Democratic Security?

Vendors and Bystanders

The Accessory Store

Street Artist Portable Furniture Our Future

Moving Shoes

Morning Coffee

Peanuts and Minutes

Flower Men

Flashing Coconuts

Expelled From Her Land

Checking Papers

Aromaticas, Anyone?

Avocados

Street vendors flood Bogota´s streets every day. Enduring the extreme climates of the city, either scorching hot, freezing cold and thundering rain, these men and women are never a strange sight. Their methods vary. Some stand in spotlights the entire day, others travel in bikes, some have carts with their products along the sidewalk, and a few have cars, which they park and display their merchandise in their trunk. And whether they are selling something or simply begging for change, their purpose is always the same: to manage somehow to feed themselves and their families.

Where these people come from is no mystery. Most of them used to be small farm owners, producing enough to sustain themselves and their family in a comfortable way. They came to the capital after having been threatened by one of several terrorist groups, forcing them to give up their lands, work for them, or be killed. Scared to death, they come to Bogotá hoping that they will soon find jobs or at least, find help from their government which so solemnly swore to help out any who found themselves in need. Here, they found overpopulation, crowding, few job opportunities, and living conditions that would repulse anyone. Having to compete with others that migrated in the same circumstances or those born already poor in these streets, many of them soon saw that it was a competition short of impossible to win. Thus the streets of northern, richer neighborhoods seemed the best place to look for profit.

Street vendors and beggars have become part of Bogota´s landscape. Some hate them, wanting to see the poor stick to their own neighborhoods, some ignore them, some help out with tips or food, and others rejoice in the cheap, miscellaneous products they offer. Because the truth is that whatever they sell, ranging from flowers to cell phone cases to chontaduros, these products do not pay taxes. This does not seem to bother the vendors, they often make more than what a cashier or house maid earns. But the Colombian government and its high-society leaders do not see it this way. Condemning them as low lives that only disrupt the Colombian society, they want to see them gone and out of the streets.

In 2008, a law known as Law 087 was passed in Congress. Changing the 2002 792 Law, it suggests that no cars can buy products or give charity closer than 200 meters away from a stoplight, bridge, etc. Its final purpose is to stop illegal product selling and encourage these people to get a job. But what it is really doing is making their lives go from difficult to impossible. With no job opportunities out there and prohibited from showing along streets, what are they to do? With no legal options left, the best way to feed their families is stealing or drug dealing. In no way will this law help the situation of our country. More unemployment and a higher crime rate is definitely not a solution. But what is really wrong about this law proposal is that it hinders honest people, people who chose a hard life of street sales instead of the option that most take-drug dealing. They did not give in to the extortions of the armed groups that threatened them and instead decided to say good-bye to their former lives and head out to the big unknown city. These people are heroes, they deserve the respect of each and every one who has never known what real difficulty is. And the only way in which they are repaid is by declaring them illegal? It seems that in this country no right action can get you anywhere. There are no options for those who cannot find a job, they are constantly oppressed and encounter new difficulties every passing day. Unless the Colombian Government and the high society changes its perceptions and attitudes towards people with less luck the country´s deterioration will only continue until it is too late and they, too, are submerged in poverty. Letting these people work is the lesser of two evils, apparently.