Empty
beaches? Historic slave trade sites?
Colorful marketplaces? What’s the most iconic symbol of West Africa? Tourist
attractions aside, I am voting for the urinating man. Nothing says West Africa
like a man peeing on the side of the road.
I’ve spent
a lot of time considering this problem. (Apparently I am not alone)
It’s a common sight to see INTERDIT DE URINER scrawled across walls along the
roadway. It does little to deter the
masses who persist. I’ve had the experience (more than once!) of having a taxi driver
stop to pee, en route. I guess he just couldn’t hold it in anymore.
Sometimes I wonder if it is akin to small children who want to use the restroom in any new building
or restaurant they go in. Maybe there are certain walls or tree lined areas
that emit a man-only detectable siren “Pee here! Pee here!”
Perhaps it
has that collective quality. Seeing someone else pee suddenly awakens the urge
and requires one to stop and urinate as well. Or maybe it’s more like a wolf
marking its territory.
The
question most on my mind, however, is what do all the women do? I take it as
proof of man as the inferior species. Women are never spotted peeing on the
side of the road. Somehow, we make it through our daily affairs without this
ritual.
A separate,
but equally prevalent phenomenon, (though perhaps unique to Abidjan and not
necessarily all of West Africa) are the signs for “Developpe Sex”- enlarging
the penis is the translation I imagine. They are often placed next to signs for
some elixir which is reported to help with premature ejaculation. I haven’t quite arrived at the connection
between this and frequent peeing, but I feel certain there is one.
Just as I
feel certain there is a connection to the numerous posted advertisements for
“Detective Privee.” Christian and I both remarked on this, having noticed the
signs in a variety of places throughout
the city. Is there really such a need for private detectives? It appears to be a lucrative business here.
Of course, one might imagine if the population is busy enlarging their sex it
might lead to certain indiscretions which require a private detective to sort
out.
In the end,
I have no answers without real research. I have only my informal data to rely
on- incessant observations of men urinating, here, there and everywhere.
