Acid attack and the brave survivors

ACID ATTACK AND THE BRAVE SURVIVORS!

The ruining of someone's identity is not worth in any of the cases. Acid attack is kind of a threatening attack where the victims are suffered due to attacking of acid on any of their body parts. It causes the melting of the affected skin area which in turn changes the whole skin structure.

Why it happens?
Studies show that some of the acid attacks are accidents while some are crimes, done intentionally to harm the other person. People with such mentality somewhere in their minds have thoughts to take revenge. But in my opinion, no reason can justify the action of ruining someone's life.


Acid attack survivors!
People who have undergone these attacks, are somewhere fighting with their identity because the normal people around them don't take them as normal as they are. Creating a sense of abnormality to their minds is something the same as making someone's life miserable. But these survivors have succeeded in making their life more successful and taking the attack more beautifully on their faces. There are many stories of acid attack survivors that make us motivated and confident.


The Story Of One Of Those Brave Survivors!
What is wrong with Indian society that takes such acid attacks lightly? It permits the perpetrator of such a wanton act as acid throwing, scot-free or with some light sentence that is laughable considering the intensity of the crime and the damage caused to the victim’s body and the scars left on her soul for life.
But heartening it is to note that despite the crime perpetrated on them, some souls have had the courage to fight back and become an inspiration for other acid attack victims as well – to not stay a victim for the rest of one’s life but continue with determination and lead a life of courage thereon.

Laxmi Agarwal – an acid attack survivor, the director of Chhanv Foundation
When 15, Laxmi Agarwal was like any young and beautiful girl having big dreams and a life of possibilities before her. When she did not respond to the advances of a 32-year-old man, he along with his girlfriend, threw her on the ground and threw acid on her face. She screamed for help, received none from a watching public that just ran helter-skelter and lost most of her face, ears and both arms were scarred black.  Plastic surgery was a far cry with the costs involved and she is the daughter of a chef with hardly any income could not even remotely think of it.

Today she is the director of Chhanv Foundation, an NGO dedicated to helping survivors of acid attacks in India, based in New Delhi. She knows the agony of an acid victim, has collected 27000 signatures against acid attacks and submitted to the Home Ministry as well as petitioned the Supreme Court which did lead to the Court’s judgment to regulate acid sales across the country and to prosecute those involved in this heinous act.
In 2014, Laxmi Agarwal received a 2014 International Women of Courage Award by US First Lady,
While nothing can replace a good life shattered by dastardly acid attacks, it is worth a thought for the lawmakers to legally bind the offender/s and the family members for making good the provision determined by court or themselves face penal servitude till such provision is made as stipulated by the court”.

Another story of Pragya Prasun

Pragya Prasun was on her way from the Hindu holy city of Varanasi to the capital New Delhi days after her wedding, when a distant male relative poured acid on her.

"I initially didn't realize what was happening. My skin was burning, fumes were coming off it, and it smelled as though a tire was burning on my body," recalls Prashun, who was only 22-years old at that time.
The relative attacked her with acid because she had rejected his marriage proposal.
Ten years have passed since the assault, which burned 47 percent of her body.
Still, Prasun remains thankful to a doctor who was traveling in the same train as her on the night of the attack. The doctor, she says, saved her life that night.
"She instantly recognized it as acid and requested everyone in the train to put as much as water as possible on me so that the acid gets washed off,'' Prasun told DW, adding: "she gave me her scarf to cover my body as my clothes were burned along with my skin.''

More needs to be done

But Megha Mishra, a spokesperson for the ASFI, says the Indian government needs to do much more to end acid attacks in the country.
"The very first thing the government has to do is to ban the sale of acid in the retail market. Second, it has to get very serious about punishing the perpetrators. Third, it has to ensure proper medical treatment for the survivors as they still need to fight to get medical support,'' Mishra told DW.
In 2013, the Supreme Court of India ordered the government to limit over-the-counter acid sales to people over 18. But Prasun criticizes the authorities, arguing that they have failed to implement the rules governing the sale of acid in the country.
This, in turn, has resulted in acid continuing to remain available everywhere at a very low price, she said. "I demand a complete ban on acid. It is not a commodity which should be available in the retail market. Acid only harms and it has destroyed so many lives in our country."

One only wishes that such cruel behavior be looked down upon by all sections of society, laws be stringently implemented and deterrents cause this unholy act to soon be a thing of the past.