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Sweet and sour life of a disfigured victim
Disfigured by sulfuric acid at the age of five, Lin Lin has spent most of her young life recovering -- and trying to be normal. Now, as she begins her first real job in Shanghai, Lin tells reporter Chen Qian of her ordeal -- and her sweet resilience.
At the tender age of five, Lin was tossed with concentrated sulfuric acid in her face. The harmful chemical, thrown by her father's girlfriend in a fit of jealousy at both her and her mother, destroyed all the skin on her face, severely burning her ears, nose, mouth and eyes. It changed her life -- but at the same time, it showed her mettle. But Lin, who is China's first sulfuric acid disfiguration victim, didn't give in. Her story was told across the nation, and drew an outpouring of sympathy. And today, as she begins a new life with her first job, at the Zhoupu Post Office, which is affiliated to the Shanghai Post Bureau, many are rejoicing with her. None of this came easy, however. Lin, 23, spent her final months of vocational school just like her other classmates, job-hunting. One by one, her classmates were hired, but Lin was turned down, again and again. ``It wasn't because of my abilities,'' she says, in her clear, confident voice. ``I won scholarship every year at school, and I'm confident that my abilities are just the same as my classmates, but...'' Her voice trails off, as if the difficulty of confronting the issue is still too much to discuss. The issue is that Lin, who has short, layered hair that sometimes falls in her eyes, still bears the grotesque stamp of that long-ago tragedy. From the back, she looks just like anyone else -- but when she turns around, her scarred face marks her. ``I'm not sure whether it is difficult for others to find a job. But I'm sure I would have more opportunities if I were a normal person,'' she continues quietly. But luck was on her side. A sympathetic reporter covered her situation in the Xinmin Evening News, and suddenly there were plenty of organizations offering her employment -- one of them her current employer, the Shanghai Post Bureau. Post bureau director Wang Guanchang offered her an internship at the Zhoupu Post Office in Nanhui District, which is close to her home at the army hospital in Zhoupu Town, where she has lived ever since she arrived in Shanghai for treatment 18 years ago. ``I'm very happy and grateful to have this chance. The officials from the post office are very kind,'' says Lin. ``They even bent the rules for me -- normally, they only accept university students. I really, really appreciate the opportunity they've given me.'' Lin began working at the post bureau last October, on a three-month assignment at the Newspaper Circulation Department. Zhang Liming, her superior, has nothing but praise for her. ``When she finished her internship, we all missed her very much,'' Zhang says. Lin joined the post office, full time, on February 24. ``This is a small town,'' Zhang says of Zhoupu. ``Most people here know Lin and have seen her around town -- we don't think her working here is a big deal.'' Not a big deal for him -- but given what it took to get to this point, it is for Lin. Lin's tragedy began in 1986 with what was supposed to be a happy visit to her father's workplace in Ningde City, Fujian Province, where the family lived at that time. Unbeknown to Lin and her mother, her father had a girlfriend, surnamed Pan, whose intense jealousy for Lin's pretty mother would bubble over that day. Enraged that Lin's father had no intention of divorcing her mother, and with the intention of destroying her beauty, Pan splashed them both with the acid. For her brutal act, Pan was sentenced to death, but the damage was done. Six months later, Lin's father disappeared, and has not been heard from since. But Lin was not left alone -- far from it. Officials from Fujian helped finance Lin's treatment and that of her mother, sending them to Shanghai where they would receive better medical care. Donations poured in from all over the country. And in 1987, Lin and her mother, Lin Feng, arrived in Shanghai, from their hometown. Lin underwent a series of cosmetic surgeries at the Zhoupu Army Hospital, which helped her recover quickly. Unfortunately, due to lack of funding, Lin has not been able to receive additional treatment since 1993, and is in dire need of oral surgery. Since 1993, Lin has received medicine from her school's clinic, free of charge. Although she is not a Shanghai resident, she was able to attend school thanks to the efforts of the hospital director, who first spoke to the elementary school principal on her behalf. When the headmaster of the high school heard her story, they accepted her as well. ``Lin is really a strong-minded girl,'' says a Zhoupu Army Hospital official surnamed Wang. ``It seems impossible to face something like this so calmly, but she did.'' Lin didn't realize that her face was different from others until the first day she went to primary school. ``My classmates looked at me curiously, with a little fear in their eyes as well,'' Lin recalls. ``But all that disappeared the next day. The teachers hung up photographs of me and told my story to the whole school. Before that, I had never realized I was different because in the hospital where I stayed were so many patients like me.'' The way she looked -- no eyebrows, a mangled nose and reddened, patchy skin -- and the way people reacted to her never dampened her spirits, however, as Lin was always told by her mother that inner beauty is the most important thing. Lin herself was happy, since despite all the odds, she was able to go to school where she was treated just like everyone else. Still, there were dark moments. Once, on an outing with her middle school classmates, passersby stared and snickered at her. Although this had happened before, for some reason, the particular incident got to her. Her mother recalls that Lin came home and cried for two hours. But now all that is past. What's next? More education, says Lin. ``Although I have graduated from school, I will continue studying to try to get more certificates, like a Certified Public Accountants (CPA) certificate or bachelor's degree,'' she says. ``Currently I am preparing for the exam for the autodidacts. Later, I will take training at the post office.'' Eventually, she says, she would like to be able to give back what she has
received from the society and individuals who were there when she needed them so
desperately. Her first gift will be the donation of her entire first-month
salary to those who need help. |
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