Do you have a quiet place at home where you like to think?
Some people I know like to think in the toilet. (Iām not one of them. I prefer to not be in there long enough for that!) They see it as a quiet place where they can sit and think, undisturbed, for as long as they like. If they are āin the canā, āin the dunnyā, āat the looā or āout the backā, or whatever other euphemism you can come up with, their position is unassailable and their sanctuary respected. Mostly, anyway. Parents of young children may vehemently disagree with that!
A couple of weeks* ago Anne Goodwin reminded us of World Toilet Day and how lucky we are to have access to toilets and sanitation. Most of us take what used to be the smallest room in (or out) of the house for granted, not giving its use a second thought as we flush away our waste.
But not everyone is so lucky. It seems that more of the worldās population have access to a mobile phone, and or to the internet, than to a toilet. Visit Anneās blog for many links that explain why a day for toilets is important.
WaterAidAustralia explains that
āThe day was created to raise global awareness of the struggle faced by the 2.5 billion people living without access to sanitation. It is also used to explore some of the healthy, emotional and psychological consequences people endure as a result of not having a proper, clean toilet.ā
An article written by Nicole Arce and published in the Tech Times cites the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the information that 2,200 children around the world die every day due to diarrhoea. Proper sanitation would prevent most of those deaths.
Arce writes that the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set 2019 as its target for ātotal sanitationā. However, as also suggested in Anne Goodwinās flash fiction piece āCulture Shockā, the problem can be attributed to cultural as well as monetary issues.
Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch followed Anne Goodwin down the toilet path and extended the discussion to include the effect that poor sanitation has on education, particularly of young girls. The link is not as tenuous as it may first appear as explained here and here.
Charli decided to use her flash fiction challenge to āspread awareness that toilets matter.ā She invited readers to āHelp spread the call for human dignity and basic sanitary healthā by linking to UNICEF when responding to her prompt: In 99 words write a story that includes the toilet.
I have decided to do just that, as have many others. Check out Charliās post at the Carrot Ranch to read all responses.
Toilet sanctuary
āMiss. Marnieās locked herself in the toilet and wonāt come out.ā
āWhat now?ā I thought, scanning the troubled face pleading for assistance as much as to be absolved of blame.
āOkay,ā I reassured Jasmine. āLetās go see whatās up.ā
As we hurried to the toilet block Jasmine reiterated her innocence, she hadnāt done anything, she didnāt know what was wrong (it wasnāt her fault).
āI know,ā I smiled. The toilet cubicles had frequently been Marnieās sanctuary. But not for weeks.Ā Jasmineās kind-hearted friendship had seen to that.
āSheās got her unicorn again,ā Jasmine whispered.
āOh,ā I said.
*I apologise that this post may appear out of sync with World Toilet Day which was now ten days ago. Unfortunately I have been without internet access for 12 days and unable to publish although I had the post written. Fortunately I still had access to a flushing toilet, and if I had to choose between that and the internet, Iād go for the toilet every time! Though World Toilet Day has passed for this year, the message remains important every day!
I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts about any aspect of this post or flashĀ fiction.
I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts.