Acid attack survivor now US TV anchor

[Cpt. Rishwat]

NEW DELHI:

"The face you burned is the face I love ...I am alive and flourishing". These words are by Laxmi, an acid attack survivor who is in the US to receive the International Women of Courage award. She has left the Americans impressed with her passion and guts.

What's more encouraging is that Laxmi has got a springboard for a career in television, her childhood dream. She is about to enter a new, liberating phase in her life by acting as an anchor with a news channel. She will host an audience-based show which will be aired weekly, and has successfully shot three episodes.

"As a teenager she would look into the mirror for hours and say she wanted to come on TV. However, her dream was shattered when a man threw acid on her face at Khan Market in 2005. It took years for her to come out of the shadow and face the world. She did that bravely, but the dream had virtually got buried," says her mother.

In December last year she got an offer from a private news channel. At first it seemed a crude joke, for she could not believe that somebody would want a woman with a scarred face to present news.

"She was in tears when she got to know that her employer was in earnest. She said that she had thought it impossible to even think of this career. I assured her that she could do it and asked her to take the offer if she was mentally and physically prepared for it," said a family member. When Laxmi rose to the challenge, she knew it was a tough road ahead. She underwent just one week of training before shooting for her first episode. She trained for about five hours daily and learnt how to carry herself before the camera, pose questions and take the show forward.

"She was trembling before the first shoot. I convinced her she was equal to it. And believe me, it was a cakewalk for her. She did it well," a colleague said.

Life is slowly getting better for Laxmi, who has also been praised by the US first lady Michelle Obama. She is in a live-in relationship with an acid attack activist, and hopes for a bright future. "We have decided not to get married as we don't believe in the institution of marriage. I respect the courage she has shown in fighting her way till here. I also thank her employers for giving her this opportunity," says Alok Dixit,her partner.

Laxmi has also written a poem describing her ordeal, and goes on to narrate how the man who threw acid at her was as brutal as the acid itself. She concludes by talking of how she has weathered her ordeal and begun a prosperous life.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...rvivor-now-TV-anchor/articleshow/31510156.cms

What a heart warming story of a girl who would have remained a nameless victim in her home country India. People are quick to criticise the US for perceived slights to their national honour but where else would a girl go from a helpless victim to a TV host?

 

[GenericBrand]

Kudos to the news channel.

 

[Fire Bird]

What a dastardly act this acid throwing is. These are some of the things I dont like about India. Some of the youngsters are quite immature and cant handle rejection. They have no sense of overstepping boundaries until the deed is done and the girls face and life is ruined and the perpetrator languishes in prison. In a slum close to my neighborhood, a tennage boy killed another boy over a girl just for talking to her.

 

[itsme]

Good for her but nothing gonna erase what she had.
Acid attack are such cowardly and atrocious act,you destroy the life of the victim and unlike killing ,she have to support it all her life.
But that is normal in ours countries we have such a great sense if honor.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

There was an article in the DailyMail about an Iranian who threw acid into the face of a woman. His punishment was to have his eyes gouged out.

Most of the comments were in favour of the punishment.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

There was an article in the DailyMail about an Iranian who threw acid into the face of a woman. His punishment was to have his eyes gouged out.

Most of the comments were in favour of the punishment.

I'm not surprised most comments were in favour. At least that guy would understand better what he had done to the poor girl.

 

[kaayal]

^Not only their eyes,everything of these cowardly b@$t@rds should be gouged out..

 

[King Cobra]

How are incidents like this any different to regular shootings by students that take place in the US ? Killing 20-30 random people is better than pouring acid on Girls ?

What is the punishment meted out to anyone who goes on a killing spree in the US ?

 

[moumotta]

Good on the channel and best of luck to the girl.

Which channel is it?

 

[endymion248]

^Not only their eyes,everything of these cowardly b@$t@rds should be gouged out..

Strange part is how you say "Their eyes should be gouged out" like nobody will do the deed and it will just happen by itself. Why not "I would like to gouge their eyes out"?

 

[endymion248]

How are incidents like this any different to regular shootings by students that take place in the US ? Killing 20-30 random people is better than pouring acid on Girls ?

What is the punishment meted out to anyone who goes on a killing spree in the US ?

I guess there is genuine hate and wish to make someone you know suffer for the rest of their life. It is the idea that "she was too good for me so she will have to be good for nobody and wish she had said yes for years to come".
IMO a killing spree is worse because you don't know those people and it's random. They couldn't possibly have done something bad or perceived bad to you.

 

[kaayal]

I know what i said is really wrong and now i am really ashamed of it.but such cowardly acts brings the worst out of me.

 

[Bilal7]

There was an article in the DailyMail about an Iranian who threw acid into the face of a woman. His punishment was to have his eyes gouged out.

Most of the comments were in favour of the punishment.

Ewww... But well-deserved.

Good job by the channel. Although I do hope that this girl doesn't turn out to be one of those survivors who use their newfound voice to spread false news about their country and people. This is not a regular occurrence in India, without a doubt.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Michelle Obama honours India's acid attack victim with the 2014 Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

How are incidents like this any different to regular shootings by students that take place in the US ? Killing 20-30 random people is better than pouring acid on Girls ?

What is the punishment meted out to anyone who goes on a killing spree in the US ?

What do you think the punishment is?

I'll give you a clue. They certainly aren't allowed to run for president.

 

[Badsha]

And then people say "Oh no.. don't punish the criminal".

 

[MenInG]

An unknown man threw acid on a Pakistani college student in Long Island, a suburb of New York City, disfiguring her face and shattering her life in an attack that activists want to be investigated as an anti-Muslim hate crime.

Nafiah Ikram, 21, and her mother were getting out of their car outside their home on March 17 when the man rushed up to her, threw a caustic liquid at her face and ran off. She was left severely burned and nearly blind.

Nafiah, who is studying medicine at Hofstra University, and has plans to be a doctor, was rushed to the hospital by her mother, who also works there.

Her father, Sheikh Ikram, 50, said that Nafiah was targeted on her way home from work.

“No, it’s not a random attack, it’s a planned attack,” The New York Post, a mass-circulation tabloid, quoted him as saying.

Meanwhile, Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder asked anyone with information to come forward and call, announcing a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

“This attack was a vicious and heinous crime and I am personally requesting anyone with knowledge to come forward,” he said.

The attack left her hospitalised for 15 days, with severe burns to her face, eyes, neck, and hands, according to the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights group.

“My whole life changed in a matter of five minutes,” Nafiah said in an interview with WCBS-TV. “We don’t realise what we have until it’s gone.”

She was all but blinded by the attack. “I can just see colours, but that’s it,” she told WCBS. “I want to know, like, what’s the reason? Like, what could I have possibly done to somebody?”

Nafiah is just starting to talk again, but still struggles to eat or drink, because acid burned her throat, her father said.

“She is very scared. My wife sleeps with her every night,” Ikram said.

“She cannot shower herself, she gets scared when the water goes in her face.. so my wife has to go in the washroom with her to bathe her. And both arms are burned, she cannot do anything. So it’s very, very painful.”

Nafiah struggles to see even a few feet in front of her, and the family is praying she will be able to regain her vision.

The family said it is stunned by the outpouring of generosity and support from family and friends. Almost $300,000 has been raised in donations to pay for medical costs.

“We just want to thank everyone who has really donated and we really want people to pray for her to heal and most importantly, pray for her eye. It doesn’t matter how much money in the world is there, but we need her health,” Ikram said.

Ikram pleaded with his daughter’s attacker to turn himself in before he hurts someone else.

“We just want to say, think about it… what you did to my daughter. Please don’t do [it] to anyone else. We are just hoping that that person will get caught because we don’t want anyone else to be in that condition.”

In a statement, CAIR-New York Legal Director Ahmed Mohamed on Thursday called for a hate crime investigation into the attack on Nafiah.

He said, “CAIR-NY is disturbed and shocked at the brutality of this crime, and law enforcement must do everything to apprehend the suspects. Our community deserves safety. Amidst the rising hate crimes engulfing the state, it is important that this acid attack by an unknown individual be investigated as a possible hate crime.

“The family and the community at large must learn why this happened. The New York State Hate Crimes Task Force must aid local law enforcement as the search for the suspects enter the second month.

“Nafiah and her family need the support of her community. We ask everyone to keep the family in your prayers and pray that Nafiah makes a full recovery.”

Express Tribune

 

[PakLFC]

Respect to this young lady for showing such bravery.

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

“My whole life changed in a matter of five minutes,” Nafiah said in an interview with WCBS-TV. “We don’t realise what we have until it’s gone.”

Hope the animal who did this arrested soon.

 

[Nadeemp]

I hope they catch this man soon

 

[MenInG]

Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said on Saturday that the Consul General of Pakistan in New York was in contact with the family of the acid attack survivor Nafiah Ikram and has offered every possible help.

On April 22, an unidentified man threw acid on a Pakistani college student in Long Island, a suburb of New York City, disfiguring her face in an anti-Muslim hate crime.

Ikram, 21, and her mother were getting out of their car outside their home on March 17 when the man rushed up to her, threw a caustic liquid at her face and ran off. She was left severely burned and nearly blind.

She is studying medicine at Hofstra University and has plans to be a doctor, was rushed to the hospital by her mother, who also works there.

Her father, Sheikh Ikram, 50, said that Nafiah was targeted on her way home from work.

In response to queries from some media colleagues on the incident, the MoFA spokesperson said that the local police department [ in US] has deputed a 12-member team to investigate the incident.

"We should wait for the completion of the investigations to ascertain the nature of the crime and the motive behind it," the spokesperson further said. "Meanwhile, our Embassy in Washington DC and Consulate General in New York will continue to follow up the developments and will provide every possible assistance to the family.”

Meanwhile, Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder asked anyone with information to come forward and call, announcing a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

“This attack was a vicious and heinous crime and I am personally requesting anyone with knowledge to come forward,” he said.

The attack left her hospitalised for 15 days, with severe burns to her face, eyes, neck, and hands, according to the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights group.

“My whole life changed in a matter of five minutes,” Ikram said in an interview with WCBS-TV. “We don’t realise what we have until it’s gone.”

She was all but blinded by the attack. “I can just see colours, but that’s it,” she told WCBS. “I want to know, like, what’s the reason? Like, what could I have possibly done to somebody?”

Ikram is just starting to talk again, but still struggles to eat or drink, because acid burned her throat, her father said.

“She is very scared. My wife sleeps with her every night,” Ikram said.

Express Tribune

 

[MenInG]

Famous model Sabeeka Imam is the latest celebrity to receive death and rape threats online. The award-winning model took to social media and shared screenshots where someone had tagged her in a post where an Instagram user had tried intimidating Sabeeka with horrifying threats.

The model shared the screenshot on her profile and went on to add that she has contacted relevant authorities about the threats. Sabeeka, while posting the screenshot, tagged the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Cybercrime and British Council Pakistan.

The comment had read, "Get ready for acid attack, you p*rnstar." The vile user went on to comment, "You are going to [be] removed from the society like Qandeel Baloch." The user then threatened Sabeeka with an acid attack.

This, however, isn't the first time a celebrity has to deal with horrible online threats.

Previously, actor Mashal Khan received a violent threat online in the form of a troll, whom she rightfully reported to the National Response Centre for Cyber Crime. The Suno Chanda actor hit back at the social media user, who hurled vile abuses at her in a comment while threatening to gather users who’d be willing to assist in ‘throwing acid’ at the starlet.

Mashal shared this comment on her Instagram Stories and wrote, “This is beyond disgusting. This person’s life must be really pathetic for them to hide behind a screen and [pass] hallow threats under my pictures. PS, Cyber Crime has been contacted.”

The horrifying comment read, “Guys, please help me to acid attack on this beshiya, Mashal Khan. She is beshiya and should be removed from our society; Mashal Khan, acid attack game on!”

https://tribune.com.pk/story/234143...abeeka-imam-threatened-with-acid-attack-death