A summer appeal from acid attack survivors

Imagine a scorching hot summer day for someone suffering from acid burns and bare minimum facilities to deal with the intense heat. With the mercury crossing 45 degrees, The Stop Acid Attacks campaign has launched an appeal that requests people to donate, so that air conditioners and other equipments to deal with the heat can be bought for the acid attack survivors.

Laxmi Saa, an acid attack survivor and director Stop Acid Attacks says, “Summer is really bad for acid attack survivors. They need to be in an air conditioned environment. Because of all the sweating and heat, there is unbearable itching and other complications such as pus formation and even maggots in the wounds. When you see a burn victim, you just see the face or arms that have been scarred. However, the entire body suffers as skin from other parts of the body is taken for skin grafting. In my case, they used the skin from my back . As a result of all these painful procedures, that end up scarring the entire body, a burn victim needs a cool environment at all times.”

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“These acid attack survivors are mostly from financially weak families and they have no support system. The government run shelters rarely have facilities. This is just an appeal to the people who want to help,” says Ashish Shukla, campaigner Stop Acid Attacks.

The intense heat in summer is especially painful for burn patients. “For those suffering from burns, tolerance of skin towards heat becomes very low. Also if they have undergone surgery or laser treatment, the new skin that comes out is extremely sensitive to heat,” says Dr Lokesh Kumar, director BLK Centre for Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery.

Anshu, an acid attack survivor who underwent a reconstructive surgery recently and could not speak, wrote on the appeal page, “Many of my friends have deep burn wounds and they are living without the basic facilities in a hot summer… The girls staying in facilities provided by the government need is not up to mark. We only live with a fan with no power backup and temperature here reaches to 49 in hot summer days (sic).”

She further adds, “This summer, many of our acid attack survivors, after their surgery, are suffering in small, stuffy apartments and houses with no retreat from the scorching heat. Due to the medical reason they need a cool place to stay after their surgeries. Heat is one of the most dangerous weather conditions in North India.”

The donations will help atleast 30 acid attack survivors who are a part of the campaign and also undergoing treatment in various hospitals across the country. The donated air conditioners will be used at the campaign’s support centres in Delhi, Agra and Lucknow.

For more details, mail at stopacidattacks@gmail.com.