Straight from Cambodia – Danielle along with Ashlee Larsen, a Brigham Young graduate student, is accompanying Stirring the Fire founder, Phil Borges as he documents the work of Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity.

Our small team, consisting of Phil (head photographer/film-maker), Ashlee (recent graduate of photography) and me (scribe/blogger), traveled to two women’s houses to meet them and document their stories. Accompanying us is a social worker from CASC, Sokhon, who translates for us and a skilled driver of the CASC vehicle – a burn survivor himself.

Regardless of residing in Phnom Penh it still took us a hour to get to the first home, traffic being what it is in this city. As we bumped and swerved along enroute to our destination, we picked up two twenty kilo sacks of rice as gestures of gratitude for the women who would shortly be telling us their stories.

Buying Rice for Home Visits

We turned off the main road onto increasingly smaller, narrow streets eventually turning onto a dirt road where we stopped in front of a fruit stand flanked by a small brick home. Blind and feeling her way out of the doorway into the sun to greet us was Sokreun, our first survivor.

This tiny woman was attacked when she was 22 years old. She is now 37. She had been a stunning beauty and after we had completed the interview, she pulled out the two pictures she owned of herself before the attack: the first a photo of her as a bridesmaid and the second, a more stoic picture that was taken just 3 months before the attack.

Acid Burn Survivor, Sokreun

She had been a successful business woman selling corn. She owned property and was financially well off. One of the men who came to work for her was in the process of getting a divorce from his first wife in early 1992. Sokreun and he fell in love and were married in November 1992. Their first child died, but a couple years later they had her now oldest child of three, Phivorn. When Phivorn was 3 months and 18 days old, the ex-wife of Sokreun’s husband showed up with her brother and together they doused Sokreun with 5 liters of acid.

From 1995 to 2004 Sokreun had to foot the extensive medical bills herself by selling her business and property. She has endured over 20 surgeries and is now dependent on others, mainly her oldest daughter. Being landless, she lives on government property in their local community in a building usually reserved for community events, festivals and gatherings. Her parents asked the community council to give her this plot of land, but the council has not given full permission for them to stay. Thus the family exists in a type of limbo – residing on government property that is being ‘lent’ to them but always fearing being kicked out and having nowhere to go. In 2010 CASC helped build the small brick building on that property not only due to need, but perhaps in an attempt to solidify her living there.

Sokreun, Acid Burn Survivor

On March 8, 2009 the perpetrator was arrested and sent to prison for a crime she committed in 1995. She receives special treatment in prison because she has connections and could be released sooner than the 5 year sentence she received. The other party involved in the crime has never been held accountable.

One of the aspects in the complex problem of acid burning is that the police and judicial systems are corrupt. On the one hand people take conflict resolution into their own hands because they don’t trust the police, acid burning being one severe resolution tactic. On the other hand once an acid attack has happened there is no clear criminal justice procedure to hold perpetrators accountable. It takes an incredibly brave survivor to pursue their case in court because of these systemic challenges. Additionally survivors sometimes receive on going threats from the perpetrators, especially if the perpetrators have connections (family, relatives, friends) to the military, government, police or judicial systems.

Sokreun Sitting with Her 2 Daughters

Next our team will visit the operating room to film a burn victim’s surgery.  Stay tuned!

Ending Violence against Women – Acid Burns

Acid burning is one of the most extreme forms of violence that causes severe physical and psychological scarring, and social ostracism. The victims of acid violence, largely women and girls, are often left with limited access to medical or psychological assistance, no legal recourse, and no means of livelihood.

Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI) is the only organization in the world focused on combating and eradicating acid burns violence at the international level. In Cambodia, ASTI partners with Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity (CASC) to provide vital services to survivors of acid burns violence. With support from the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, ASTI and CASC assist women survivors of acid violence to receive justice and to rebuild their lives. The organizations also sensitize and empower local communities to stand up against acid violence.

The UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, managed by UN Women, is a leading source of support for local and national efforts to end violence against women and girls. Join the UN Trust Fund in this vital work—for more information on how you can support the UN trust Fund click here.