Acid attack on a Syrian refugee and his 11-month-old son

The acid attack on a Syrian refugee happened in West Delhi’s Vikaspuri to a family of three Syrian refugees:Rafat, his wife Marisa, and their 11-month-old son. Because of their unemployment, they were living on the streets in front of the UNHCR office. 

He had previously worked at a call center. After losing his job, he contacted a UN organization, but they gave him a poor reaction and wouldn’t help, forcing him and his family to live on the streets. 

A group of locals in the area allegedly threw some corrosive substance on the refugee and his son.

“I tried running away but couldn’t get far away before they threw something on me and my son,” he told the reporters after spotting some males with a can and sensing danger. He also said that after the attack he could smell chemicals on them and that their skin was burning.

He further claimed that he received no help initially it was only later that a man helped him and dropped him to the hospital on his bike. An FIR was registered in the case.

Marisa, who was using the public restroom at the time of the incident, got to the hospital and discovered that her son had injuries all over his face, especially around his eyes, neck, and chest, and that her husband and child were hurt severely, she started sobbing and crying. Marisa was shocked and found it hard to comprehend that a newborn could be subjected to such abuse. “How could someone do this to a baby? Do they not have kids?”

This case led to Rafat being contacted by an NGO supporting acid attack survivors, who expressed concerns over acid’s continued accessibility to the general public. “The availability of corrosives can so easily ruin people’s lives,” said Shaheen, the founder of Brave Souls Foundation, about the case.

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