Vendors still selling illegal firecrackers

One of the Saudi traditions to celebrate Eid is to light fireworks to light the sky. Jeddah Municipality is usually the authority responsible for setting up the fireworks but there is always something happening behind closed doors.
Police spokesman Lt. Nawaf Al-Bouq told Arab News: “During this Eid holiday, security officers are stepping up efforts to halt and detain those involved in selling these illegal and dangerous items and secret police units will be patrolling neighborhoods known for attracting these sellers.”
When college student Abdulrahman Ahmad visited Karantina area of south Jeddah, he was offered fireworks from sellers.
“I was extremely surprised when he first told me about it because I remember back in the days when I was younger, selling it was legal, but I know now it is illegal,” he said. “I accepted his offer and my surprise grew bigger when I saw his collection. He had big and colorful firework pieces that tempted me to buy them but the price was too high.”
Arab News visited the location and met with the Nigerian young man, Omar. We followed him through the slums and narrow streets until he led us to a truck where he kept his stash.
“We usually buy our supply from downtown Jeddah,” he said. “There are Yemeni salesmen who smuggle them from their country into the Kingdom months before Ramadan. We buy with the wholesale price and sell them with a more expensive price. I also have some of my old collection from last year that was not sold and I’m selling them this year.”
Omar said his targets are children from his neighborhood who usually buy his products to light in the first night of Eid.
“Child safety is not my concern, all I care about is making money at this moment,” he said. “Their families should take care of this and not me.”
Omar also said, “Fireworks are harmful because you can stick the wooden part in the ground and run as fast as you can and it will fly to the sky and explode there.”
Prices of smuggled firecrackers differ from one dealer to another. Omar said it is cheaper to buy from the ones who have storage rooms while street deals from trucks and backpacks are more expensive because they have little quantities and they want to make money quickly. He also said the peak season for selling firecrackers is during Eid.