India - The Untold Dark Stories - The Story of Sucomoni

I'm going to share with you a side of the world many don't think can still exist in this age. It can be a bit horrific I'll warn before you read.

One of the things (there are many) I hate about the news coverage in the USA, is their focus mostly on our national news. So much of it is political, which just further divides the country. It's a very USA centric broadcast with little attention to the rest of the world. As one of my favorite groups, Lynard Skynard, sang: " there's things going on that you don't know". And they're not being exposed.

India is a growing economy. In a few decades they'll be a financial powerhouse. But there are issues in the country. It is a large place with over a billion people. Some believe it is the largest country in the world if a proper census was performed. There are many corners in the country where no one looks.

One such place is in Arunanchel Pradesh and Assam Provinces. It is here where I first heard the term "kerosene bride" as I documented in this post:

(https://www.kirkstravelstories.com/post/most-remote-place-i-ve-visited).

How can people be set on fire anywhere in the world and it not make headlines? Because there are no cameras rolling there. You won't see the press in this area of the world. I don't think popular media considers it important enough. It won't help their news ratings.

I had a personal experience when I visited the area. I came across a teenage girl named Sucomoni. I share this close up photo I took of her with you:

Sucomoni

When I first saw her I couldn't believe she could still be alive. She had been burned so badly. When I heard of her story I was sickened.

When she was much younger she lived with her grandmother who had difficulty caring for her (this is a very poor part of the country). The family held Hindi beliefs, which include the belief in reincarnation. The grandmother knew she would have a difficult life living in such poverty that she decided she would douse her in kerosene and burn her to death. She believed her granddaughter would come back in the next life and it would be better for her. Someone intervened when they saw her on fire and put the fire out. But the damage had been done,

The girl was removed from her grandmother and put into an orphanage. There she was cared for medically and financially. After many, many graft surgeries she has survived and looks as she does today. I don't know what happened with the grandmother but I expect nothing. This is the life in this remote area. It's tribal law.

The smile you see in the photo is very rare for her. It took me much effort to solicit. Normally she hangs her head and doesn't make eye contact. She's quite conscious of how she looks.

In my encounters with her I always looked her in the eye and never condescended to her. I wanted her to feel as normal as possible in an impossible situation. But I admit, this young girl saddened my heart. At first I was very angry that this type of thing is accepted anywhere in the world. But I know such atrocities exist. Anger gave way to sadness in the end.

But what does anger me still is the centric nature of the media coverage in the USA. This country has a lot of influence around the world. The media has the power. But what do they use that power for? Political debates? The weather? Divisive national topics?

You don't hear much of the coup in Myanmar (formerly Burma). Terrorism in the Philippines is not important here. And the horrors that take place in the dark corners are never exposed. The media doesn't think it will sell. It's just not profitable. So the citizens of this country are fed the garbage the news wants to feed it.

Yeah, you can tell where my anger lies. Bad things continue to occur when good men do nothing. I think someone famous said something like that.

I got to come home when my adventure was through and continue on to another. But my thoughts go back to that poor young girl often. She'll never go anywhere the rest of her life. And the life she has there was greatly diminished by a grandmother with ancient beliefs.