Newmekong*
PHNOM PENH, Mar 4 (IPS) - Seconds after his jealous wife threw acid at him, Soum Bunnarith could hear nothing. He could not see it, but his eyes and his right ear had turned a dark, burnt shade.
Meantime, the acid continued to crawl down his neck, arms and upper body, Bunnarith recalled of the incident that happened on Dec. 31, 2005. He was just about to leave his home in Sampov Meas district’s Kbal Hong village, Pursat at 7 a.m., when his wife threw a litre bottle of acid at him.
"Suddenly, I felt extremely hot," Bunnarith said. "The skin on my face, right ear, neck and arms were decaying. My eyes dimmed, and I could not stretch my right arm."
At about this time, he also realised why this was happening. His wife was livid, jealous of the young women who served beer at beer garden where he usually went to a drink with his friends.
What happened to Bunnarith is actually not very rare, Nora Lindstrom, project manager of the Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity (CASC), said in an interview. Cases of attacks using sulphuric or nitric acid -- commonly used for clearing blocked drains, cleaning gold and for use in car and motorcycle batteries -- usually stem from jealousy, revenge, hate, or land and property disputes.
Since 1999, the CASC and its partner, the Children’s Surgical Centre, had provided treatment and surgery to 114 acid burn survivors in Cambodia. Of this number, 57 percent were women,17 percent were children and the rest of the victims were male, said Lindstrom.
"Alas, many acid burns also occur as a result of accidents, and victims also include unintended targets of acid attacks," Lindstrom said.
More complete statistics on acid violence in Cambodia are unreliable and sparse, she said, but adds that the charity has been receiving more survivors in recent years. CASC now also has a 24-hour hotline, with phone number 092 600031.
A large number of the survivors came from areas around the capital Phnom Penh, and particularly regions with many rubber plantations such as Kampong Cham, where acid is commonly used and is thus available widely and cheaply. It is also not hard to get acid around the country and sellers rarely ask information from people who buy them.
But the troubles of Bunnarith’s family did not end with the treatment of injuries -- and soon affected their livelihood as well because he was the family breadwinner.
Indeed, the acid had also hit his wife’s arm and neck. A few drops landed on the heads of his three children who had been sitting behind him, so there are bald spots where the drops of acid landed. His brother-in-law, who had been standing a metre away from him, got burns on his waist.
"The money that we had saved for 12 years, since we got married, were all spent for the treatment," Bunnarith said. "However, the treatment could not help much. My face, ear, arm and my eyes continue to be not as good as before.
"I was able to stretch my right arm again after I got help from the Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity, but the skin is still not good," he added.
With Bunnarith sidelined, his immediate and extended family soon had difficulty making ends meet, ensuring enough food, and money to pay electricity, water and other bills.
Looking back, 28-year-old Ear Kimly, Bunnarith’s wife, said she decided to throw acid on her husband a few days after she saw him leave the house of what their neighbour alleged was his mistress. "I got extremely angry, I could not stand it that my husband had a mistress," Kimly said. Bunnarith insisted he did not have a mistress, and just went to the beer garden after work in the evening to unwind with friends.
Kimly now acknowledges that using acid to get back at her husband was the biggest mistake she made in her life. "I thought that acid was like hot water," said Kimly. "I did not know that the effect would be as severe as this."
With her husband not quite his old self, the entire family turned to rely on her for economic support. Nowadays, Kimly sells vegetables at the market in Sampov Meas district.
She had in fact been arrested after the acid attack, but was released a week later after her husband asked the court to let her go. "I called from the hospital to ask that my wife be released because I had become a handicapped person and family members badly needed her around," Bunnarith recalled.
Another survivor of an acid attack is 33-year-old Chhoun Yem, who lives in Korchinleang village in Tram Kak district, Takeo province, and gets assistance from CASC. Four years ago, an assailant -- who she believes was her husband’s mistress -- threw acid on her while she was sleeping with her baby daughter, at the time just a week old.
The acid affected her face, neck and other parts of her upper body, and also severely affected her week-old daughter’s face, neck and backbone and eyes.
Yem said that the attacker was arrested in the afternoon of the day of the attack, and was later sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment by the Takeo provincial court.
There are also quite a number of young survivors of acid attacks. Son Thy, a 14-year-old who lives in the same orphanage, said her face, left eye and neck were burned by acid during an attack while she was sleeping beside her mother in their home in Kilo Leak No. 9 in Russey Keo district, Phnom Penh in October 2006.
Lindstrom says the CASC provides surgical, medical and psychological treatment of victims of acid attacks, vocational training and social reintegration, legal assistance and advocacy for legal reform. It also works on preventing future attacks through awareness raising, research and education.
Lindstrom stresses that legal reform, including standard and mandatory punishment for perpetrators of acid violence, is crucial.
Needless to say, the ease with which acid can be acquired needs to be curtailed and safety standards improved. More generally, the position of women in Cambodian society needs improvement and society needs to turn to more peaceful means of resolving conflict.
As of Kimly, she now says that violence does not resolve anything. "In the end, all the sadness must return to us." And when it comes to using acid as a weapon, she added: "we must face imprisonment."
(* This story was written for the Imaging Our Mekong Programme coordinated by IPS Asia-Pacific)
Meantime, the acid continued to crawl down his neck, arms and upper body, Bunnarith recalled of the incident that happened on Dec. 31, 2005. He was just about to leave his home in Sampov Meas district’s Kbal Hong village, Pursat at 7 a.m., when his wife threw a litre bottle of acid at him.
"Suddenly, I felt extremely hot," Bunnarith said. "The skin on my face, right ear, neck and arms were decaying. My eyes dimmed, and I could not stretch my right arm."
At about this time, he also realised why this was happening. His wife was livid, jealous of the young women who served beer at beer garden where he usually went to a drink with his friends.
What happened to Bunnarith is actually not very rare, Nora Lindstrom, project manager of the Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity (CASC), said in an interview. Cases of attacks using sulphuric or nitric acid -- commonly used for clearing blocked drains, cleaning gold and for use in car and motorcycle batteries -- usually stem from jealousy, revenge, hate, or land and property disputes.
Since 1999, the CASC and its partner, the Children’s Surgical Centre, had provided treatment and surgery to 114 acid burn survivors in Cambodia. Of this number, 57 percent were women,17 percent were children and the rest of the victims were male, said Lindstrom.
"Alas, many acid burns also occur as a result of accidents, and victims also include unintended targets of acid attacks," Lindstrom said.
More complete statistics on acid violence in Cambodia are unreliable and sparse, she said, but adds that the charity has been receiving more survivors in recent years. CASC now also has a 24-hour hotline, with phone number 092 600031.
A large number of the survivors came from areas around the capital Phnom Penh, and particularly regions with many rubber plantations such as Kampong Cham, where acid is commonly used and is thus available widely and cheaply. It is also not hard to get acid around the country and sellers rarely ask information from people who buy them.
But the troubles of Bunnarith’s family did not end with the treatment of injuries -- and soon affected their livelihood as well because he was the family breadwinner.
Indeed, the acid had also hit his wife’s arm and neck. A few drops landed on the heads of his three children who had been sitting behind him, so there are bald spots where the drops of acid landed. His brother-in-law, who had been standing a metre away from him, got burns on his waist.
"The money that we had saved for 12 years, since we got married, were all spent for the treatment," Bunnarith said. "However, the treatment could not help much. My face, ear, arm and my eyes continue to be not as good as before.
"I was able to stretch my right arm again after I got help from the Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity, but the skin is still not good," he added.
With Bunnarith sidelined, his immediate and extended family soon had difficulty making ends meet, ensuring enough food, and money to pay electricity, water and other bills.
Looking back, 28-year-old Ear Kimly, Bunnarith’s wife, said she decided to throw acid on her husband a few days after she saw him leave the house of what their neighbour alleged was his mistress. "I got extremely angry, I could not stand it that my husband had a mistress," Kimly said. Bunnarith insisted he did not have a mistress, and just went to the beer garden after work in the evening to unwind with friends.
Kimly now acknowledges that using acid to get back at her husband was the biggest mistake she made in her life. "I thought that acid was like hot water," said Kimly. "I did not know that the effect would be as severe as this."
With her husband not quite his old self, the entire family turned to rely on her for economic support. Nowadays, Kimly sells vegetables at the market in Sampov Meas district.
She had in fact been arrested after the acid attack, but was released a week later after her husband asked the court to let her go. "I called from the hospital to ask that my wife be released because I had become a handicapped person and family members badly needed her around," Bunnarith recalled.
Another survivor of an acid attack is 33-year-old Chhoun Yem, who lives in Korchinleang village in Tram Kak district, Takeo province, and gets assistance from CASC. Four years ago, an assailant -- who she believes was her husband’s mistress -- threw acid on her while she was sleeping with her baby daughter, at the time just a week old.
The acid affected her face, neck and other parts of her upper body, and also severely affected her week-old daughter’s face, neck and backbone and eyes.
Yem said that the attacker was arrested in the afternoon of the day of the attack, and was later sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment by the Takeo provincial court.
There are also quite a number of young survivors of acid attacks. Son Thy, a 14-year-old who lives in the same orphanage, said her face, left eye and neck were burned by acid during an attack while she was sleeping beside her mother in their home in Kilo Leak No. 9 in Russey Keo district, Phnom Penh in October 2006.
Lindstrom says the CASC provides surgical, medical and psychological treatment of victims of acid attacks, vocational training and social reintegration, legal assistance and advocacy for legal reform. It also works on preventing future attacks through awareness raising, research and education.
Lindstrom stresses that legal reform, including standard and mandatory punishment for perpetrators of acid violence, is crucial.
Needless to say, the ease with which acid can be acquired needs to be curtailed and safety standards improved. More generally, the position of women in Cambodian society needs improvement and society needs to turn to more peaceful means of resolving conflict.
As of Kimly, she now says that violence does not resolve anything. "In the end, all the sadness must return to us." And when it comes to using acid as a weapon, she added: "we must face imprisonment."
(* This story was written for the Imaging Our Mekong Programme coordinated by IPS Asia-Pacific)
11 comments:
I guess using acid is popular for our Khmers. It is not a good way at all to do so. So coward act!
But lately, we see another way, that is shooting with bullets. Is this a better way? That is more cruel. Don't tell me it is. Like the case of some people killed in Cambodia ( Pilika, Sun nich, Panhapich, Chea Vichea and so on).
In the Northen Illinois on Valentine's day, a man shot 18 university students. I guess the USA should manage the use of weapon , not to be too freely used. It can be like Japan. How about in Cambodia?
What is the next way they gonna use? Bomb!!!!!???
I hope not!!!
I don't think Acid attack is a Khmer thing. It is more popular with Muslim. I read many attacks on women in Afghanistan.
Thanks for the info.
For what reasons they attack those women? Love reason? or what?
Well, as we all know, Muslim is very religious people, and when they see a woman in contempt or not conform to their religion, they attack her.
For instance, woman is not supposed to seduced man by promoting their figure or face. They supposed to cover some of their face, head, and figure, but if they failed to cover their face, they will be attacked in the face. And if they failed to cover their head, they will be attacked in the head, and that goes for their arm and leg as well. That is why Muslim women is very well covered today. You rarely find them in bikini, LOL.
And then the idea evolved and spread, but it mostly related to seduction, love, and jealousy.
these people who use or receive acid deserve what they search for:
mistress, jealousy, rivalty, most of the time is love affairs. However stupidity is the common share. Like the people who die in the street with their motobike cause they don't know to look right or left... good for everydbody that stupid people die.... to let them live or dead is not useful for the country...
The most sad part are children who get hurt for nothing as usual... Cambodian children are the last hope for cambodia. we have to protect and educate them in patriotic and intelligent way.
LOL, 7:24, it sounds like you say, "to keep you is no gain, to kill you is no lost".
Calm down, will ya? This is just a case of domestic violent, and domestic violent happened everywhere.
Sometime man is the victim because Khmer women aint no pushover, and sometime woman is the victim.
But most of our children grow up with both parents, and they will continued to carry out the good wills of our ancestors.
It looks like we are bunch of stupid people who are able to run around freely with stupid stuff. Where is the law & order to control this?!!!
Our own government learn nothing and do nothing for those that don't know. That man isn't the first and he won't be the last one either. You just watch. Ape of the east gov.
What do you want me to do, I got PHD but i never study?
Well, acid is used in battery and other cleaning purpose. How can we ban that? Plus, there are many useful things that people can use to harm other people, and there is nothing we can do about it. We just have to put the perpetrator in jail. That is all we can do.
11:37, you know better what I want you to do.
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