N54                 World Toilet Day

I have been practicing myself not to be surprised , not to be shocked at anything I see, I hear, at things happening in the world, in our country or around me, because anything can happen at any moment.

  

   But an article I read in a newspaper today made me a little surprised and at the same time somewhat pleased.

   

  It was UNSG’s message on World Toilet Day 19 November 2013. So they have designated a day called WTD and it said this first official observance by UN is an opportunity to highlight that important topic.I agree with that. It really is important and it concerns our people who (most of them ) do not take it seriously.

UNSG stated in his message about how people are affected by poor sanitation and hygiene , so that they fall ill with diarrhea,and suffer long time illness. It costs developing nations around 260 billion a year which is 1.5% of their GDP.On the other hand every $ invested can bring a 5 fold return by keeping people healthy and productive.

He said one billion people practice open defecation. Progress for action on sanitation has been too little and too slow and so he launched a Call to Action on Sanitation this year to end open defecation by 2025 and  to build Sanitation and Water for All .He also urged to work together to improve the health and well being of 1/3 of the human family which is the goal of World Toilet Day.

   

As I have stated our country people do not care much about sanitation. And in some rural areas people are still practicing open defecation. A famous author wrote in her book that there are no toilets in her village and so I cannot help wondering if she also does like other villagers when she goes to her village and why doesn’t she give some education and advice to her villagers to build some toilets. But it  is not  only in some villages of Anyar that practice open defecation but also in some other parts of Myanmar as well. In our Shan State people used flowing streams and creeks with clear, clean water as their toilets and thus polluted them and become unfit for other uses.

      

This is one disadvantage about toilets in Myanmar. No toilets at all or very poor ones. The other fact I want to write is about cleanliness and tidiness of cities and town’s toilets and also the lack of them.

    

   I have seen many places of the world through TVs and have been to some Eastern countries myself. I admire places which are neat and clean and want my country to be like them. But many things in our country are not satisfactory due  to mismanagement and slow progress.

  

   Among them public toilets are at the top. Markets, restaurants, government facilities cannot manage their toilets well. Just for example the toilets of Bogyoke Market, which many people including tourists are using are always with wet floor and some are out of order and lack cleanliness. We are very much far behind our neighbours like Thailand and Singapore in everything including toilets.

to be continued......