Italy: A toilet emergency and a bartender’s letter in Rome

Rome: The restrictions related to covid for cities in orange zones have led managers of the bars of Rome to send out an appeal: “Let us open to the public, one cannot stay without toilets”.

Meanwhile, drivers of Atac and Cotral buses have asked to change their service shifts or, at least, to have the possibility of being able to reach those depots or stations (very few) equipped with toilets. “We must take into account the limitations of orange zones, starting with the closure of most public services, which causes difficulties for operators,” wrote the Fast SLM (Federation of Transport Unions) to the city and Lazio Region.

In the capital, where destinations are spread wide, and you can find yourself traveling long distances before returning home, there is a real need for emergency toilets.

Many elderly people are also affected. Carmen, who runs a bar on the Appio Latino, took to pen and paper and, in the old fashioned way, wrote a letter to the Messaggero newspaper, sorry she couldn’t help those in difficulty.

“I am an adult, almost elderly person,” reads Carmen’s letter, “and I am familiar with the need for a public bathroom when I am on the street. I want share an episode that occurred a few days ago. Despite my age, I am obliged to work, and I work in a neighborhood bar. So, although I do not approve of this stupid law that our government imposes on us, I respect it, I suffer it. I couldn’t allow an elderly gentleman to use the bathroom because a police patrol unit was stationed outside and I was afraid of a fine. After they left, I went outside to look for the poor old man to whom I had refused the bathroom, telling him to come back and use it, and he replied with tears in his eyes that it was too late. He had wet his pants and, with much shame, he thanked me anyway and I felt like dying”.