The Writing Is On the (Toilet) Wall

Al-Arabiya had a nifty story on Tuesday about a new, radical media form developing outside the reach of censors in Algeria -- the walls of public toilets. Okay, it's probably not new, and I would want to see how much Algerian toilet writing differs from the stuff written on toilet stalls worldwide. Still, this might be one of those stories that's too good to check:

"The walls of some toilets in Algeria have become endless spaces and pages of revelation and harsh expressions and criticisms against living conditions and the decision makers, starting from President Bouteflika and ending with the smallest municipal official. Everything can be published in this innovative press for it is neither filtered nor dependent upon the guardian of the gate, an expression commonly used in the media to refer to the person who blocks all that is not printable...

...

"Dr. Abdul Nasser Jabi, a sociologist, said: "What is kept in the dark in the society is always oppressed...In the case of the toilets, two main topics are addressed: sex and politics. These are considered the two main oppressed topics in Arab societies, which is why some resort to the toilets to communicate with harsh and direct expressions that neither the newspapers, nor the satellite channels nor any other communication means can handle..."[emphasis mine]

The article also mentions that is generally homosexual relationships that are discussed on the toilet walls, because it's a subject that taboo in the mainstream Algerian press. When you think about it, toilet walls are the perfect medium to avoid censors -- they're seen by a large group of people, they're plentiful in urban areas, and it's socially impossible to monitor what citizens do when in a stall. Why start a blog, when you can just bounce between public toilets!
(Translation courtesy Mideastwire)