As I write this, my heart is heavy. Heavy with sadness for the victims of the tragedy that ensued on New Year’s Eve in Aliamanu. Heavy with anger at the people who acted carelessly with explosives. Heavy with empathy for the first responders who were on scene of what looked like a war zone. Heavy with the reality that Hawaii’s New Year’s “traditions” are extremely out of control. Most of all, my heart is heavy with the lies told to us by local politicians, law enforcement and community leaders.

What happened in Aliamanu on New Year’s Eve was a disaster in the making. One of our local law enforcement leaders foretold such tragedy mere months before it happened.

Before we acknowledge the larger problem, let us first address the recklessness of the revelers. My heart goes out to all the families affected and I am in no way taking from their mourning and suffering. I live less than a mile from where this happened. I heard the sirens in the early hours of New Year’s Day. These are members of my neighborhood and community. They acted recklessly. They were irresponsible and incompetent. They handled explosive devices with lack of knowledge and regard. There were children in the vicinity of a literal cache of explosives. Their lackadaisical attitude toward bombs resulted in the deaths of four and the hospitalization of many.

Yes, I will be the one to say what everyone is thinking. The incompetence of a few led to this disaster. Six people had to be airlifted to the U.S. continent because we lack resources to care for them in Hawaii. They have 45%-80% of their body burned. A 3-year-old was admitted to Kapiolani Hospital for Women and Children; sadly, he was the fourth death of this incident. The hosts of the party are responsible. Whether they own the house or not, they are responsible. They kept their fireworks in the vicinity of their blast area. The partygoers congregated near explosives. There was no regard for safety, which is sad and maddening.

In the wake of this tragedy, our local lawmakers are promising “stricter enforcement” on illegal fireworks. To this I respond, “Please”? Aerial fireworks were outlawed in 2010 in Hawaii. These laws are clearly not working. They are proposing “neighborhood sting operations” to discourage buyers and sellers. This proposal is useless.

If lawmakers want to stop the problem, they need to stop it at our ports. But I think this won’t happen because the old-boy-network practice of palm-greasing runs rampant among Hawaii’s politicians, officials and community leaders. Fireworks are not being brought to Hawaii by Aliamanu residents. They are being accepted at our ports by people on the take. Hawaii News Now broke down the math: a container with $200,000 worth of fireworks nets $1 million on the street. The containers are being accepted by local leaders turning a blind eye.

I love the New Year’s Eve tradition of popping firecrackers at midnight. I do not love the house-shaking bombs we have come to know in recent years. Gone are the days of one uncle or auntie handling the firecrackers and fireworks. Now, we have “adults” who have not garnered respect for the dangerous items they are blowing up.

Our leaders owe us more. We deserve better. It is up to our politicians, lawmakers and community leaders to stop this problem where it starts; the ports. Stop turning a blind eye and end the old boy network palm-greasing. Enough is enough.

Emilia Molina, of Aliamanu, is a letter carrier and union activist.