Pyrotechnics association secretary calls for law enforcement

The Malta Pyrotechnics Association condemned enthusiasts who chose to use "exaggeratedly loud" petards, rocking buildings' foundations and casting a shadow over the beauty of fireworks in the process.

"We condemn those who choose to make extremely loud petards which make you jump out of your skin, but our warnings fall on deaf ears. Through education we hope to attain our goals," association secretary Joe Theuma said.

It is a pious hope. Pleas have been made from all sectors of society, in the media and by the Church, for moderation in the petards. They have gone unheeded, mostly.

Reacting to the Curia's statement about planned directives intended to regulate fireworks, Mr Theuma said he personally felt the Church's comments did not augur well.

Mr Theuma said the association's committee would be meeting this week to consider the Curia's announcement and determine what stand to adopt before commenting further.

On Wednesday the Curia issued a statement condemning the use of petards which it said caused hardship to the sick and the elderly, and insisting on moderation in the money spent on the pastime.

In the past weeks, as in previous years during the festa months, The Times has received a deluge of letters denouncing the use of deafening petards which served only to jolt people from their sleep early in the morning and disturb the sick lying on their hospital bed, for weeks on end.

While empathising with the public on the issue of extremely loud petards, Mr Theuma said it was vital that the fireworks industry was not chastised for it was a beautiful art.

"Everyone complains, but I just wish we could do one year without fireworks for people to realise what they are missing - just look at the crowds the fireworks festival attracted," he pointed out.

He could be missing the point. What most object to are not the colourful fireworks which light up the night sky, but the huge number of senseless petards fired during the day which explode in the air, creating a whiff of smoke and a huge bang which sends everyone cringeing. No one sees any art in that.

Mr Theuma explained that before the beginning of each season the association cautioned its 1,000 members not to manufacture petards with extremely loud explosions.

"The majority abide by the rules," he claimed, "but we are a Mediterranean people and have no discipline - without enforcement we are not going to get anywhere. We need the backing of the law."

Mr Theuma lamented the lack of enforcement and pointed out that, for instance, while the use of hand-held suffarelli had been banned for over eight years, the practice was back in full force with people letting them off under the police's nose.

Albert Camilleri, a court expert on explosives, believes one solution in the lasting debate was to reduce the noise capacity of the petards, or maroons as they are actually called.

"One thing that really bothers people is that not only do they have to put up with the deafening bangs of their own feast for more than a week, they also have to do with the loud bangs of neighbouring villages," he said.

Col Camilleri, who also lectures fireworks manufacturers, said the tradition of the petards dated back to the days of the Knights, when small bombi used to be let off on the Church parvis.

"The petards are the easiest, but most dangerous to manufacture - they are created to let everyone know there is a feast in the village. Enthusiasts are attached to petards, which also serve as 'fillers'," he said.

Col Camilleri calculates that established fireworks factories spent an annual average of about Lm6,000 to Lm10,000 on just the raw material.

"Manufacturing fireworks is very labour-intensive and the sacrifice people go through is something unbelievable - working from early morning till dusk, in extreme heat and in continuous danger," he said.

While appreciating the beauty of the colourful fireworks displays, Col Camilleri felt that something had to be done to appease the public's irritation with the deafening bangs.