Today from the 'Believe it or Not' file:
"In Tangerang village, open defecation still way of life" [Jakarta Post].
"For most people living in cities and big towns," the article begins, "defecation is a relatively simple matter, involving getting to a toilet, doing the business, and then flushing it away with running water."
Not so for the folks in Tangerang Regency, where residents must wait in lines to visit the only communal toilet in the area.
It should be pointed out at this juncture that Tangerang is not an obscure settlement on an isolated island. It is located on the western border of Jakarta, Indonesia's largest city.
The toilet facility itself was built 12 years ago and has been damaged. "The water tank is broken and someone stole the pump", the Post reports. Those who do not like to wait in line may "go to a cassava garden" (where fertilization of the cassavas takes place at the same instance, one presumes), or they may go to nearby Cisadane Creek, which is also a popular bathing spot.
Women who live in the neighboring community also bring their family's laundry to this creek. One resident, Risna, commented that while her family actually does have a toilet and running water at home, she prefers to do her washing in the creek, as she has washed her clothes in the creek for decades.
One assumes that the family does not wear a lot of white. Or not for very long, anyway.
Despite knowing the waters to be polluted with human excreta, Risna brushed off any concerns, claiming that her skin had become immune. While acknowledging that locals still bath and openly defecate in the creek, she noted that some simply feel more comfortable going there, as it had been their common practice for years.
"It's okay as long as we don't use the water for drinking," she explained.
Well, different strokes for different folks, I guess. Some people, protective of the 'purity' of their culture, use bows and arrows to shoot lone missionaries. Others just openly defecate.
"In Tangerang village, open defecation still way of life" [Jakarta Post].
"For most people living in cities and big towns," the article begins, "defecation is a relatively simple matter, involving getting to a toilet, doing the business, and then flushing it away with running water."
Not so for the folks in Tangerang Regency, where residents must wait in lines to visit the only communal toilet in the area.
It should be pointed out at this juncture that Tangerang is not an obscure settlement on an isolated island. It is located on the western border of Jakarta, Indonesia's largest city.
The toilet facility itself was built 12 years ago and has been damaged. "The water tank is broken and someone stole the pump", the Post reports. Those who do not like to wait in line may "go to a cassava garden" (where fertilization of the cassavas takes place at the same instance, one presumes), or they may go to nearby Cisadane Creek, which is also a popular bathing spot.
Women who live in the neighboring community also bring their family's laundry to this creek. One resident, Risna, commented that while her family actually does have a toilet and running water at home, she prefers to do her washing in the creek, as she has washed her clothes in the creek for decades.
One assumes that the family does not wear a lot of white. Or not for very long, anyway.
Despite knowing the waters to be polluted with human excreta, Risna brushed off any concerns, claiming that her skin had become immune. While acknowledging that locals still bath and openly defecate in the creek, she noted that some simply feel more comfortable going there, as it had been their common practice for years.
"It's okay as long as we don't use the water for drinking," she explained.
Well, different strokes for different folks, I guess. Some people, protective of the 'purity' of their culture, use bows and arrows to shoot lone missionaries. Others just openly defecate.
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