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.

Today dawns early for me, still jetlagged. Part of my early awakening had to do with anxiety I was feeling around our first task today: going to the Children’s Surgical Center to film a burn victim’s surgery in the operating room.

I am ashamed of where my anxiety came from. It stemmed from knowing what this victim looked like and how I had reacted to seeing her. She had fresh burns covering over 30% of her body and we arrived just as her dressings were being changed. She embodied, literally, the crime of this supremely heinous act.

Operating at the Children's Surgical Center

On May 21, 2011 the wife of a man she was involved with paid someone to ride by on his motorbike and throw a bag of acid on her. She is 30 years old. From the top of her scalp down to her torso between her breasts she is burned. Both arms are entirely burned. Her thighs and back of calves are burned. We saw her sitting on a gurney, stoic, but huffing short breaths of pain as the doctors administered fresh iodine and gauze to her massive skin wound. I could not watch her for long and had to leave the room even as the doctor was pointing out the medical aspect of the damage to us. It was overwhelming.

Fast forward to today. We arrive at the hospital and I’m mentally willing myself to remain intact throughout our time in the OR. We choose our film gear, don our scrubs (made by survivors at the Cambodian’s Acid Survivors Charity), and file into the busy OR. They’ve already started the procedure called debridement: the surgical removal of foreign matter and dead tissue from a wound (dictionary.com). There is a team of 3-5 doctors and nurses working on her simultaneously. Each focuses on a section of her body and uses tweezer-like appliances to pick her dead skin away and then swab the area down with an iodine/saline soaked gauze. Fresh blood oozes from the newly revealed layer of dermis. She is intubated and completely sedated. I am strangely relieved because she is at least – for the moment – not in pain.

The Process of Debridement

She has already had one skin graft to her face. The doctor explains that they try to save the eyes and face first. Unfortunately it was too late for her eyes. One is completely blind and the other only sees shades of light. She will have to endure numerous operations in the future to graft her healthy skin to the permanently damaged areas.

Children’s Surgical Center works closely with Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity; the former addressing critical medical needs and the latter offering legal, emotional, educational, vocational and shelter support. These are the only specialized organizations equipped to deal with acid burns in the country. CSC treats 90% of all acid burn victims. Had today’s survivor not made it to the CSC she most likely would have died. CASC will be ready and waiting to help her on her long journey of rehabilitation when she is ready. There, she will know that she is not alone and that there can be hope.

Phil and Ashlee at Work

For the 1.5 hours her surgery takes, I do my best to keep busy by taking pictures and staying out of the way of Phil and Ashlee’s filming. I also take a peak around the busy OR. Four more surgeries happen while we’re in there. I also note on the morning agenda that two more acid burn victims will undergo debridement. Three in one morning strikes me as a lot.

June 9, 2011 Morning Surgery Schedule

During the hubbub and banter of medical staff, beeping machines and people moving in and out, I catch myself looking at her just a few feet away thinking: How could anyone do something like this? Feeling my stomach knot up in fear and sorrow for how she’ll have to live the rest of her life, I wonder if there will be any type of justice for her and appropriate punishment for the perpetrator. Or, if the perpetrator will, like so many others, be treated lightly or even with impunity leaving the survivor to feel an extra weight in the heartache of her already broken life.

Tomorrow, more personal stories of acid-burn survivors and how CASC is providing the vital services and assistance that enables them to build a dignified life!

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.