Jesus is 11 years old. On December 22, while playing in the park near his home in the Lotes con Servicio Alegría sector in Guayaquil, he found a round object, smaller than an orange. He manipulated a child’s naivety by asking for an explanation, but it exploded and the little boy, in addition to having an injured face, was left without an arm.

“When we were in the ambulance and he was already conscious, he said to me: ‘Mom, I know I don’t have my little hand, I know that,'” says the mother of Jesus, one of the victims of the explosives. this month, with pain..

The case of Jesus is accidental, but nowadays burns or loss of body parts due to the use of fireworks are becoming common despite campaigns by humanitarian organizations.

Experience of large fires at warehouses of explosives; injuries and even deaths due to improper handling in previous years do not seem to leave a strong lesson in the country.

Guayaquil’s municipal ordinance establishes unauthorized areas for the burning of vintage. On social media, firefighters can be seen campaigning against the use of pyrotechnics, animal activists and veterinarians also warn of the stress it causes in animals, causing many to get lost trying to escape.

The most effective way to avoid fireworks incidents is prevention. Products that contain gunpowder, such as rockets, fireworks, sprinklers and others, are dangerous, we have to accept that no matter how attractive they look.

We citizens must become aware and take care of our own.

Apart from the fact that the export and import of pyrotechnics and explosives is under the control of the Ministry of Defense and that the General Organic Penal Code speaks of sanctions of up to five years for anyone who manufactures, puts into circulation or transports explosives without authorization, as a community let us look for the end of the year when prevention allows you to you better enjoy yourself. Everything is a matter of decision. (OR)