ABU DHABI // Police are to launch a public awareness campaign to reduce firework accidents during the Eid al-Fitr holiday. The campaign, starting tomorrow, will use advertisements, school visits and "community-based" communication between police, parents and religious groups to highlight the risks of fireworks. Police have also printed 50,000 copies of a safety awareness guide to be distributed in shopping centres.
Public service messages will be broadcast on television, appear on the internet and in newspapers and be sent by text message. The campaign will end on the second day of the feast on Oct 2. Fireworks during the Eid al-Fitr festival have become a concern for emergency services because of past incidents involving poorly supervised children. Abu Dhabi has seen an increase in deaths and injuries among children, although it is unclear how many were due to fireworks. Incidents in which children were hurt or killed increased from 81 in 2001 to 1,662 last year.
Major Nasser al Ka'abi, public relations manager for Abu Dhabi Police, said officers are also co-ordinating with the Abu Dhabi Education Council to allow police to visit schools to teach parents and children about the safety hazards of using fireworks. Police have also been broadcasting their safety message to pupils from the second to 10th grades during morning announcements. The campaign will remind parents that fireworks can only be used legally by licensed operators, said Major Gen Mohammed al Awadhi, acting director general of operations for Abu Dhabi Police. It will also focus on raising awareness about the illegal sale of fireworks.
The tradition of fireworks is only a small, non-religious component of the three-day Eid al Fitr festival, which celebrates the end of the Ramadan. After prayers and alms-giving, the festivities normally include large feasts, exchanges of gifts and festivals. @Email:mbradley@thenational.ae
