The celebration that kills

Aerial firing on occasions like New Year’s Eve leaves behind unsuspecting victims

KARACHI: On February 11, 2016, Imran Faisal announced to his mother that he would score full marks in the mathematics test he took that day. As the 14-year-old left to give a few books to his friend, his mother, Ayesha, busied herself with housework, beaming with pride at the seventh grader's academic performance. At dusk, her younger son told her Imran was taking their father's motorcycle for a ride. Minutes later, their lives were upturned.

The watchman rushed in to tell them Imran had been injured and was being taken to Usmania Hospital by neighbours. They thought he had been in a road accident, but when the doctors examined Imran, they discovered he had been shot in the head.

Imran's parents were left puzzled. "We had not heard anything like gunfire, but the doctors were telling us he had no chances of survival because of the severe damage the bullet had done to his brain," recalled Ayesha. They later discovered he had been hit by a stray bullet in the aftermath of aerial firing.

What goes up…

Celebratory gunfire, with bullets shot into the air, has become a common occurrence on happy occasions in the country. Weddings, sport victories and particularly occasions like Eid, Independence Day or New Year's Eve - all of these see people turning out on the streets and shooting their firearms into the sky to express their joy. Political activists and criminals also indulge in aerial firing to create panic in localities, force shopkeepers to pull their shutters down and scare residents into staying indoors.

…must come down

The practice of aerial firing may be culturally accepted, not just in Pakistan but also in parts of the Balkans, Russia, the Middle East and Afghanistan. The bullets may be shot into the air, but they still return to the ground. Although they fall back with lower velocities, they can still reach speeds of up to 400 kilometres per hour - enough to kill innocent bystanders or leave them crippled for life.

As 2019 began, Karachi witnessed aerial firing that left at least 12 people injured, with even policemen indulging in it. Meanwhile, at least 24 people were injured by celebratory gunfire in the metropolis the previous year, while Independence Day last year saw at least 33 injured by stray bullets.

"Celebrating any occasion with aerial firing is absurd," said Dr Seemin Jamali, the executive director at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC). "Every time there is something to celebrate, dozens of people end up injured in the city. Our staff is always on their toes on these days and we declare an emergency in the hospital," she explained, adding that as soon as the clock strikes midnight, patients start arriving at the emergency ward with such injuries.

In 2013, according to Dr Jamali, over 100 patients injured by stray bullets showed up at JPMC on New Year's Eve. However, she added, the number of aerial firing injuries arriving at the hospital has reduced since the security operation that began in the city in September 2013.

She believed reopening Sea View beach for visitors on occasions like New Year's Eve has also helped curb these incidents in the last couple of years. "Reopening Sea View was a wise move by the authorities; now people celebrate by going there and do not endanger the lives of their neighbours," she stated.

A life changed forever

When the stray bullet hit Imran, it left him in a coma for two months. Doctors at Liaquat National Hospital, where he had been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit, put him on a ventilator and told his parents to pray.

After he failed to regain consciousness in the next couple of weeks, his parents were advised to make arrangements for nursing him at home. When he finally awoke after two long months, though it was a moment to cherish, doctors were still unsure of the damage the bullet had wrought. "He might have lost his memory, he may never speak again and he may remain bedridden for the rest of his life," they told his family.

The bullet left Imran paralysed and unable to speak properly. As a boy who loved sports and running around, he found it difficult to come to terms with not being able to walk.

Living in fear

Aerial firing has left Imran's entire family afraid of stepping foot outside their home. His younger brother, Shoaib, would ask Ayesha, "Mama, where will the bullet come from to hit me?" Even today, on any occasion that may be cause for celebratory gunfire, they close their windows and doors, seeking safety at home.

It wasn't the first time a stray bullet had brought suffering to the family either. Faisal, Imran's father, had lost his brother in the early 1990s when a bullet hit him in the chest out of nowhere while he was sitting with his friends. He died on the spot.

Sheer resilience

After Imran's injury, his teacher told Ayesha he would have excelled in his tests had he been able to take them. His aim of becoming a computer engineer, though, has become much more difficult to achieve. "I had so many plans, but one bullet destroyed everything," said Imran.

He resumed his education with a home tutor in 2018, since he could not go to school or a tuition centre. Relearning a lot of what he had previously studied, he also took on Sindhi language, having switched from O Levels to matric.

Today, Imran exercises for two to three hours daily, trying to regain strength in his limbs. Though he cannot yet walk on his own again, he is determined to stand on his own feet one day and achieve everything he had once fantasised about. At the same time, he is searching for an online job in order to help his parents out. "I can type," he explained. "I do not know how I can make an earning online, but I want to work."

A mother's plea

Calling for stronger laws against aerial firing, Ayesha said that she did not want any other parent to suffer the misery she has endured. "What kind of a celebration is this that destroys an entire family?" she asked. "The pity is that the person who ruined my son's life is not even aware of what he has done."

Meanwhile, Dr Jamali also urged people to stop playing with the lives of people under the guise of 'celebrating' events. Stating that aerial firing is not a joke, she added that it could cause lifelong disability or death for people.

As New Year's Eve approaches, city authorities have placed a ban on aerial firing on the occasion under Section 144, adding that strict action would be taken against anyone found carrying weapons. Cases for aerial firing can be registered under Section 337(H)(II) of the Pakistan Penal Code for a negligent act endangering lives, but with only three months imprisonment and an undefined fine. Cases may also be registered under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Karachi Police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon and South DIG Sharjeel Inam Kharal were not available for comment about aerial firing in the city.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 30^th, 2019.