Another fatal fireworks factory explosion, and – as usual – another knee-jerk eulogy of the ‘heroes’ who needlessly lost their lives for lack of serious health and safety standards.
Yes, it may sound heartless, coming so soon after the deaths of two amateur pyrotechnics enthusiasts in the third such explosion in half a year. But there comes a time when the truth must be told, regardless of how painful or inappropriate it may seem in the immediate circumstances.
In this case, the truth is very straightforward. Contrary to the impression given by their own colleagues in St Sebastian Youths’ Commission – not to mention the many foolish statements made by politicians and others who ought to know better – the two men killed in Monday’s blast were neither martyrs nor heroes. At most, they may be considered victims of a national disease that has gone unattended for too long now, and at too great a cost.
This disease is called ‘dilettantism’, and is characterised by what appears to be a national inability to ever rise above the levels of childish amateurism... not even, it seems, when one’s life and the lives of one’s neighbours hangs in the balance.
As diseases go, this one appears to be greatly aggravated by an additional complication called ‘politics’ – for which there seems to be no cure.
Indeed the situation appears to be steadily worsening with each passing year. Instead of witnessing a gradual improvement in the standards of health and safety in fireworks production, we have witnessed the exact opposite. Fireworks have become more dangerous, not less; and this may be attested by the undeniable surge in serious accidents in recent years.
Monday’s explosion was in fact the third of its kind in the space of just six months. It was only last October that Malta was jolted out of its somnolence by another blast, this time in Mosta, which also cost the life of a 26-year-old man. The previous month, a facility in Ghaxaq similarly exploded, though mercifully this time there were no casualties.
Prior to that, in March 2008, three whole houses in Naxxar were levelled by a devastating explosion caused by the illegal manufacture of fireworks in a private garage. Apart from the unlicensed pyrotechnics enthusiast himself, a young mother of two was also killed in the blast.
Subsequent police investigations led to the discovery of a hidden cache of illegal fireworks in the Peace Band Club, Naxxar. However, it appears that no further action was taken; and incredibly, nobody has ever been charged with this serious crime.
But the most costly fireworks-related accident in recent years remains the explosion of the St Helen’s factory in Gharghur in December 2007, in which four men lost their lives. And the month before, yet another man was killed, this time in an explosion in Lija.
The list goes on, and given the serious dangers posed to third parties, one would be more than justified in demanding to know exactly what action the authorities intend to take to reduce the unacceptably high incidence of fireworks fatalities.
But such demands are likely to be left unanswered, as it is clear from their actions and statements over the years that politicians on both sides of the divide have no intention of regulating this grossly under-regulated industry.
Strangely, it seems that the same politicians who claim to value ‘human life at all its stages’ appear to lack any enthusiasm to protect the lives of grown men who manufacture fireworks, or even of the innocent bystanders – which sometimes include children – who are exposed to risk of death or injury on account of the shockingly low standards in which these people are allowed to operate.
At times, they have done the very opposite. The present government, for instance, went so far as to alter the legal definition of ‘secondary road’, in order to allow fireworks factories to continue plying their dangerous trade within unreasonably short distances from residential areas. And the same supposedly ‘Christian Democratic’ government has repeatedly ignored numerous pleas by the Church’s environment commission to increase the legal buffer zone between factories and houses.
On this issue, the Opposition party cannot claim to occupy the moral high ground, either. Its own former deputy leader, Michael Falzon, doubles up as legal adviser to the Malta Pyrotechnics Society; and in that capacity has often defended the fireworks trade against complaints regarding noise pollution, among other aspects.
As with all matters concerning politics, the issue boils down to votes, and it bears pointing that – distressing as this may seem – both the Nationalist and Labour parties evidently value votes more than they value human life itself.
The question therefore remains: how many more people have to blow themselves (and others) to smithereens, before this country finally realises it has a serious problem on its hands? Unfortunately, the answer is provided by the sheer negligence and shocking lack of professionalism that characterised Monday’s umpteenth fatal accident.
Any comments?
If you wish your comments to be published in our Letters pages please click button below. Please write a contact number and a postal address where you may be contacted.
