Trinis enjoy quieter Old Year's

FIREWORKS, including scratch-bombs, caused less disturbance to communities on Old Year’s Night compared to past years, suggests anecdotal reports reaching Newsday.

A Tunapuna resident noted only about two or three scratch-bomb bursts in his area while, in contrast to past years, there were very few fireworks discharged before midnight. After midnight, the number of fireworks being discharged seemed fewer than at any time in the past and the eruptions also lasted a shorter time. His observations were supported by residents of Curepe, Diego Martin and Las Lomas.

The residents thought the decrease was due either to the economic lull and the success of anti-firework advocacy that led National Security Minister Stuart Young to a last-minute ban on scratch-bomb importation and sale under the Explosives Act. Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith's warning against the reckless discharge of fireworks under the Summary Offences Act was also a deterrent according to respondents.

Anti-firework campaigner Josie Ache-De Goulard said, in comparison to the night of last Divali, Old Year’s Night had very few fireworks discharged in Rio Claro.

“It was actually quite good. Old Year’s Night was quite peaceful here.”

However, she said her Facebook page did receive quite a few angry posts about loud noise in north and south Trinidad.

“I’m hoping it will get better from here on. I’d say we registered a small victory but I don’t want to be too quick to judge.”

Animal right activist Nalini Dial, who was taking care of her dogs, said Old Year’s Night was typically noisy. She said she was not attuned to any difference between scratch-bombs and other fireworks, all of which startled her animals. She was quite bothered by firework discharges intermittently throughout the day that affected her dogs which she had sedated and brought inside.

Dial said, “In D’Abadie, Old Year’s Night was terrible. People by us let them off from 8 pm and by midnight it was like a war zone, lasting until 4 am next day. I got no relief.”

Dial was annoyed that a neighbour had decided to carry over the firework discharges into Tuesday night. Her complaints to him fell on deaf ears and incurred abuse.

She said, “We had to go to Arima Police Station. The police came and all that drama. The officer saw everything and spoke to them. The amount of fireworks they had, they would have continued until they had let off all.”

Dial lamented that fireworks were not discharged at a fixed time for which residents could prepare themselves to withstand, but were set off at “any time, any place.” Saying the bangs are a menace, she said, “Half the fun for them is terrorising people.”