Survivors shunned by their peers

Thang Kham speaks about her fears that she will not be able to find a job once she leaves the Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity. She is due to return to her native Siem Reap on Friday after staying at the charity for four years. Others who need assistance or would like to seek care in cases of acid- or acid burn-related emergencies are encouraged to call the CASC hotline at 092 600 031. (Photo by: Rick Valenzuela)

Thursday, 29 April 2010
By Mom Kunthear and Brooke Lewis
The Phnom Penh Post

Acid attack victims encounter fear and misunderstanding as they try to return to their old lives.

THANG Kham is a nurse with formal training and experience who has also worked as a teacher and, most recently, a cook. But as she prepares to return from Kandal province to her native Siem Reap on Friday, she is worried she won’t be able to find work.

That’s because the 62-year-old suffered severe scars on her face and one arm in an acid attack in Phnom Penh’s Kandal Market 20 years ago that also injured four other women, one of whom died. Though she does not believe she was the target of the attack, she has lived with the scars from it for two decades, eventually seeking assistance at the Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity (CASC four years ago.

She now believes she is ready to live on her own. “I plan to leave this charity on Friday. I am going to live with my children in Siem Reap province,” she said in an interview Wednesday.

“But I don’t know what kind of job I can do. It is useless for me to look for a job as a nurse since I was attacked, even though I have the ability, because my face is bad-looking and my hands are trembling.”

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