I am waiting for the moment that the newspapers report it is all quiet on the waterfront.
Published on: 24/10/2014
The day Paul Bäumer, the main character in Erich Maria Remarque's First World War novel "All quiet on the Western Front" (Im Westen nichts Neues) gets killed, the news reports that it was all quiet on the Western Front. Amidst the horrors of the First World War, the life or death of a single person wasn't newsworthy anymore.
The day the municipality of El Paraíso in Honduras achieved full water coverage, El Heraldo, one of Honduras' main newspapers reported on that with a full page article. Amidst the horror of 700 million people going without water, getting access to it is still newsworthy. Unfortunately.
El Paraíso reaches 100% coverage in drinking water (El Heraldo, 19 Oct 2014)
Of course it is great that this municipality achieved universal coverage, something that the Para Todos Por Siempre (Everyone, Forever) initiative strives for in municipalities all across Honduras. But, the fact that water flows out of your tap should be a given, not something you should think about, let alone a reason to have a page in the newspaper dedicated to it.
Let's hope that the people of El Paraíso will not read about their water supply in the newspaper any time soon. It would probably mean that there is something wrong. The only time I read about water supply in the newspaper in my country, the Netherlands, is when the service is interrupted for a few hours or when a water quality problem is detected, as happened a few weeks ago in the small town of Ter Apel.
Alas, a malfunctioning water supply system rarely makes the headlines in Honduras. There are just too many systems malfunctioning - according to the latest data from the SIASAR database some 30% of the water systems are not functioning well - so that one more or less breaking down falls in the "all quiet" category. And there are too many people without water, so that when a community actually gets it, is actually a reason for the Minister to cut the ribbon, with corresponding flashy press releases.
Whilst waiting for the moment that the newspapers report it is all quiet on the waterfront, I guess I have to enjoy reports of municipalities actually reaching everyone, and hopefully forever.
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