to a place of great healing. Those bombs led me to Jesus Christ.
The more I prayed for my enemies, the softer my heart became.
The link between peace and stability on the one hand, and social and economic growth on the other, is dialectic. Peace, poverty, and backwardness cannot mix in one region.
Peace is not just the absence of war. Like a cathedral, peace must be constructed patiently and with unshakable faith.
People notice peacemakers because they dress funny. We know how the people who make war dress - in uniforms and medals, or in computers and clipboards, or in absoluteness, severity, greed, and cynicism. But the peacemaker is dressed in righteousness, justice, and faithfulness - dressed for the work that is to be done.
I want to say a simple thing, that the dividing line exists not between Jordan and Israel, but between the proponents of peace and the opponents of peace.
The ultimate goal is two states for two people: Israel as a Jewish state and the homeland for the Jewish people and the State of Palestine as the homeland for the Palestinian people - each state in joined self-determination, mutual recognition, and peace.
Security is the absolute precondition for sustainable recovery from conflict; without it, people cannot rebuild their country or return to school or work.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.