JANUARY 27, 2023 VENDOR VOICES GROUNDCOVER NEWS Are you really listening? Street paper vendors engage in everyday acts of communication The need to communicate with another human being is quite human. Passersby also have their share of stress on a daily basis. Here's what I tell my clients: "I'm here to sell a magazine, but I'm here for you first." Selling is important, but so is listening to passersby. The pink flowery hijab In a cheerful tone, and spontaneously, I call out to her: "Your hijab is beautiful!" She smiles. Then I add: "You are very pretty." Seeing her radiant face, I understand that I have touched a sensitive chord. She moves forward, rummaging in her bag. I refuse the money. She doesn't understand. I am just happy to see her smile at me and I feel grateful. She insists on giving me the money. I refuse it and wish her a nice day by giving her the magazine. The elderly lady JO REDWITCH L'Itineraire street paper vendor An elderly lady stops, wallet in hand: "Would you like a magazine, ma'am?" She answers me with a nod. "Do you want today's or the 1 November issue, which contains two pages I wrote? It's the article called ‘Letter to my younger self.’" I show her the photos that accompany my article. She might be the more visual type, you never know. She holds her purse tightly, it's rush hour and it's crowded, but this detail doesn't bother her at all. "My niece just had a baby. Her husband works a lot and my niece is exhausted. I’m going to her house to help her cook. " I listen to her patiently in spite of the traffic in the subway. It's 5 p.m. sharp. Her story over, she leaves me with a big $10. "Keep the change, thanks Jo." The early childhood educator Another woman stops and calls out to me: "I read your piece: ‘Letter to my younger self.’ Then, as you suggested, I tried to do the same – I wrote as if I were talking to myself as a child. I wondered if I had made the right choices, especially in early adulthood. As I reread it, I started to cry, tore it up and threw it in the trash." "Why?" I asked her. "You know, I work in daycare and have had some serious health issues this year." I nodded... "And I had an epiphany. Since the health thing with my heart, I've come to the realization that I never thought about myself. I sacrificed my whole life for my husband, my children. Now I feel stuck." I listened to each of them. The elderly lady needed empathy and recognition for helping her niece. My regular client needed me to tell her that it was not too late to take care of her own needs instead of those of others while the young woman in the hijab simply needed to hear a compliment. Active listening, for me, is listening without intervening. Just listening. I try to understand the other person's inner world, show real empathy, and then give the person time to tell their story. Also, it's always good to verify with the person to make sure that I have understood. Maybe the person doesn't need you to help them solve their problems, maybe they just need an ear. Genuine listening gives importance and value to people who need to talk, and even more to the person who is too often silent. Courtesy of L’Itinéraire / International Network of Street Papers. L’Itinéraire is a street paper located in Montreal, Quebec. Welcome refugees and consider being a co-sponsor Immigrants are often refugees from economic or natural disasters. Many post-colonial — poor — countries are impacted by a disaster, some by two or more. In a homeland targeted by the global investor class for “regime change,” a type of coup d’etat by sanctions and financial destabilization, we see full spectrum warfare. The "flood" of refugees at the United States border is on our social screen. The cause of this exodus from third (poor) to first world (rich) countries is well studied by Monthly Review in particular, with its focus on the “politics of underdevelopment” and the “new world order,” better known as the neoliberal form of imperialism. “The Open Veins of Latin America” by Eduardo Galeano is a classic book on the subject. The Biden administration has addressed this situation, not by looking at the causes, but by shifting USCIS (Citizen and Immigration Services) policy to allow Haitians, Cubans, Nicarauguans and Venezuelans with family in the United States to be sponsored by a supporter from that family — but only if the sponsor qualifies. I do not qualify as a supporter because my income is too low, but with a backup supporter we could apply and bring some of my Cuban family to Ann Arbor. KEN PARKS Groundcover vendor No. 490 apartment, Cuban culture could easily accommodate six or more people. We would, however, abide by Ann Arbor residency compliance rules. My life is complex and interesting. All the above-named persons, except Santiago Alberto, are active on Facebook, and I pay to keep their cell phones open. With this background, I invite you to friend-request them, and consider being a backup supporter or possibly a lead supporter — and I held two babies in my hands in Cuba; Daniela Valdes Negret in 2001 and Kevin Toledo in 2006. I committed to be padrino — a mentor, protector, spiritual friend. So I am a co-parent with the biological father. This is a serious responsibility in Cuba and I am being implored to start the work to bring them here. Daniela has a threeyear-old, Santiago Alberto, named after my middle name, Albert. He is my third ahijado, spiritual child. I held him before he was born. I want to invite mother and son to live with me. We know how to live in a small space. I also have a stepdaughter, Daymara Rovira Negret, who was once a Cuban national weightlifting champion in her age and gender class. She is a physical trainer. If we had a two-bedroom become a part of our ever-growing extended family. We are all part of a large global family between Cuba and the United States, as well as Canada, Mexico and other Caribbean islands at the center of our lives. Our experience of natural borders will open our understanding of the nation state. Let’s do something good together. Consider sponsoring or co-sponsoring someone you find a connection with. My phone number is (313) 918-2453. 7
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