30.12.2025 15:54
In an event organized as part of a tradition called "şivlilik" in Konya, a firecracker exploded in the park and hit 16-year-old Mustafa Damkacı in the eye. Damkacı, who is undergoing treatment and whose eye damage due to bleeding has not yet been determined, said, "I felt it in my nose first. Then it injured my eye, and I collapsed to the ground. I don't remember anything after that. This is the state my eye is in for no reason. I want the sale of firecrackers to stop."
On December 23, in Sivaslı Ali Kemal Park in the Alavardı neighborhood of Meram district in Konya, 11th-grade student Mustafa Damkacı (16) participated in the tradition called "shivlilik," which has been held for centuries due to the beginning of the three months and Regaip Kandili, where children take part in a lantern parade and candy collection event.
HIT BY A FIRECRACKER
While walking in the park with his friends, a firecracker hit Damkacı in his left eye. Mustafa Damkacı collapsed in pain and was taken by ambulance to Necmettin Erbakan University Meram Medical Faculty Hospital.
"HE DOESN'T SEE WHEN HIS EYE IS OPEN OR NOW"
Op. Dr. Mehmet Adam provided information about Damkacı, who was treated here and experienced vision loss, and whose damage level in his eye due to bleeding has not yet been determined. Op. Dr. Adam stated, "Our patient came with a very serious intraocular hemorrhage. He does not see when his eye is open or now. We are applying some treatments against the possibility of this bleeding opening up. However, we cannot yet determine whether there is serious damage to the back of the eye, the lens, or the retina due to the bleeding. We have admitted our patient for inpatient treatment and are monitoring his condition. These injuries can cause other problems after a certain period. The only solution is that we must definitely ban the sale of these products to our children," he said.
"CHILDREN LOSE SOME LIMBS DURING EVERY CELEBRATION"
Op. Dr. Adam stated that doctors view incidents during all kinds of holidays and celebrations from a different perspective, saying, "We wonder whose eye, hand, or another part of the body will be harmed. I have been a doctor for 20 years, and unfortunately, there is no decrease in numbers. Many of these children are innocent. A child passing by, unaware of the incident, has a firecracker explode in their eye and loses their sight. I don't think it's very difficult to deal with these. Because there is a producer for these as well. The production and sale of these must definitely be banned. Unfortunately, during every celebration, these children lose some limbs, and some of these losses are irreversible. You are blinding a child's eye, and that child continues their life without seeing," he said.
"IT PENETRATES LIKE A SHrapnel PIECE"
Op. Dr. Mehmet Adam pointed out that there are some differences in the production of explosive materials like firecrackers, stating: "The firecrackers produced 10-15 years ago were covered with cardboard. Because the material on it was cardboard, the injuries were less severe. In recent years, due to costs or taking the easy way out, they cover them with hard plastic. This hard plastic causes injuries to a child or an adult like a knife at the moment of explosion. It penetrates like a piece of shrapnel and causes that limb to become completely unusable. Our request is for the sale of these products to be banned. Because these children can spend the rest of their lives disabled for a 3-5 lira entertainment. Even if there is no limb loss, the time they spend in the hospital, the stress they experience, is a lifelong lesson. I believe we must spread this lesson to the entire society by reducing the number of injured children to zero."
"THE SALE SHOULD NOT BE THIS EASY"
Mother Naciye Damkacı said, "We experienced an indescribable pain. It was an unexpected situation, lived in vain. The sale of this should not be this easy. Such a harmful thing should not be easily accessible. You see the state my child is in. We do not know what will happen now. I hope he regains his eyesight. Our only wish is that something like this does not happen to another person's child. I call out to the authorities, to the inspectors. I call out to the lawmakers. I hope this is the last pain. They say 'it's supposedly banned,' but we see that it is not banned. How can something that is banned be produced and sold so easily? Only we and God know what we are going through. My child is a child with dreams. He should have been taking his exams at school right now; he should have been going to school. It shouldn't have been like this here," she said.
"I COLLAPSED TO THE GROUND, I DON'T REMEMBER THE REST"
Mustafa Damkacı, who wants the sale of firecrackers to stop, said, "We had gathered with friends at the shivlilik entertainment. Some of our friends bought firecrackers from the children gathered there and set them off. I first felt the explosion of the firecracker in my nose. Then it injured my eye, and I collapsed to the ground. I don't remember the rest. The sale needs to stop. This is the state my eye is in for no reason. I hope it will pass, of course. I want the sale of firecrackers to stop," he said.