Saturday, March 1, 2008

War Image

There are a number of images from the Vietnam War that are burned into our psyche - the girl burnt with napalm running down the road, the helicopter evacuating Vietnamese from the roof of a CIA building during the fall of Saigon and the Buddhist monk who set fire to himself to protest the anti-Buddhist measures enacted by the South Vietnamese Catholic leader, Ngo Din Diem.

This is the egg-blue Austin sedan that ferried Thich Quang Duc to the Saigon intersection where he set himself ablaze in 1963. In this car was seen in the background of that horrific picture (as seen on the back of the wall behind the car)

This emotive relic is garaged in one of the monk's apartment buildings at the Thien Mu Pagoda outside Hue where he lived.

5 comments:

Tom said...

Emotive.. says it all Jules... The one of the young girl will live in my mind always... The only thing that as ever effected me like that image was watching the second plane crash into the towers on 9-11 Jane and I were at an A & E department with our youngest when the images were on the TV... there was no sound on and we just looked at each other a we both wished it was just a film preview. Then a news reader from Sky News came on looking shocked. Both images are ingrained in my mind for ever.
Emotive.. you picked the perfect word there Jules

Squirrel said...

These things really make us think--I just attended a benefit for Tibetan orphans and when I think of the lack of freedom and viloence that the Tibetans endure, to think someone would take his life so that maybe the world would not just notice a problem, but actually help...
This blog is truly beautiful.

Jules said...

It was very moving standing there in front of the car with the photo behind.

Yes Tom - I feel the same about Sept 11 - no matter how many times I have seen that I still gasp as if it were the first time and that is what makes these such provocative horrific and truly emotive images!!!!

Squirrel - yes what desperation would drive someone to do that - we are so lucky aren't we??? All I have to complain about are pot holes in the road and slow phone lines!!!

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Jobove - Reus said...

very good blog, congratulations
regard from Catalonia Spain
thank you