Refugee, 18, blinded in acid attack says Met delay may have cost him sight | Crime

A teenage refugee from Eritrea who was blinded in an acid assault in south London says he believes he may nonetheless be capable to see if the police had acted extra swiftly.

{The teenager}, Aaron, 18 (not his actual identify), is talking out for the primary time. The incident occurred on 7 December 2020 at about 8.10am in Thornton Heath. Aaron was strolling to school along with his pal Jemal, 25 (not his actual identify), an asylum seeker additionally from Eritrea.

A person approached them and threw a cup of acid into their faces. Jemal acquired accidents to his eyes and face however was not blinded. The Metropolitan police say the suspect and the motive behind the assault are unknown.

Crimestoppers has launched an attraction, providing a reward of as much as £5,000 for nameless data. The victims are receiving assist from Da’aro, a youth challenge for younger asylum seekers and refugees, which launched a crowdfund marketing campaign to assist them.

The 2 victims say the person who threw the acid is white and so they consider the assault may have been motivated by racism.

Police say the person who blinded Aaron is similar one that got here to his dwelling on 7 September saying he had a letter for him. CCTV footage of that incident reveals {the teenager} going into the road to gather the letter and being punched twice within the face by the person who had a bicycle chain wrapped round his fist.

Aaron mentioned: “I reported the primary assault to the police however they didn’t catch him. If that they had caught him after the primary assault I might not have been blinded in the second. I requested for assist after the primary assault however I didn’t get it. With the acid assault the police waited till January of this yr to launch a witness attraction. I really feel hopeless now.”

Each victims fled persecution in Eritrea and endured tough journeys by Libya, crossing the Mediterranean in a small boat, and hung out in Calais earlier than lastly reaching the UK and believing they had been protected eventually.

“I didn’t know something about acid assaults till this occurred to me,” mentioned Aaron.

“We got here right here to save lots of our lives,” mentioned Jemal. “I assumed this was a peaceable nation the place no one would harm us. We by no means anticipated an acid assault. We aren’t concerned in crime. We had been on our solution to school to additional our training when this occurred.

“In Eritrea we don’t have the chance to check due to the dictatorship,” mentioned Aaron. “It was a protracted journey to the UK, I suffered quite a bit in Libya and in Calais. My damage is for ever. The assault was greater than painful. I used to be fully blinded. I ran out into the street, not seeing the place I used to be going. A person stopped his automotive and known as the ambulance. I may hear them however couldn’t see something.”

Initially, the 2 victims had been taken to Croydon hospital and later transferred to Chelsea and Westminster hospital’s burns unit.

“My pal’s face was extraordinarily broken,” mentioned Jemal. “His eyes, his nostril, his hair was burned off the highest half of his head. I used to be discharged that night. Fortunately my sight returned to my proper eye, however my pal needed to keep in hospital for nearly one month.”

Jemal added: “The most important damage is in my coronary heart. I fear about my pal. He’s very scared. He doesn’t really feel protected to go exterior. He tells me that he believes leaving his room may price him his life. He doesn’t sleep and cries all night time.”

DC Dimitri Savathrakis, of the south space CID reactive workforce, mentioned: “This was a violent and unprovoked assault on two harmless victims and we’re doing every part in our energy to carry the individual accountable to justice.”

The suspect is described as a white or Asian male, of slim construct, who wore a black hooded jacket, darkish colored trousers and sneakers or boots. On every event he was carrying a light-weight blue medical masks and a darkish colored baseball cap.

Aaron appealed to his attacker at hand himself in to police and mentioned he wouldn’t really feel protected till the person was caught. “Please go to the police and admit to what you may have executed,” he mentioned.

When requested why there had been a delay in launching a witness attraction after the acid assault, a Met spokesperson mentioned: “After exhausting numerous avenues of inquiries a call was made to problem a witness attraction. There isn’t a proof presently to recommend it was a racially motivated assault, however we hold an open thoughts as to motive. Following inquiries, officers are assured the attacker within the first and second incident is similar individual.”

Anybody with data can contact Crimestoppers UK or name 0800 555 111. The reward of as much as £5,000 is on provide for data that results in the arrest and conviction of the individual answerable for the acid assault.