NEW YORK: An unidentified man threw acid on a Pakistani college student from Long Island, disfiguring her face in an attack that activists want to be investigated as an anti-Muslim hate crime.
According to details, the victim, identified as Nafiah Ikram, and her mom was getting out of their car outside their Elmont home on March 17 when a man threw a caustic liquid at her face and ran off.
The attack left her hospitalized for 15 days, with severe burns to her face, eyes, neck, and hands. “My whole life changed in a matter of five minutes,” the Hofstra University student said, adding, “We don’t realize what we have until it’s gone.”
Her father, Sheikh Ikram said that Nafiah was targeted on her way home from work. “No, it’s not a random attack, it’s a planned attack,” an international newspaper quoted him as saying.
Meanwhile, Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder asked anyone with information to come forward, announcing a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. “This attack was a vicious and heinous crime,” he said.
Nafiah is just starting to talk again, but still struggles to eat or drink, because acid burned her throat, her father said. “She is very scared. My wife, she sleeps with her every night,” Ikram added.
The family says it is stunned by the outpouring of generosity and support from family and friends. Almost $300,000 has been raised in donations to pay for medical costs.
