Dear Editor,
I just want to point out to the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Revenue Authority the danger of squibs and why they should take action against those who are caught selling and using them in public. As I understand it squibs are contraband and were banned from entering the country years ago, but somehow, they have found their way through the borders, or people bring them on ships to sell. They have been sold in the full view of the police for years without anyone being apprehended or placed before the court. I saw young men firing off these thunder squibs while the police patrol vehicle was passing and they turned a blind eye to it.
I can remember well, in 1997 firecrackers were prevalent all over the Essequibo Coast, and were used night and day causing pain and discomfort to animals, old folk and the sick. They became a norm. In November 1997, the GNCB Bank was robbed by heavily armed bandits and gunfire could be heard for a distance, but everyone in Anna Regina and Cotton Field felt it was firecrackers. I was lying in my hammock under my house waiting to be picked up by a friend to attend a meeting in Queenstown. I myself thought it was firecrackers, not knowing that bandits were robbing the bank which is about 100 rods from my house. I later saw a lady from my village running on the road, heading south, and she told me that the bank was being robbed.
I ran down the road where the bank is located to see if this was indeed happening, and there I saw a crowd of people standing a distance away and looking on. I could hear shots blasting inside the bank. I decided to take a closer look on the sea dam where Richard Faikall, the lone policeman was battling with another set of bandits who were in a boat. I saw when he was shot; I was not too far from him.
Firecrackers can mislead you when people are being robbed by bandits. Firecrackers have burned down houses, mandirs and have killed people, and they should not be tolerated in our society. There are numerous cases of burns and irritation, and the smoke causes damage to your respiratory tract, especially if you are suffering from asthma.
It was reported that some policemen were seizing some firecrackers from sellers on the street and in the Anna Regina market, but allowed other vendors to sell them. The administration has to stop them from entering the country. Christmas is here and New Year is around the corner and this is the time when the firecrackers are used without discretion or consideration for people and animals. We need to take stock and see the harm done by them.
Yours faithfully,
Mohamed Khan
