Heads they keep high in horror

Peyara Begum’s son’s teacher attacked her with acid after she refused to return ‘the love’ he so undeservedly tried to bestow on her.
Her face was burnt as was major portion of her body, and her entire face had to be reconstructed.
To pay for this treatment Peyara had to sell all her properties. And yet, today she stands tall and proud and tells her extraordinary story, of how she recovered and continues to live a normal life with dignity and honour, with the help of her supportive and loving husband.
Peyara works at a life insurance company now and earns enough to maintain the expenses of both of her sons’ education.
Such were the strength of Peyara and others’ stories as acid violence survivors related their struggles to live on. They were in town yesterday to attend the International Conference of the Acid Survivors.
Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF) Bangladesh organised the international conference at the Engineers Institution auditorium bringing together 600 people — who were acid survivors, or their relatives or people working for organisations that help acid attack survivors.
“It took me ten long years to leave behind the pain and agony of the attack, but today I am content with my life. I also am able to help acid survivors now,” said Peyara who had come to the meet from Gazipur.
Like her, hundreds of acid survivors from the country and around the world shared similar stories, experiences and thoughts, calling on other victims to say no to defeat but fight against all odds to live on.
Jenny from Pakistan, Thong Kham from Cambodia, Regina from Uganda — all shared their experiences about how they survived with distorted faces and limbs and bodies after heinous attacks on them.
Jenny (not real name), now 19-years-old, was attacked twice with acid at the age of 13 by the same man. Her crime had been to refuse his proposal of marriage.
“Jenny was attacked a second time by the same man as his first attempt to totally disfigure her had failed. And yet there is still no law to in Pakistan to combat acid violence. The perpetrators are still active,” said Samina Afzal Naz of Islamabad-based ASF Pakistan.
The foundation in Pakistan began its work in 2006 and followed the model in Bangladesh.
Executive Director of ASF Monira Rahman said, “Following the continuous movement against acid violence, awareness has been increased in our society and the acid violence have reduced but not stopped yet.”
“It is time to combat the violence globally as there are alarming incidents of acid violence all around the world now,” she said.
Social Welfare Minister Enamul Haq Mostafa Shahid said enacting law alone could not have prevented such a heinous crime.
“It all has been made possible for the mass awareness created against such violence,” he said.
“The government has been working to stop acid violence and soon will also conduct a survey to find out the exact figure of the acid survivors in the country,” the minister said, adding that government organisations and NGOs should coordinate their work in this effort.
John Robert Morrison, one of the founders of ASF Bangladesh, was also present at the programme along with British High Commissioner Stephen Evans and Dr Ronald William Hiles — a plastic and reconstructive surgeon from UK who has been helping with the reconstructive surgeires requyired by many of the victims.
Executive Director of Manusher Jonno Foundation Shaheen Anam said, “The intrinsic strength of all acid survivors is that evil forces tried but failed to shatter their lives.”
She said legal support and rehabilitation are of utmost importance for all victims and pointed out that active coordination between the National Acid Control Council and the district acid control committees is crucial in this regard.
Nasreen Huq (posthumous), Ivy Rahman (posthumous), John Morrison, Dr Ronald Hiles and BRAC-Bangladesh were conferred awards for their significant contribution towards stopping acid violence in the country, and rehabilitating the acid survivors.

Courtesy of The Daily Star