Victims Need Support,Not Just SYMPATHY

Victims need Support, not just SYMPATHY

“You hold the acid that charred my dreams. You will hear and you will be told that the face you burned is the face I love now. You will hear about me in the darkness of confinement.”   

                                                                                                            -  Laxmi, An Acid Attack Victim

Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. All life demands struggle. Well, we all know that Life is a Struggle. Everyone has to face it someday or the other. But some face it in a very different manner.

It was in 2005, when 16 year old Laxmi was waiting at the bus stop in New Delhi’s Khan Market under the scorching heat of the sun. Suddenly a 32 year old man came and threw acid on her face so much so that her face was reduced to a mass of third degree burns, disfiguring her permanently. The pain was unbearable. This punishable act took place only for the meager reason that she refused to take his advances. From that day, she has struggled, struggled to have a living, struggled to stand up in the society and to bear the ugly faces of mankind. She took her cause to the Indian Supreme Court. Laxmi’s petition led the Supreme Court to order the Indian central and state governments to regulate immediately the sale of acid, and the Parliament to make prosecutions of acid attacks easier to pursue. But I think much is left to be done, and Laxmi continues to advocate on behalf of acid attack victims throughout India for increased compensation, effective prosecution and prevention of acid attacks, and rehabilitation of survivors. She is 24 now and has bravely fought for her justice.

Laxmi was later on selected by the US for the prestigious International Women of Courage Award. Recognition for her effort through this award is a great encouragement and motivation for the girls and women of India, many of whom still are not able to speak out against the atrocities inflicted upon them. Henceforth, Laxmi deserves a salute.

The story does not end here. There are still hundreds of Laxmi who have lost hope to survive in this modern world. Many acid attack victims never return to normal life. They often go to great lengths to hide their disfigurement, many forgo education or employment rather than appear in public, and suicide is not uncommon. But Laxmi did not hide. She became the standard-bearer in India for the movement to end acid attacks. She made repeated appearances on national television, gathered 27,000 signatures for a petition to curb acid sales.

Laxmi sets an example to each and every acid victim that, “if Laxmi can do this, I can also raise my voice against injustice.”But after her attack, Laxmi became a tireless campaigner against acid attacks. She has started working for others like hers. Thanks to her hard work and tremendous diligence. We must know that it is a mean act and a perverse intent and Rs 20 is all it takes to disfigure a face for life. Laxmi attests that “The moment acid touches your skin; it’s a cold, dry feeling before the skin begins melting in an inhumane conflagration of pain.” 

“Stop Acid Attacks” is a campaign to stop and rehabilitate acid attacks survivors and their toughest survivor, Laxmi recently bagged the International Women of Courage Award for spearheading the year-old campaign. 

The biggest roadblock is the general apathy by enforcement agencies and society in general. Acid is still freely available. The changes have been at the judiciary level, but there has been no implementation whatsoever. Is this our Judicial System in which still three crore cases are still pending? Our system needs to work on it and put some scanner on these issues.

From the above inspirational context, I’ve learned that it’s perfectly okay to laugh at yourself when things don’t always go exactly the way you’ve planned them to go. I’ve learned that you can’t always get what you want, and that’s not always necessarily a bad thing. I’ve learned that as much as you’ve had a dream for people to turn out the way you’ve always dreamed of them turning out to be, that they will follow their own paths. I’ve learned that we take life for granted and how amazing that some people struggle so much to make their lives BEST. More than anything, the greatest lesson that I’ve learned is the  way of working things out for itself and that God definitely places the teeniest-tiniest moments in your life that turn out to be significant events in your life. But we all must remember one thing – 

“Success is not measured by what you accomplish, but by the opposition you have encountered, and the courage with which you have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds.”

- Saransh Verma