[07 March 2008]

By Mahmoud Al-Samie

SANA'A, March 07 (Saba)- After heavy campaigns that Sana'a municipality carried out last January for cracking down on vendors in Sana'a streets which were successful to some limit, we starting seeing them regrouping in some crossroads of Sana'a streets during the afternoon or night times.

Many vendors have faced several problems because of these campaigns such as blackmailing and looting by those who carried out those harsh campaigns without committing any faults except for that they want to get livelihood of their children.

Some of them have left Sana'a to other cities across the country, some have become broke due to looting by those in charge of those campaigns and some others still at their homes waiting for fate to come.

The municipality has justified carrying out these campaigns as for cleaning the Secretariat Capital and creating a good image for it. It said that it has established public markets for vendors.

Some local observers criticized these campaigns, saying that the government solves mistake by another bigger one. They explained that under this harsh situation and price hikes, the government would create more suffering among thousands of people who depend on these vendors because a vendor supports his family that usually consists of five persons.

In the public markets assigned by the government, vendors face many problems such as more money they pay to those in charge of the markets, blackmailing, not spacious places and others.

Ali Naser, a 35 year-old vendor in Assitteen-Rebat roundabout, has gas cylinder linked to a small cooker with bowl on it for cooking green beans and selling them ready, says: "During the morning time, I go to work in a nearby market and during afternoon and evening, I come to this place."

Naser said he makes a good income in selling in the streets better than in the market. "The person in charge of the market asks me for six hundred Riyals every morning which is unaffordable. But here in the roundabout I do my work freely, I rarely pay 300 Riyals as a bribe to the observer who is responsible on cracking down vendors."

Abdul-Karim Asselwi, 20, a bananas seller, says he encounters problems in public markets: "I have little profit in buying bananas so I cannot afford giving money every day to the person in charge of the market so I come here during the afternoon to make a good profit. "

"Sometimes municipal soldiers take out my bananas and sometimes they accept bribe to let me keep on my work, but the bribe has become much bigger. "

He says that one day they chased him to his store and took out his bananas.


Sumayah Hussain, 45, who sells Lahoh (thin round bread) in Aser, says that she does her business daily from 10 am to 3 pm.

"I do not face any blackmail or chasing by municipal soldiers. I have children and I have to work to feed them," she said.

Noaman Assirari, a 55 year-old cobbler at Al-Hasabah Street, complains:" How can I do my living? Where shall we go? I have to work for feeding my big family. Municipal soldiers chase me every day and I collect my things to escape and return after they leave.

Qayed al-Ibbi, an official in charge of cracking down vendors in Sana'a southern area, says that what the government is doing is not fair. These people have families and children, if we keep on hunting them then where shall they go? And how can they feed their children under these badly conditions in the country?

"When I carry out an inspection tour of chasing vendors, I personally ignore some of them and turn blind eye to them, letting them do their livings."

Fadhl al-Awadhi, head of vendors in Hayel Street says: "the situation is difficult and we only work for three hours at night and remain without work during the day time of fear of municipality's soldiers.

During carrying out the campaigns, municipality soldiers and officials take out our goods and ask us for commitments to give them back to us. For being responsible for vendors, I collect signed commitments from them and hand them to concerned officials but I discover that vendors' goods have already vanished.
Saba