AMMAN — As students across Jordan celebrated passing the General Secondary Education Certificate Examination (Tawjihi) on Friday night, celebratory excess caused 22 injuries following the announcement of the exam results.
The injuries were caused by fireworks and festive firing, Public Security Department (PSD) Spokesperson Lt. Col. Mohammad Khatib said.
“Despite our frequent warnings… Jordanians continue to display irresponsible behaviours when celebrating,” he told The Jordan Times, noting that the phenomenon is on the rise.
More than 2,500 police officers were on duty Friday night to prevent dangerous celebratory activities, Khatib said, and a number of citizens were arrested for engaging in festive firing.
Despite acknowledging that the PSD has in the past allowed the use of fireworks as a more civilised alternative to festive firing, Khatib said that even these had been banned as some people misused them.
Regulations stipulate that fireworks may only be sold from licensed shops to ensure their validity, and sites of pyrotechnic displays have to first be checked by the PSD and the Civil Defence Department.
Also on Friday night, 500 Traffic Department officers issued tickets to 1,091 motorists for reckless driving and referred violators for legal action, according to a statement from the department.
During the past five years, 140 incidents of dangerous celebratory activities were recorded, resulting in five deaths and 97 injuries ranging from medium to critical, according to the PSD.
Most of the injuries occurred because of reckless shooting and traffic accidents.
Fahim says:
I would like to know when are we going to stop being backward? What is this stupidity we have every year after Tawjihi results and when we have weddings. The government must inflict heavy punishment on anybody who fires a weapon in such occasions.