Another Answer

Back in October, I noted that the police were cracking down on fireworks and the claim that it would save many lives and asked if there were any stats on injuries/deaths.

Today's Khaleej Times finally has some stats: "Colonel Hamad Saeed bin Trais Al Dhahry, Deputy Director of Al Ain Police Directorate, said no injuries to children due to firecrackers in Al Ain City and its surroundings areas were reported during the current year." Maybe this is because fireworks aren't really that dangerous (as I noted, when I was a kid we used to do all sorts of dangerous things with them), or maybe it is because the police here have been so busy confiscating them. They have nabbed about 2,000 kg of fireworks, or about 5.5 kg per day. When you think about how light the average firecracker is, 5.5 kilos is a lot of firecrackers. And how cool is it that the police have a "Weapons and Blasts Section"? Almost as cool as the "Difficult Missions team", but I still think that it sounds like a fun place to work.