She Dreamed of Being a Doctor in New York. Then She Was Attacked With Acid.

On March 17, a man doused acid on a 21-year-old Pakistani-American college student in her driveway on Long Island, New York. He ran off, never to be seen again. The woman, identified as Nafiah Ikram, suffered burns on her face, eyes, neck and hands.

Over a month later, the assailant remains at large. Now, Ikram’s family has gone public with their plea to mobilise people to help with medical costs and catch the attacker.

Sheikh Ikram, the father, told New York Post that it was “not a random attack”. “It’s a planned attack,” he said. “Why did they wait for her to come home?”

The incident comes as several cases of anti-Asian American violence are being reported across the country. One report showed an increase of nearly 150 percent in anti-Asian American hate crimes last year in 16 of the country’s most populous cities. 

While a majority of attacks have targeted people of East Asian descent, there have also been incidents against those of South Asian heritage.

Last month, three women coughed on and pepper-sprayed Subhakar Khadka, an Uber driver of Nepali descent. In another case, also last month, a 66-year-old Uber Eats driver and Pakistani immigrant Muhammad Anwar died after two teenage girls killed him in an armed carjacking attempt. 

Ikram, who aspires to be doctor, spoke publicly about ordeal this week.

“I felt my chest being ripped out of my soul,” the medical student from Hofstra University told AFP. Ikram had spent up to three weeks in the hospital after the incident. “My whole life changed in a matter of five minutes,” she told CBS New York. “I want to know, like, what’s the reason? Like, what could I have possibly done to somebody?”

Ikram’s case has now triggered widespread calls - including those by celebrities and politicians - for an investigation. Over the last three days, several support groups and individuals have been amplifying the case.

“This is the nightmare of any parent,” said Indian-American TV personality Padma Lakshmi in an appeal to her 1.1 million Instagram followers. 

“Acid was thrown in her face. Her whole face is injured and burned. They don’t even know if she’ll be able to see properly because she had contacts in, and the acid burned and melted the contacts into her eyes,” Lakshmi said.

“She’s been in the hospital for a greater part of this month,” Lakshmi said in her video, adding that she has known the family for a decade. “More importantly, she has lost a year of college.”

The attack took place on the night of March 17, when Ikram was helping her mother unload the car. In footage captured by a neighbour’s surveillance camera, the suspect was seen in a hoodie and carrying a cup containing a dark liquid. 

On a GoFundMe page, Ikran’s friend and neighbour Shazia Anjum said that the attacker was wearing gloves, knowing “how dangerous the acid was”.

The acid burned Ikram’s mouth, tongue and throat, which led to breathing problems. “Had the acid gotten into Nafiah’s lungs, she would have died,” Anjum wrote in the GoFundMe page. 

She also added that when her parents tried to help her, the acid burned their hands and forearms too. “If her parents were not home to help her and call 911 right away she would not have made it,” Anjum wrote. “We don’t know if Nafiah will ever regain vision.”

On April 21, the New York chapter of the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights and advocacy body, called for a hate crime investigation. “Amidst the rising hate crimes engulfing the state, it is important that this acid attack by an unknown individual be investigated as a possible hate crime,” said CAIR-NY’s legal director Ahmed Mohamed in a press statement. 

Kathleen Rice, an attorney and a member of the Democratic Party from the same district, also called for an investigation into the “vicious attack”. “Hate crimes against the [Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders] community are up nearly 150%. We cannot let this continue,” she said in a tweet on April 22. 

The local authorities told the media that there’s no evidence to ascertain whether it was a hate crime or not. This week, police increased the reward for information about the suspect from $5,000 to $20,000. “I’m sure the assailant was not acting alone or at least telling somebody about this attack,” said Patrick Ryder from the Nassau County Police in a press conference. “We will catch him.”

In the meantime, funds are being raised for Ikram’s treatment. The GoFundMe page by Anjum has raised more than $400,000.

Follow Pallavi Pundir on Twitter.