Ismail Al-Halouti
As soon as the air temperature begins to rise in our country, the herald announces the arrival of the summer season, and the hour of departure strikes for the beaches in the coastal cities, which witness an exceptional turnout and open their arms to embrace their visitors, whether they are Moroccans or foreigners who are looking for themselves and their families for a rest or entertainment and recreation, until There is renewed talk, as usual, every year about the scarcity of toilets in some cities and their lack in others.
The public toilet is a shared public space, its generality includes a strange paradox, which separates it from the rest of the public spaces of common use such as buses, cafes and parks. Despite being a public space, one of our most private and secret biological activities takes place, which is the activity of visceral emptying of human waste (urine and feces). These toilets are of great importance in the lives of citizens, not only in Morocco, but also in all countries of the world. Otherwise, a day would not have been dedicated to them in the year to celebrate them. The UN body has previously published a special report on the occasion of the World Toilet Day, which falls on November 19 of each year, in which it stresses that “everyone must have sustainable sanitary facilities, along with clean water and hand-washing facilities.” To help protect and maintain our health security and stop the spread of deadly infectious diseases, such as coronavirus, cholera and typhoid »
Do you see where we are from these international recommendations aimed at protecting and preserving the health security of the citizen? Unfortunately, most of our cities, especially the major and touristic ones, have been suffering for years from a stark shortage of public toilets, as they are an essential part of the urban infrastructure, due to their importance in the lives of citizens, young and old, especially those with diabetes and others. As the collective councils do not pay attention to these health facilities and work to provide them, some people go to cafes to spend their natural needs, while others spend it in the open air behind trees, trucks, etc., which contributes to the pollution of the climate and the emission of bad smells in a number of places, in addition to Some disgusting manifestations of human waste, which are not spared even in the vicinity of historical monuments.
The search for a public toilet, whether in the economic capital, the administrative capital, or the city of Marrakesh, for example, has become an arduous journey for the residents and visitors of these cities, and sometimes they are forced to resort to using the toilets of commercial stores, cafes, restaurants, or hotels. Isn’t it shameful when a tourist suddenly feels, while roaming, the desire to fulfill his natural needs without finding the appropriate space? So how, in this case, that collective councils and the Ministries of Interior and Tourism continue to ignore the repeated calls for the creation of clean and decent toilets, especially as they preserve human dignity, protect his health and the environment, and also preserve the beauty of cities, especially as they are necessary spaces by which the attractiveness of cities is measured, and contribute to Avoid the spread of epidemics and dangerous diseases? Is it reasonable for officials to consider running for the organization of the World Cup before thinking about overcoming the crisis of public toilets?
In this context, one of the studies revealed shocking data, as in addition to the lack of toilets, some of which are in a poor condition in terms of lack of hygiene, maintenance and poor lighting, there are also about ten percent of the population of Moroccan cities who relieve their natural needs in the streets or empty places, which is What has become bad for the image of Morocco in front of tourists, bearing in mind that the American magazine «The Hollywood Reporter» classified it in one of its articles as «the most beautiful country in the world» and «the most popular destination for celebrities in the world», highlighting through it the tourist qualifications that it abounds in, and calling on its readers to Visit it to discover its charm.
It is not surprising, then, that the voices of resentment and discontent were raised by civil society activists and environmental associations, along with a number of social media activists, who did not stop raising the issue on the discussion table, in the great hope that the concerned authorities would interact with them to no avail, forcing them to return to protest and denounce. With the negligence in this regard and the failure to meet their demand, represented in the renewed call for the establishment of toilets on Moroccan beaches during the summer season, in order to avoid pollution of the environment and damage to the health of citizens.
It is not only the beaches that lack public toilets, but the crisis is pervading all Moroccan cities, including the major and tourist ones, as the protests of residents and civil society associations have almost not stopped for several years. Because the absence of these sanitary facilities is not only reflected in the environmental and aesthetic level and the health of citizens, but also harms the image of Morocco, which calls for an urgent solution to this dilemma that haunts residents and visitors. Then, for example, why is it not obligating the new vital facilities such as markets, underground garages, parks, commercial centers and other public squares and gardens within the book of campaigns to provide public toilets, and also to repair and maintain the old ones.