Why a total fireworks ban may be needed

Trinidad and Tobago may be heading to an inevitable total ban on the use of fire­works in public spaces.

An absolute prohibition may be the only reasonable course of ac­tion in the face of ongoing medical and safety risks and noise pollution from indiscriminate explosions.
Violations over the yuletide sea­son confirm Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s pointed obser­vation of T&T being a lawless so­ciety.
There were unregulated fireworks explosions in residential communi­ties, creating serious medical risks to people and animals, and safety concerns.
There is also the accompanying hazard of fireworks being impro­vised to become bombs and mimic gunfire.
It is evident that the serious risks to life and limbs have not been eliminated – only reduced.
Over the years, there have been incalculable medical casualties – including deaths – from the reck­less and arbitrary explosions of fire­works in family neighbourhoods.
The PNM administration, through then-Attorney General Faris Al Rawi, promised an effec­tive law to manage the use of fire­works, in the process, safeguarding health, even lives.
But the practice raged on, just like Al Rawi’s loose lips.
Ms. Persad-Bissessar promised – and delivered – legislative reform within months of returning to na­tional office.
Now, permits are required, under narrow, prescribed circumstances.
That is a significant and overdue advancement in the name of citizen health and welfare.
To be sure, total international fireworks’ bans are the exception rather than the rule.
Chile, Ireland, and Australia are the only countries with outright prohibition, while Massachusetts is the only State in the US that has outlawed these explosive devices.
There are major controls in the Netherlands and other European Union countries, China, and a lim­ited number of other nations.
T&T’s new legislation is largely modelled after countries that have regulated the public use of fire­works for the public good.
But the domestic circumstances are unlike most other countries.
Until a few months ago, T&T was listed among the most homicidal country, per capita, in the world.
Road rage, domestic violence, and various other common offences vividly illustrate the lawless na­tion that PM Persad-Bissessar be­moaned.
Lawlessness worsened over the past decade, along with the deterio­ration of public institutions and lack of respect for law and order.
Police corruption is endemic, and noise pollution has historically not been effectively monitored and prosecuted.
Further, the importation of fire­works for cheap thrills robs pre­cious foreign exchange for more purposeful consumables.
Against that backdrop, there is need for continuing civic oversight of the operative value of the new law.
The legislation must be given time to work.
Arrests and convictions of law­breakers will help.
But each breach carries the risk of trauma, respiratory irritation, worsening of mental conditions and other medical issues, especially to the infirm, elderly, and children.
Animals remain at risk.
Countries with total bans have eradicated those potential serious threats, and there is no example of a nation reversing the prohibition.
Fireworks are a longstanding cel­ebratory T&T tradition, but clearly the health and safety factors over­ride the brief delight.
The law must be permitted to bear fruit, but a total ban may be an unavoidable eventual option.
KEN ALI