A Day For The gods!
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| Image: Dribble |
A Day For The gods!
At El-walk, we saw a number of teeming hawkers hustling and bustling. Among them was a woman I’m sure could be in her late 40s.
Where she was standing was a bit away from our car, and the sun was very blistering. I was made to believe that the sun had gone mad due to some single men who’ve refused to legally use their pen for other matters than urinating.
Since the mate was visible, unlike me, I asked him to call the hawker. Upon request, I saw the way this woman tiptoed hastily, meandering her way through other cars, and oncoming motorcycles at top speed as if she was not carrying loads of bottle water.
The sun had bathed her in sweat — toils of hard work, if I should say. She brought a 1.5L bottle of belaqua water out. Apparently, it seems that was all she had. I took it and handed one cedi to her. But she humbly reminded that: “brother, this is for two cedi.”
On a way into my wallet, passengers in the car had started buzzing already. They were fighting the woman’s price margin. And you know how women hated to be cheated when they go to market. They started calling their fellow woman all sort of names. That, because it’s El-walk, and rich people frequent the road they’re selling a one-cedi-fifty-pesewa bottle of water for two cedi. Meanwhile same bottle of water are sold at its original price anywhere within the 37 station.
In fact, I was very irked at their nuanced opinion. Though I also do bemoan to excess profiteering, I feel a fifty pesewa difference, the tedious, and life threatening work of hawkers, even if the water is for five cedi I’d not break a neck when buying. Because those complaining, when they go to these foreign shopping malls they buy everything without asking for reduction, so why were they berating the hawker?
And thinking that I’ve seen it all, today I witnessed another demeaning encounter. Our driver had sped off, thinking he could beat the traffic which was blinking yellow. So as we were stopped by the red light, the mate started calling a hawker. But in this case it was a young woman (prolly in her 20s), at a farther distance. As if the mate knows already, he said, “you see, she won’t come. The pure water sellers here they don’t respect!”
When the traffic turned green for us to go, the hawker had still not made it to where our car was — I think she hadn’t even moved in the first place. Some females in the car began business as usual, “oh, so it’s true. They don’t respect. Just pure water. And look at the attitude they’re showing.” One man also said, “that’s the reason I hardly buy from them when I reach here.”
I want to dissent their positions because of their bigotry against the hawkers. Are the nagging passengers saying that they can’t factor humanitarian reasons into their rants? So because they desired water to drink, they want the hawkers to run to their needs, regardless of putting their lives at risk. And what if the hawker feels so tired? Maybe the market hasn’t being fair to the hawker.
Or passengers want to say that their one cedi has eventually made them superior over others? And that the hawkers are less of human?
This is our way of life, we the ordinary. Sometimes we rather help the devil to win over our brothers. For this reason, Allah pokes us in Quran 37:28 that: “What’s wrong with you, why don’t you help each other?”
Now reflect over the verse. And make amends!
By Abdul Rahman Odoi
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