This Indian cafe turns acid victims into "heroines"

After 10 surgeries, the scorched bark scars still covered Saini's face and neck. Countless times, she had a question in her mind: why did he do this to me? In 2012, a cousin was rejected for courtship and threw sulfuric acid in her face. Strong acid engulfed the beautiful face of the teenage girl and her left eye, as well as her sports dream. Originally, Suni was a member of the Indian Haryana volleyball team.

In India, where "buying sulfuric acid is as easy as buying milk", it is not uncommon for women to be splashed with sulfuric acid. More than 500 such incidents were revealed in 2015, and the actual number may be even higher.

Since her appearance was ruined, Saini was no longer accepted by the surrounding community and could not find a job to make a living, until she met Sheroes Cafe.

Sheroes is transformed from the English word heroes, which means "heroine". At the Sheroes Cafe, Suni was no longer afraid of exposing her appearance because several other staff members were also victims of the acid attack. When Dolly was 12 years old, an elderly man threw sulfuric acid at her after an attempted sexual assault; Gita was thrown sulfuric acid by her husband, and Gita's 24-year-old daughter, Nitu, was also a victim; Rupa was poured sulfuric acid by her stepmother in her sleep when she was 15.

The Sheroes Cafe is located near India's most famous scenic spot, the Taj Mahal. The decoration here is very tasteful, offering free Internet to sell coffee, tea and French fries. However, the waiters in this cafe are all victims of acid attacks, and the consumption is not clearly marked, but it is up to the customers to decide how much to pay, and all the profits will be used to help the victims of other acid attacks.

In the cafe, these desperate women victims have found a new role. Every day, their cafe receives more than 100 customers. Seni is in charge of the accounts of the cafe, while Gita is busy in the kitchen. Rupa has a talent for fashion design, so she also sells her designs while working in the cafe. Sometimes they sing and dance with their guests in the store, and even say "my sun" in Italian.

The black hole of inner fear is illuminated inch by inch in the process. Suni remembers that on the day she was attacked, she was dressed in red, and she never wore red again. But when she joined the cafe, everyone gave her a red dress and everyone cut the cake to celebrate the new beginning. Girls are no longer afraid to show their faces, and on the walls of the cafe are fashion blockbusters shot by famous Indian photographer Rahul Saharan, wearing clothes designed by Rupa.

The Sheroes Cafe is an attempt not only to provide jobs to connect victims with mainstream society, but also to change the public mindset. It opens up a soft corner in people's minds and makes them sensitive to acid attacks. " Said Alok Dixit, founder of Sheroes Cafe. His lover, Laximi, was also a victim of the acid attack, but that didn't stop them from falling in love. They co-founded the pro bono project stop sulfuric Acid attack (Stop Acid Attacks) in 2013 and later founded Sheroes Cafe through crowdfunding.

"you want a job, but you can't get it, and people don't even want to talk to you." Laxmi is all too familiar with this feeling, but now she is a mother and a TV host. "someone has to stand up. The change has come, and the soldiers have appeared. " Laxmi told the media.

Their running worked. In July 2013, India's Supreme Court announced new regulations to regulate the wholesale of sulfuric acid. In the same year, India amended its criminal law, punishable by up to 10 years in prison for assaulting others with chemicals. "the next challenge is how to implement these laws," Alock said.

The idea of Sheroes has also spread all over India. The second branch of Sheroes Cafe opened in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, on International Working Women's Day International Day in 2016. In July, a third branch opened in Udaipu, Rajasthan, India.

A Spa and spa run by victims of the acid attack, which is also part of the stop sulfuric acid attack public welfare project, has also opened. The director, Sonia, used to be an employee of the beauty salon. Sonina, 31, named herself "sulfuric acid attack fighter Sonina" on social networking sites. She didn't give up her interest in beauty, and over the years she appeared on make-up shows and got the opportunity to learn from India's top beauty experts.

As for Sunny, she no longer asked herself the question "Why did he do this to me"-"I'm busy, I forgot those things, and I don't care why he did it." Nowadays, Suni is busy learning English, and she is still eager to become an athlete.

(this article is compiled from websites such as http://indianexpress.com, http://www.huffingtonpost.ca, http://www.inuth.com, http://blogs.wsj.com, etc.)

Source: China Youth Daily (page 06, March 10, 2017)