A GEO Intern’s Views About Acid Burning Attacks
This article was written as a small part of an overall assessment by Shaylee Wheeler, a Global Education Opportunity inter for the Worldwide Organization for Women in Geneva, Switzerland, during the fall of 2010.
“The following is a description of one of my days in the GEO program. It was my third day in the United Nations, in which I was able to attend two panels (one being the first panel that WOW sponsored during that session). The bulk of the content is merely a compilation of my notes that I had taken during the sessions. This was one of my most memorable days during the entire experience because of the intriguing subject matter that I was able to listen to and the opportunity of meeting some women who were working so closely with some real issues on the ground. It was the first time of many that I would feel like I was learning about a world that I didn’t even know I was living in and inspired me to become more informed and involved in these sorts of matters concerning women.
Wednesday, September 15th, 2010
WOW is co-sponsoring three of these panels during this session, and this first one was entitled “Acid Burning Attacks – Victimization, Survivors, Support.”
I regret to say that before hearing about this panel, I had never heard of acid attacks before – and they are horrific. Dr. John Morrison, founder of Acid Survivors Trust International, gave a very comprehensive overview of the crime. It is a form of violence that involves acid being thrown in a woman’s face, usually because she has spurned a man’s advances. It is premeditated and usually happens at night. This acid severely burns and melts the skin, creating lasting damage both physically and psychologically. It causes terrible health problems along with permanent disfiguration, stigmatizing them for the rest of their lives (often the desired effect of the perpetrator – it is a crime of honor, essentially). It also brutally destroys their sense of self-worth. Apparently this is crime that is happening all over the world, not just in under-developed countries and not related to race, culture, or creed. And there is one attack every two days in Bangladesh, the country where most of the presentation was focused.
It was the hope of the panelists to bring this issue out in the open. I had the honor of meeting Fozilatun Nessa and 
Monira Rahman, two women that had come from Bangladesh to speak out about acid attacks. They had a backpack stuffed full with documents – I could hardly lift it. WOW was helping them in this process, and Afton was the one who brought them there and helped them make connections. Monira talked more about the acid attacks, told some stories about women she had met, and provided an overview of the organization she directs, Acid Survivors Foundation. Much of her presentation sounded almost like a plea. She is a very capable woman who has done so much good, but it is obvious that they need so much help in this area.
Fazila is actually an acid burning victim and survivor herself. She told all of us her story: When she was in the 8th grade she was proposed to by a young man who was a distant relative (her uncle’s brother in law). That was not uncommon in her country, but at that time she said she did not understand love or marriage and had no interest in getting married, so she said no. He continued to put pressure on her and her family for two years, but she kept denying his offer. She didn’t have any question about accepting because she wanted to pursue a college education. Then one night when she was in the 10th grade, she went outside at night to use the toilet and this boy was there with his friend. The next thing she knew was that he had thrown something into her face and all she felt was a burning sensation, like she was on fire. She fell to the ground and started screaming when her family came out. No one knew what acid was so no one knew what to do. They took her to the community hospital, but they didn’t know what to do either. She then made it to the college hospital in the city, but it took her some time to get a bed because one of the only ways to do so is by yielding political influence. It was difficult for her to be there because it was very expensive – her family lived in a distant rural area, and they were required to pay for medicine, dressing changes, and food for Fazila and her family. After two months, she had to be discharged, but her skin was still very raw and was no where near recovery. One eye would not open all the way, her nose was displaced, she could not open her mouth normally, and she described her skin as squeezing her face like when plastic melts.
She decided to file a case against the attacker because she desired justice for what had happened, even though she was asked by her family to not tell the officials the name of the boy. She did so anyways, and the friend was put in prison for seven years, but the boy who threw the acid escaped to Saudi Arabia with the help of her family and still has not been found. Her family became very angry with her for all that had happened because he was technically family as well. So, they turned against her and withdrew all support. They began blaming her for what had happened, saying that she had somehow caused it and that something must be wrong with her. She then started to blame herself and contemplated committing suicide. It was at that time that she came in contact with the Acid Survivors Foundation and they helped her through a comprehensive rehabilitation process. She is now is working as treasurer for that organization and is providing support to other victims. Incredible.
She ended by saying that she hopes that she and other survivors can be an “example that we can stand on our own to feet and work to change the society.”
After she finished, the room was silent. Afton said of her, “She made such a difference – first in her family, then in her community, then in the world. This heroic woman who has changed the world she’s lived in.”
We stood and applauded her at the end. It was very powerful.
I have to admit that when I came home tonight, I felt a bit overwhelmed. “
From Inside the Botswana Camp, Mookane Botswana
Jon Hart, Global Education Opportunity (GEO) student in the Worldwide Organization for Women, recently returned from the Thandi Khumalo Foundation’s Botswana Camp which is one of the “community camps” developed by the Ariel Foundation International in Mookane, Botswana.
The purpose of having this camp was to empower the children and members of the community in Mookane, Botswana with more knowledge and opportunities to serve others. The goal was to have a camp that was based on local traditions and culture, and that would help the people in the community to develop better educational, sanitary, entrepreneurship, and leadership skills. Even though there were many difficulties in organizing and carrying out such a camp, the camp was successful in accomplishing its goals.
Here are Jon’s experiences in his own words:
“I arrived in Botswana Tuesday, November 23 with Dr Ariel King, and we immediately went to the village of Mookane with Thandi Khumalo. It was late when we arrived, so we discussed what we would do the next couple days to prepare for the camp. The next two days, Wednesday, November 24 and Thursday, November 25, Dr King and I met with Miss Khumalo and eight volunteers from her foundation to discuss the positive aspects and challenges of the community. We did this so that Dr King, the local volunteers, and I would all clearly understand what the needs of the community and children are so that we could adapt all of our camp activities to meet their needs.
These discussions were all in Setswana, the native language of the volunteers, and they wrote the main points on a board to organize them. Some of the positive aspects that the volunteers identified are that they find ways to create employment within the community, they take care of the children in the community, they educate children on how to prevent the spread of HIV, and they take care of the needy. They said that a lack of positive recreational activities for the young and a continuing spread of HIV are challenges in community. The volunteers also identified seven values of their community: love, patience, good morals, consultation, cooperation, self reliance, and compromise. Because these values were identified as being important to the community and culture, all volunteers from both organizations made it a point to teach these to the children during the camp. For most activities that we did, we emphasized how these values have their place in the activity and in society. Therefore, by identifying these seven values, we all had defined common values upon which we would build and base the camp.
I learned a lot from these activities the first two days. I learned that in order to work with people and help them, one must know the needs, mindset, and culture of these people.For example, if Dr King and I had arrived and said, “this is how things are in the USA; this is how we will do it in this camp,” we would not have been able to help the community because we would not know how to help the community. I not only learned about the culture in Botswana, but I learned that in working with people in any culture, I must first seek to understand the positive aspects and challenges of that culture or community.
Friday, November 26 was the day the children arrived to the camp. Before the camp, Dr King and I had the opportunity to go with Mr. Mofokeng, a member of the community, to visit the chief of Mookane, the headmaster of the secondary school, and a member of the city council. We were able to discuss the goal of our camp and ask for their support. They were all willing to give their support to the children and the camp, and they all separately visited the children during the camp. From this experience, I learned the importance of working with locals. These men are well respected in the community and by simply coming to the camp to express their support for the children meant a lot to the community. The community saw that this was an important camp if all these men were supporting it.
After meeting with these men, children ages 14 and older arrived to check into the camp. There were 27 children in this age group. As the children checked in, they filled out a survey, and we took a picture of them. After putting their belongings in their residence, we had time to play games with the other children. Dr King had brought many balls and games for the children to play with. Then we introduced the seven values of the camp with a member of the city council presenting the values to the children and officially opened the camp. This helped the camp because the children know the city council member, and they respect him. This gave the camp more validity to the children.
After dinner, I stayed the night with the boys in their residence, and Dr King stayed with the females in their residence. During this time, we were able to talk with the males and females about important issues concerning HIV and safe sex. I discussed with the boys how the use of condoms can protect them and their partner from the spread of HIV. I emphasized the fact that I was not telling them to go out and have sex with everyone, but when they do decide to have sex, they protect themselves and their partners. The boys had questions as to how a condom can help prevent the spread of HIV, so I answered their questions. It was good for the boys to be educated on this issue because it is one of the challenges the volunteers listed when we prepared for the camp.
The next day, Saturday, November 27, we had many activities for the children in the camp. The children had free time to play whatever sports or activities they wanted to. We also had an arts and crafts activity that related to Human Rights. We gave the children paper to draw on and colored pencils, and Dr King asked the children to draw a picture relating to them and their Human Rights. This was an interesting activity because it gave the children the opportunity to express how they felt about their individual rights. This gave the volunteers the opportunity to talk to the children about their Human Rights as well. In this activity we could use fun, creative ways to teach the children important issues that will affect their lives. Not all teaching comes from a textbook, PowerPoint, or lecture; we can teach and learn in any variety of settings and ways.
Next we showed the children how to use cameras and video cameras. This was exciting for them because most of them had never used a camera before. We gave them the opportunity to take pictures of each other and to film each other. I worked with the boys on this, and it was fun for them to film each other talking and playing sports. From this activity, the boys learned that they are capable of using technology, even with just a little training.
Sunday, November 28, was the last day for the older children to be at camp. Ten children, five boys and five girls, were chosen to stay and be “camp counselors.” This gave them the opportunity to be in leadership positions and to help the new children that arrived. The five boys that stayed as camp counselors helped me a lot in explaining activities and demonstrating how to do certain things with the new group that arrived.
This 9-13 age group was not as interested in cameras like the older group, but
were more interested in dancing and playing games. A local group of dancers came to the camp and brought their music and speakers. They set them up in the auditorium and played cultural music. They demonstrated cultural dances for the children, and then the children had the opportunity to dance as well. After dinner, I stayed with the boys in their residence, and Dr King stayed with the girls in their residence.
The next day, Monday, November 29, Dr King organized training on Children’s Rights, and one of the volunteers translated this for her. Each child had a paper that had a smiling face and a frowning face on it. The volunteer would read about the children’s rights, and the children would hold up either the smiling or frowning face to show whether or not they agreed with what the volunteer had said. This provided many opportunities to teach the children about their rights as children and as human beings. The children and volunteers really enjoyed this activity. The children also had similar arts and crafts as the first group; they drew pictures dealing with their Human Rights. This again gave the children the opportunity to express themselves and learn more about their rights.
I think many of the children were surprised that a white person was in the camp with them, so many of the children would follow me as I walked around. As I was walking through the camp, a group of children had gathered and was following me. Every time I would look at them, they would hide behind a wall or bushes. This led me to chasing after them. The children really seemed to enjoy this, and I played chase with them for nearly two hours. This was personally my favorite activity with the children. I felt like I was able to bond more with the children during this activity, even though there was not much structure in the game besides running and hiding from me. But from the reaction of the children, I could see that they really enjoyed it as well. It was interesting to me that an unplanned, unexpected game such as tag would end up being one of the highlights of the trip for me.
Wednesday, December 1 was the last day of camp, and it is also World AIDS Day. This was a good day for us to have a closing ceremony for the children. Many people came to support the camp and the children in their community. The chief of the village presided over the event and to officially close the camp. The headmaster of the primary school came to present certificates of accomplishment to each child, and many other people from the community came to help with the event. The chief, parents, family members, and friends were all extremely grateful to the Thandi Khumalo Foundation, the Ariel Foundation International, the Worldwide Organization for Women. The chief personally thanked me, which meant a great deal to me. I appreciated his recognition, and he recognized that we all have a great love for these children.
Now that this experience is over, I can take these lessons that I have learned by applying them in my life and my work. I want to become more effective in working with people so that I can help as many people as possible. I also hope that all the volunteers involved in this camp will also take out positive lessons from this camp and see the good things that we were able to accomplish with these children. If we learn from the good and difficult situations that we had and continue to work to help these people and communities, we will be able to accomplish much good in our lives and the lives of others.”
Board of Directors Meeting in Salt Lake City, UT, United States
On Thursday, the 14th January 2011, the Board of Directors of the World Wide Organization for Women met in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States for a strategic planning session. Much was discussed about WOW’s mission to educate, advocate and offer humanitarian efforts around the world.
As Mother Teresa once said, “If you can’t feed 100 people, just feed one.” Do you have some practical ideas that can help with WOW’s efforts to ADVOCATE for women, continue our mission to EDUCATE, and carry out worldwide HUMANITARIAN activities? What creative things have you been able to do to volunteer in your local community, even if it only benefited one person? Every idea and volunteer effort, no matter how large or small, is important.
Please share your insights in the comment section below this post.
