flames enveloped Lâm Văn Tức
Saigon, 1963
World Kigo Database (Personal Names)
Note: Lâm Văn Tức (1897 – 11 June 1963), a Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk, set himself on fire performing a ritual suicide in protest against the persecution of Buddhists by the US-backed corrupt South Vietnamese government. The photo of his self-immolation was circulated widely and brought close attention to the larger structural and ideological causes of the Vietnam War.
Tunisian unrest began in December, 2010 after Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26-year-old unemployed university graduate who sold fruit and vegetables on the street without a permit, set himself on fire in a suicide attempt after police confiscated his grocery cart.
