People who don’t flush the toilet, don’t ...

shared it with other neighbours. I used a bucket to flush the toilet. Consequently, I didn’t develop a habit of flushing the toilet or washing my hands after using it.

Editor, I didn’t grow up flushing the toilet after using it. As a matter of fact, I didn’t use the toilet to urinate. It was used only to defecate. Thus, flushing the toilet wasn’t a habit I grow up doing. It took years to develop the habit of flushing the toilet and washing my hands. Editor, even though today I have an indoor toilet, I don’t like to flush the toilet after urinating because water is scarce in Guyana. However, my military career has been helpful in teaching me the importance of hand washing. For example, I had a medical doctor who was deployed to Afghanistan with me. She always stressed the importance of washing your hands after using the toilet. To this day, when I wake up in the middle of the night to use the toilet, and I don’t want to wash my hands, I just want to go back to bed, I can hear her reminding me to wash my hands. Editor, without a doubt, like many other nations, many Guyanese don’t wash their hands or use hand sanitizer after using the toilet. Because of this, I don’t like to shake hands with people in Guyana.

A lot of people get upset with me for not shaking hands. But I can’t shake hands knowing that many people don’t wash their hands and knowing that not washing hands, spread germs. Editor, thank God, since COVID-19 more people are washing their hands and using hand sanitizer after using the toilet. Editor, please encourage the schools to educate children about the importance of hand washing. I felt embarrassed that the flight attendant had to publicly remind people to flush the toilet. She didn’t say this part but she probably wanted to remind the passengers to wash their hands too after using the toilet. It’s my opinion that people who don’t flush the toilet, don’t wash their hands after using the toilet.

Sincerely,

Anthony Pantlitz