KINGSTON, Jamaica—Dacia Forrester should be preparing to celebrate her 41st birthday on Wednesday, but instead, she is currently confined to a hospital bed in critical condition after she was doused with petrol and set ablaze at a gas station in Westmoreland last Friday.

Her situation is dire and the Burn Foundation of Jamaica has taken on the challenge of raising US$55,000 (J$8.8 million) to cover the cost for an air ambulance to take her to a United States hospital for surgery and treatment.

So far, the foundation has only managed to raise US$5,168 which means that the air ambulance fee is short US$50,000. The difficulty being experienced at this time is that unscrupulous people have launched a smear campaign on social media, painting the victim in a bad light and discouraging potential donors from helping.

Burn victim Dacia Forrester

Co-founder of the Burn Foundation of Jamaica, Stephen Josephs, told Observer Online on Sunday that there have been people on social media who have wished death upon Forrester, which leaves him to wonder where the compassion among fellowmen is.

Josephs said the mission of the foundation at this time is to save the life of Forrester and to prevent the perpetrator from being charged with murder.

“Time is running out. We just need the misinformation to stop and we are appealing to the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) to put a statement out on the matter. Some people are trying to stop the world from helping this young lady. They literally are telling people not to help her and that she must die. Where is the compassion?

“Time is running out and we just need to get her out as quickly as possible. We have gotten Americans and others to respond to the crisis and so we appeal to Jamaicans to help this lady. Don’t be prosecutor and judge. Allow the law to take its course. Persons are looking more at creating content and not thinking about the life that will be lost if help doesn’t come. We are trying to prevent a murder and a murder charge,” Josephs said.

Burn advocate and philanthropist Stephen Josephs

Josephs explained that the “The extent of the burn is over 40 per cent and so we know that it will be very difficult to manage on the island”.

He added that “So far the US has been responding and helping to undertake the hospital bill. The hospital has accepted her but we need US$50, 000 more to get her out. We already have a major donor in the US agreeing to pay the cost of the hospital, which is going to be over US$1 million”.

Josephs pointed out that the people who have been throwing cold water on the campaign are not from Westmoreland and do not in any way know Forrester.

Burn victim Dacia Forrester

Meanwhile, Carol Blackwood Hewitt, the sister of Forrester, told Observer Online that she would love her sister to get as much help as possible so she can stay alive to support her three children.

Luke Josephs, another co-founder of the foundation, said that Jamaicans and people from all over the world can contribute to the cause by reaching out via telephone and the internet.

“They can contact the Burn Foundation of Jamaica at 876-344-7028 or they can go online at crisis support charity.org to make a donation towards the air ambulance,” Josephs said.