Deadly Kites
No, really. It does happen. Just one of those strange things you wouldn’t expect.
There’s a kite flying festival in some countries that can turn deadly. It seems some people get really competitive and use wire instead of string, so that they can use their kite’s wires to cut the strings of competitors. That it can also slice open throats is a nasty side effect.
In Pakistan, where this has been a major problem at the Basant festival, they’ve tried banning kite flying, regulating manufacturers and other steps, unfortunately with little result. This leaves them in a difficult position - give in to Islamist factions in the country who would like the festival banned anyway as un-Islamic, or let it go on and allow people to die. Not the most comfortable of situations in a country that is trying to be moderate.
This is one of those cases where the most humane decision probably needs to triumph over the other choice - that is, ban the festival until something can be effectively done about the wire strings. Much as I loathe the notion of giving in on something as non-religious as flying kites on a holiday, it may need to be done for reasons relating to safety.
Of course, so long as Basant can be celebrated in other ways, the Islamists do not win entirely. I don’t know what else there is to the festival, but there must be other ways to enjoy it.
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