UAE police warn parents over Eid firecrackers

Abu Dhabi Police yesterday launched a campaign, “Salamatak” to warn people about the dangers of firecrackers during Ramadan and Eid holidays.

Through this campaign, Colonel Humaid Saeed Alafreet, Director of Weapons and Explosives Department in Abu Dhabi Police, called upon parents to look after their children, and be aware of the serious harms that these fireworks can cause to them which can turn their Eid happiness into a disaster.

He also stressed that parents are mainly responsible in case of any accident which happens to their kids as they are supposed to prevent them from buying such dangerous things and also question them on what they are spending their pocket money, as well as monitor what they are shopping for, and inform the authorities about those who sell these dangerous materials to children and teenagers.

Colonel Alafreet added that these fireworks pose serious harms to the society which can be categorized into three types: financial, medial, and physical harms.

“As for the financial harm, we can say that purchasing these dangerous fireworks affect the income of the family as it is spending on useless things. As for the medical harm, according to medical reports, these fireworks while lighting them cause serious harms to the eyes and the face and skin because of the harmful gases that come out of it. And, more importantly, the fireworks which has been stored in the wrong way can cause serious injuries when lighting it as it explodes and can cause severe burns to the face, fingers, eyes, hands and some other parts of the body. In some accidents, we witnessed children who ended up with disabilities and few who died from such accidents.

He pointed out that according to article No. 58 of the Weapons, Explosives and Ammunitions Law, a punishment of imprisonment of a period of not more than six months and fine of not more than Dh10,000 or one of these two punishments to all those who trade in fireworks or import or export or manufactured or tried to bring it into the county for commercial purposes.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.