Activists, tribes working to curb festive firing

AMMAN — Several social media campaigns and tribal leaders across the country are working to curb festive firing, which claims the lives of many Jordanians every year.

On Monday, tribal leaders, civil society representatives and activists in Maan Governorate, some 220km south of Amman, signed an honour pact to put an end to firing bullets in the air as a means of celebration on various occasions, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The pact was signed as part of a campaign launched by activists in the southern governorate in cooperation with the Maan Police Department to raise awareness on the serious harm and loss of life caused by celebratory gunfire.

Several campaigns have been launched on Facebook over the past few months, urging people to refrain from the practice, with some social media activists describing festive firing as a “ridiculous and stupid method of celebrating”.

One of these campaigns calls for “clear and strict laws” to punish those involved in festive firing.

“Unfortunately, many people ignore the repeated calls to stop this behaviour and keep on doing it and go unpunished,” Feryal Abbadi, one of the campaign’s supporters, wrote on Facebook.

Abbadi added that it was good that some segments of society have started paying attention to the issue and are lobbying to end it.

Some families are stating in wedding invitations that festive firing will not be accepted at the ceremony. Many other families and tribes have also been posting large banners saying they are against festive firing at celebrations of various occasions.

In a column in Al Ghad daily, Mohammad Abu Rumman wrote that news reports about casualties and victims of festive firing have become a daily affair. People are not even safe when they are in their homes, cars or walking on the streets, he added.

“Many ignore the law and festive firing is everywhere,” Abu Rumman said.

Society plays a part in the battle against festive firing, but the government plays a huge role in protecting citizens and enforcing the law on all, the columnist added.

“Anyone who fires bullets on an occasion to express joy is an outlaw, a known terrorist and a danger to society,” he argued, calling for more firmness in dealing with perpetrators.