Is there a crime more hideous? Acid attacks in Bangladesh - Part 1

Just as my scarred hands hold these rails
so the tiny drops
of my faith make me live, too.
I, who never asked for this blindness,
The scarring of my face and body that
erased my existence to the real world...

embaressed...

in fear of the stigma and of prejudice
that bubbles from the mouth
of the community I was once belonged to.
I am a mother turned into a baby,
desperately dependent...

I am a teenager who forgets how it was to be a teenager...
I am a lively lady that used to enjoy the company of my peers...
A victim of vitriolage,

I am shunned now...

and relive the vivid memories that lift me
to another level of distress, of such agony,
that my mind almost shut down,
they called...
a psychologist for in-depth intervention,
counselors...

A brilliant mind may give a hand
to restore my damage skin tissue;
surgical treatment...
Yet I will never be free

from the memory of such pain,
such punishment
nor will I be Me again...

Airyn R. Lentija, of Philippine heritage, is a domestic helper in Hong Kong. Her life, like with many foreign domestic workers, has been full of responsibilities, poverty, hardships. Many of her dreams, as for advanced education, have not been realized. Her poetic talents have been recognized and published multi-nationally. airynlentija@gmail.com

We introduce to you a topic which many viewers may find the photographs incredibly harrowing. We are not attempting to appeal to your morbid curiosity. We are introducing a topic which is becoming ever more a prominent issue within South East Asia.

In our first part of our article we bring to you a photo set by Ulrik Jantzen on his experience with acid attacks in Bangladesh. The photographs are incredibly hard-hitting and without doubt capture the traumatic emotions that the victims suffers from such a terrible crime, a crime that surely nobody deserves.

The reason for this phenomenon, campaigners say, is because the acid is so widely available.  One of the most popular professions in Bangladesh is making jewelry and this highly corrosive acid is used in the polishing stage, making it easily accessible.  Another reason for this spike in violence against intimates (“most attacks are a form of domestic violence”) is due to the rise in women’s desire for independence.

All images are subject to copyright and should not be republished without permission of the photographer

''For the rest of their lives the girls will be prisoners in a disfigured body''

  

In the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka, there is only one hospital, Dhaka Medical College, which has a department that treats burns. It covers all of Bangladesh. The department Dhaka Medical College has eight beds for 125 people.

''The scream of a victim just attacked with acid the night before. Water is the only way to treat the pains and the wounds. Medicine is too expensive.The child is six years old and she is burned with acid on more than 50 % of her body. The acid was meant to hit her mother, but that night the child was sleeping in her mothers bed. ''

''A victim of an acid attack sees himself in the mirror for the first time.'' 

''In between all the misery there is still time for a laugh.'' 

Many thanks to Ulrik Jantzen for his photo series and captions regarding acid attacks in Bangladesh. Although a traumatic subject for all stakeholders concerned it is a crime that is becoming ever more common through South East Asia. A crime the world needs to know about. 

Please take your time to have a look at Ulrik's work at http://www.ulrikjantzen.com

Next week we will bring you part two of Acid Attacks in Bangladesh featuring photographer Jan Moller Hansen.

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