Alberto, a vendor at the street paper in Buenos Aires, has taken part in painting, literature and tango workshops at the paper's social art rehabilitation programme. "Three or four years ago, I wouldn't talk to the person next to me. If I tried to sell you a magazine, you would have run away, scared that I was going to steal something...but not now. The support I received at the street paper has turned me into a new man."

Alberto, Street Paper Vendors, Hecho en Buenos Aires, Argentina. (May 2005)

 

The street paper vendor is first and foremost a person trying to make an honest living through gainful employment. He or she is working and not begging. The vendor comes from a life where he or she has been socially and economically marginalised. The vending of the paper is often the first step towards toward greater inclusion into society and for many their only option to earn an income.

Some vendors have homes, others do not; some vendors live on the street full time, while others make use of basic shelter or hostel accommodation at night. Some choose to sleep on the street for fear of violence or retribution at home.

Some vendors earn a reasonable income. Others, despite long hours on their pitch, barely make ends meet. Many have to deal with issues ranging from substance abuse to mental ill-health, to the more common family and relationship breakdown. The world is full of marginalised and broken people, our response within the street paper movement, is not to judge but to listen and help those willing to make their own individual journeys.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below are examples of personal testimonies from INSP street paper vendors around the world.

1.Omar: Vendor for Hecho en Buenos Aires, Argentina

Omar is 27 years old. He has sold Hecho en Buenos Aires on trains since 2003. He loves football and participates in the street paper's football activities.

"I ended up on the streets during the economic crisis of 2001/02, when things were really bad. To survive I collected cardboard and looked for food in rubbish bins and tips. It was really difficult. Before that life had been okay. My first job in the city was as a pizza deliverer – I earned really good tips. I also distributed leaflets on the streets and at a Post Office. I moved to Buenos Aires when I was three with my parents, from the north of Argentina. Money was tight and we lived in a single room. My father worked at the hospital and sold flowers.

I started selling HBA last year after a friend told me about it. It’s great. I don’t have to collect cardboard anymore. Now I can buy clothes and have enough money to rent a room. And I’ve met many people selling the paper on the streets. My great passion is football. I played from when I was little until I was 18, when I broke a leg. It was heartbreaking having to stop playing. Football had always come naturally and I had an offer to play professionally with a club. But even if you feel bad and your situation is desperate, you should never give up. There is always a chance that it can get better.”

2.Nancy Nikelo: Vendor for The Big Issue, South Africa

"I heard about The Big Issue South Africa through a friend. When I told people that I was thinking of joining, they laughed at me. But because I’m a single mother who needs to take care of my children, I have to have an income. My daughter, Talitha, is 16-years-old and a grade 11 pupil. I want to see her become a professional.

My favourite days are when the weather is hot, like today, and I always make a point of arriving at my pitch in the early hours, so that I can sell as many magazines as I can. I don’t like it when the street kids come to my pitch. The drivers are afraid of being hijacked or robbed because some of them are quite aggressive and it effects sales.

Alfred Mdludlu shares my pitch, selling The Argus and Cape Times. He’s worked here for five years. When I arrived, I didn’t know if he was going to accuse me of stealing his customers. In fact we get along very well. We help each other. If one of us is hungry, the other sells their magazines while they are at the shops.

I can’t wait to get out off the streets because it’s not safe and also I need to find myself a good paying job. My dream this year is to have a permanent job where I can send myself and my child to school.”

3. Jacki: Vendor for The Big Issue, Australia

"I’ve been selling The Big Issue Australia since March, 2003. I saw Allan the vendor working and asked him what it was all about, and he let me look at one and told me where to apply. I got selling on the day I went in.

It’s saved my life. I’m an alcoholic, and I just drank my whole life away. Alcoholics Anonymous didn’t work for me because the minute I left there I’d go and drink. I didn’t have the willpower to do it but The Big Issue gives me a reason to get out of bed. It’s mainly shoppers who buy. Some people give you funny looks because they don’t understand what it is you’re selling and some people think it’s free. I come from Melbourne but the last three or four years I’ve been in Adelaide with my kids. I moved back, but the kids are in foster care in Adelaide. Again, it was a result of my drinking. I used to put the alcohol before my kids and that’s why they ended up in foster care.

Thanks to The Big Issue I’m allowed to speak with them now on the telephone because I’m not as bad as I was. My plan is to get my children back, but I can only do that once I’m free of the chains of alcohol. I’ll have to undertake a reconciliation programme to get access and maybe even custody one day.”

4. Yarushiro Kawaharada: Vendor for The Big Issue Japan

"I was born in Kyoto and worked in several different jobs before coming to the Big Issue Japan, including four years serving in the army. When I was working as an insurance sales representative the economy collapsed and I lost my job. I tried hard looking for another post but being over 50 years old, it’s really difficult.

I had doubts that this would work but it became exciting when people actually started to approach me to buy the paper. I came to Osaka about a year ago and slept rough in a tent. When I heard about the Big Issue Japan’s launch I decided to give it a try. Now I sell about 30 copies a day.

For a healthy man under 65, it’s almost impossible to get any support from the government. But when you are homeless the situation is even harder. Without a permanent address, you can’t apply for social support like job seekers allowance. By selling The Big Issue, I can afford cheap accommodation most nights and buy meals. Sometimes I go to karaoke to sing my favourite songs.

I enjoy talking with different people and I’ve started saving some money again. Maybe after a year I will have enough money to move into an apartment. But even then, I would like to continue this job.

4. Gottlieb Hakaye: Vendor for The Big Issue Namibia

I started selling The Big Issue Namibia in February, 2004. I sell in front of the city hall in Windhoek, Namibia’s capital. I am always really worried about my family. We are always on the edge. I use The Big Issue Namibia temporarily to keep them from homelessness, poverty and desperation.

I was born in Okalongo in northern Namibia 45 years ago and I’m happily married. We have seven children. The eldest is 17-years-old and the youngest is two-and-a-half, due to start nursery school as soon as we can sort out our finances. I worked in the hotel industry for years, most recently at the Windhoek Country Club. I resigned two years ago when I was offered a job in the insurance sector but the new post didn’t work out. I was expected to travel regularly to the north, but I wasn’t prepared to be apart from my family. I haven’t managed to get back into formal employment for two years now. I’m surviving with temporary jobs and I have applied to all the Windhoek hotels, but so far I’ve had no luck. I don’t think that a lot of people realise that losing a secure job and then not being able to get another full-time job is something that could happen to anybody very easily.”

5. Peter Aghahowa: Vendor for Megaphon


“I am Megaphon's longest serving vendor. I have been selling the magazine for seven years now. A lot of people call me the figurehead of Megaphon because I have around for such a long time. I was actually nominated as vendors’ representative for the publication, which made me feel very proud. It has not been easy for me though. When I first started selling Megaphon all those years ago passers-by would give me a really hard time and I was treated pretty badly. But I stuck it out. Selling the street paper has given me the opportunity to earn a living and it keeps me busy, instead of sitting around in a shelter all day. But it hasn’t all changed for the better. I still get lots of abuse and discrimination every day when I am on the streets selling the magazine. I am insulted almost every day just because of my skin colour. But whenever this happens to me I try to think of all of the many Austrians’ who are always nice to me. When I do this I can forgive the minority of people for the way they talk to me.”

 

Contact us

 
© 2005 - International Network of Street Papers