It was once a beautiful tradition, on to a new one. One that hopefully does not, as in recent decades, start every first day of the new year with a list of the number of dead, injured and attacked emergency workers, and the amount of fires and other damage.
Because yes, the decorative fireworks could be beautiful. That one flower fountain, the showers of gold in the sky. The oohs and ahs as the neighborhood lit up with arrows and peonies. But it is right that the chronic lack of awareness of norms, among a larger group of citizens than you would hope, leads to a fireworks ban that should come into effect this year.
Fireworks have become synonymous with nuisance and accidents, for police, fire brigades and doctors who dread a ‘horror night’, and for neighbors who no longer dare to go out into the street to wish each other a ‘Happy New Year’. The increasingly strict regulations – first on noise, then on lighting times, then on the type of fireworks that could be lit – have reduced the number of incidents, but not enough to really turn the tide.
If the number of unnecessary fireworks injuries alone decreases as a result of a ban, that is a gain.
The police indicate that enforcement will in any case become easier. It was impossible to distinguish between booming F2 fireworks (which you heard on Wednesday night) and F3 or F4 fireworks (which were already banned). Moreover, it was an incomprehensible example of government logic that there were municipal bans on lighting off or fireworks-free zones, while fireworks could be purchased by every private individual around the corner from the bicycle shop three days a year. Every New Year’s Eve is prohibited.
It is also hoped that the police will be right that if the culture of setting off your own fireworks disappears, the demand for illegal heavy fireworks will disappear and with it the year-round availability of, for example, Cobras. That the naturalness and ease with which people cross the border or use social media to buy fireworks that are prohibited in the Netherlands is decreasing. This means that the trade in illegal fireworks, a side activity of organized crime, no longer appears to be lucrative. According to the police, this will also reduce the number of attacks on homes and businesses.
This does require targeted border controls and clear European agreements. The production of the heaviest firecrackers takes place in countries such as Italy and Albania, in Poland and the Czech Republic, what has been illegal here for a long time can be purchased in gas stations and on markets. The urgency for stricter rules is less felt – in other European countries it is experts who set off fireworks, not ordinary consumers. Certainly not minors.
The big question is whether a fireworks ban will help curb the anarchy during New Year’s Eve. In too many places in the country, it is groups of troublemakers under the influence who cause unrest
The profit warning is that it may take years before the Netherlands is fireworks-free. Just like with the seat belt requirement in the car (1975 for the driver and co-driver, 1992 for rear passengers), there will always be a group of dodgers. But hopefully now the majority will adhere to something that makes society safer.
The big question is whether a ban will help curb the anarchy during New Year’s Eve. In too many places in the country, it is not the fireworks that cause a nuisance, but rather groups of troublemakers under the influence of alcohol and drugs. They believe that it is “funny” to attack the police, fire brigade and ambulance personnel, and believe that they are allowed to misbehave one day a year. That’s absurd.
The fireworks ban is not in place yet. First, three conditions that the House of Representatives has demanded must be met. Of these, “a fair compensation” for the fireworks industry, as the State Secretary for the Environment put it, is the easiest. There have been no producers since the fireworks disaster in Enschede (2000), the sector consists of sellers who should be easy to determine whether they sell fireworks all year round or only during three December days, and what they are missing in turnover.
The other two conditions are more complicated: groups of citizens must be able to light fireworks together in a foundation or club. But it is unclear how they obtain fireworks (and then store them safely somewhere). How they must meet the safety certification required of professional pyrotechnicians, too. And on what grounds a mayor must grant an exemption – the third condition – is also unclear.
This requires care and haste from the Ministry of Infrastructure & Water Management. It should not be the case that in twelve months’ time it will be unclear where the Netherlands will stand on New Year’s Eve.
Because thousands of local communities should have the opportunity to find a new tradition, preferably one that is not imposed by the government. A tradition must match the DNA of a village or neighborhood. This could be a fireworks show by a local club with an exemption or by professional pyrotechnicians, a drone show, concert, party, carbide shooting or bonfires. Or even nothing at all. As long as it reinforces the feeling of the transition of the new year – without injuries.
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