Not trying to say anything subliminal about niqabs at all but I am downright curious in why she was attacked? I wonder if she has some beef with something that she brushed off as something minor. Sorry if a repost.
Victoria's Secret worker scarred for life when niqab-wearing attacker threw acid in her face as she walked home from shop
- Naomi Oni, 20, was almost blinded and will need years of skin grafts
- She was heading back to her flat from the bus stop when she was injured
- Had been talking to her boyfriend on the phone after a late shift
- Says the apparently random attack has 'destroyed' her life
- The shop assistant no longer wants to go out in public
- She was inspired to share her story by acid-attack victim Katie Piper
By
Emma Reynolds
PUBLISHED:
09:17 EST, 1 February 2013
|
UPDATED:
11:38 EST, 1 February 2013
A Victoria's Secret shop assistant
was scarred for life when a mysterious figure wearing a niqab threw
acid in her face as she walked home from work.
Naomi
Oni, 20, was left with severe burns on her head, neck, arms, legs and
body after she was attacked in Dagenham, east London.
She has spent the past month having skin
grafts and almost went blind, although she has now recovered her vision
in her left eye and has partial sight in her right.
Shocking: Naomi Oni, 20, was on the phone to her boyfriend when someone wearing a niqab threw acid at her
Her attacker was dressed like a
Muslim woman in a niqab, so Ms Oni could not see their face. Police
have no idea who was responsible for the vicious attack, or why they did
it.
The shop assistant - who is sole carer for her
disabled mother Marian Yalekhue, 52 - was making the five-minute journey back to their flat from the bus stop when she heard someone behind her.
Hidden: Police have not managed to identify who did attacked Ms Oni because they were wearing a niqab (file picture)
She had just finished a late shift at the Westfield Stratford store and was on the phone to her boyfriend
Ato Owede, 23, at 12.40am.
'I’d
been working a late shift and was talking to my boyfriend about what we
were going to do for New Year when I saw this Muslim woman wearing a
niqab covering her face,' she told the Evening Standard.
'I thought it was a bit strange at that time of night, but she didn’t say anything and I kept on walking.
'Then
I felt a splash on my face. It burned and I screamed out. I started
running and screaming, holding my face, all the way home. I didn’t look
back.
'I got home and I was
screaming and banging on the door. I was hysterical. Luckily my
godmother, who is a pharmacist, was at home with my mum and she helped
me and kept dipping my face in water and trying to calm me down until
the police and ambulance got there.
'I was in shock. Saying: "Who would do that? Who would do that?" How could anyone do this?'.
She
has released the shocking images of her disfigured face in an appeal
for help to catch the attacker whose identity was concealed behind the
Muslim women’s dress which completely covers the face apart from the
eyes.
Ms Oni decided to speak out after police failed to establish any motive behind the December 30 attack or identify a suspect.
She said the attack had 'destroyed' her life and left her too afraid to venture out or even show her face in public.
'I
look in the mirror and it just isn’t me. I’ll never look the same
again,' she said. 'I’ve always been outgoing and confident in my job and
in my personal life, used to getting attention for the way I dress or
my hair, but now I don’t want anyone looking at me.
Devastating: Ms Oni had just finished a shift at Westfield Stratford shopping centre and was minutes from home
Life-altering: A woman walks past a shopping
centre Victoria's Secret shop similar to the one where Ms Oni worked
before the attack
'I don’t want people to see me in
public. I don’t want to get the Tube or the bus. If I have to go to the
hospital I take a taxi.
'I
don’t know if I’ll ever be able to go back to my job. I was planning to
go to college in September to study media and fashion, but I don’t even
know if I’ll be able to do that.'
The
store assistant has been told she faces months if not years of skin
grafts and further plastic surgery and even then is likely to be left
with severe facial scarring.
She
and her mother say they are too afraid to go back to their council flat
in Dagenham. They are currently sleeping on a friend’s sofa-bed after
turning down the offer to be rehoused in Tottenham on safety grounds.
Ms
Oni said she had been inspired by the story of Katie Piper, the model
who launched a charity and spoke out publicly after falling victim to an
acid attack orchestrated by her boyfriend, but that she would never
feel safe with her attacker still at large.
'Even
with the support of my family and friends and boyfriend I feel very
alone,' she said. 'Nothing is going to be same anymore.'
A
Scotland Yard spokesman said acid attacks were 'extremely rare' and
that detectives were keeping an 'open mind as to the motive.'
Officers from Barking and Dagenham are investigating. No arrests have been made and inquiries are ongoing.
- Anyone with information should contact police on 0203 276 1058 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.