Victim of acid attack 'ready to find love'

The victim of an a vicious acid attack in 2012, Naomi Oni says she is ready to date again after two years of reconstructive surgery.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Back in 2012, Oni was attacked by her former friend, Mary Konye, as she walked home from work. Konye through acid over her face, head and body, burning off the Oni's eyelids, eyebrows and some of her hair, in addition to leaving her disfigured.

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Konye was waring a niqab veil to disguise herself, but was caught on closed circuit TV, and sentenced to 12 years in prison for the attack.

Oni said that seeing her reflection in the mirror made her feel suicidal, and she thought no man would ever want to marry her. Two months after the attack her then-boyfriend broke up with her, and she worried that no man would ever find her attractive.

Since that time, following numerous, painstaking surgeries, her face has been mostly rebuilt, and she has started dating again. While that relationship didn't work out, Oni said that it certainly boosted her confidence.

"He said I was gorgeous and completely took me by surprise-he approached me in the street and said he'd read about my story and though I was so inspirational that he wanted to take me out," she said. "Things didn't work out with the guy I was seeing and we're just friends, but it's boosted my self-esteem."

At the time of the attack, Oni was 21, and was attacked when she got off the bu stop in Dagenham, East London. She desribed feeling a "presence" before turning around to see someone wearing a niqab. Then she felt a "massive splash" when the acid was thrown on her.

Judge David Radford told Konye that her "deliberate" and "wicked act" had devastated Oni when he sentenced her to 12 years in prison in March.

Prosecutors said Konye was jealous of her friend's appearance, and spent months hatching a plan to attack her. "I'm going to mess up the one thing that girl has-her looks," she told a friend of hers.

Oni said she was glad Konye received such a long prison term, but adds that it doesn't change what happened. "When I saw my face, I couldn't stop crying. I thought, 'Who's going to want to marry me like this?' I felt so low, I didn't want to live."

Currently, Oni is enjoying the single life, but now has hope for a future with a loving man. "The guy I was seeing looked past my scars to the person I am inside. It made me realize the attack doesn't have to ruin my life."

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