Ban scratch BOMBS

A crackdown should be instituted by Customs and Excise officers to halt the illegal imports of banned incendiary bombs, for example firecrackers and scratch bombs.

In addition the Police should seize any that are offered for sale, and charge offending owners and managers, as well as persons found purchasing them. There have been persistent reports of the banned items being brazenly displayed, almost as though the relevant store owners were intent on totally ignoring the authorities. Sales clerks should protest being required to sell these incendiary devices, many of which pose potential hazards to young users, and whose display and sale are in contravention of the laws of Trinidad and Tobago. It is instructive that the relevant authorities over the years have been largely content to turn the proverbial blind eye to their being imported and sold. Any breaking of the law by people, many of them operating small stores in downtown Port-of-Spain, San Fernando and Chaguanas sends negative signals to misguided young persons that they can trump and follow suit with the same impunity telegraphed by the business owners and managers concerned. Worse, many parents provide the money, not simply as pocket change for snacks, but distinctly for the illegal purchase and use of the scratch bombs and firecrackers.

Gone are the days of ‘key and nail’ when youngsters would place sulphur from a match into the hole of an old fashioned key, tie a string onto the end of the key as well as onto a nail head, insert the pointed end of the nail into the key, and strike the head of the nail onto a step, or the side of a concrete drain. The noise was minimal, but even so parents very often frowned on it. Today, the relatively loud blasts caused by exploding incendiary bombs can cause an annoyance over fairly long distances, and represent an environmental offence. In turn, the bombs can cause severe burns to the body if thrown at the feet of unsuspecting persons. The Police Department should, apart from taking firm action against the sale and use of the incendiary bombs, seek to sensitise the public, especially the young, to the dangers that these devices pose. Meanwhile, the Environmental Management Authority should, in cooperation with the Police, mount an anti incendiary bomb campaign in schools throughout the country. It is not enough for the authorities to adopt the posture that it is well known that it is illegal even to possess the devices.

In turn, parents of minors found in possession of the scratch bombs should be made to accept responsibility for their children’s actions. It is insensitive for parents to encourage by the provision of extra money, and by their tacit consent, the breaking of the law and the dismissal of the right of law abiding citizens to peace and quiet. It is also highly irresponsible for anyone, young or old, to consciously disturb prayers being offered during the present Muslim Holy period of Ramadan.