When every stop becomes a source of anxiety.
In the scorching midday sun of July, the old streets of Hanoi blazed down, and Bui Thi Thuong (38 years old, from Phu Tho province) was drenched in sweat. She only dared to stop her street vendor cart under a tree by the park to quickly drink some water before hurrying back to her heavily loaded cart. The cart, overflowing with plates, vases, cups, and other porcelain items weighing nearly 200kg, made each step slow and arduous.
"I don't dare stand here for long. When a customer comes, I sell quickly and leave immediately, because if I linger, I'm afraid of being reprimanded," she said, her hands still on the cart.
Having earned a living as a street vendor for over ten years, Ms. Thuong is accustomed to wandering through the streets, especially the Old Quarter of Hanoi. Every day, starting at 6 a.m., she leaves her small rented room in Tu Lien ward, pushing her cart 6-7 kilometers to sell her goods, sometimes going to Long Bien, sometimes back to Ho Chi Minh City, and then weaving through the 36 streets of the Old Quarter.
"Previously, when street vending wasn't strictly regulated, I could park my vehicle longer in densely populated areas. My daily income ranged from 300,000 to 400,000 VND," she said.
But since the campaign to restore order to the sidewalks was implemented vigorously, everything has changed. The familiar selling spots are gone, and she has to constantly move around, selling while observing her surroundings. "Some days I spend the whole day with my nearly 200kg cart and only sell a few items. Some days I'm lucky to earn around 200,000 dong. There are also days when my legs ache and I don't sell much," she shared.
Back home, her three children are still of school age. Her husband also makes a living by selling goods on the street. A few acres of leased farmland are not enough to support the whole family, so the couple has to accept the situation where one stays in the countryside and the other goes to Hanoi to earn a living.
"It's okay if life is a little difficult for me, as long as my children get a good education so they can have stable jobs in the future," she confided.
Perhaps that's also what motivates her to continue pushing her heavily loaded cart through the streets under the scorching sun or sudden downpours, persistently making a living in a foreign land.
Ms. Bui Thi Thuong is talking to a customer.
On another street, Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong (36 years old, from Ninh Binh province) quickly stopped to sell a packet of boiled peanuts to a customer before settling back onto her old bicycle. Behind the bike, a large, securely tied basket displayed snacks such as boiled potatoes, boiled peanuts, and mangoes.
According to Ms. Huong, street vending depends on the weather and the number of passersby, so her income is very unstable. On good days, she earns about 250,000 VND, but on other days, after deducting expenses, she only has 50,000 VND left.
That meager amount of money had to be carefully saved to pay rent, cover living expenses, and send money back home to support her two children who were of school age. The eldest child was in high school, and the youngest in elementary school, both living in the countryside with their paternal grandparents.
"My parents work far away just to earn more money so their children can get a better education than they did in the past," Huong confided.
Despite all the hard work, life is always a struggle. Before the sweat has even dried, the money is gone. Many times, she feels exhausted and wants to rest for a day, but thinking of her children and her circumstances, she keeps going.
"Even when I'm sick, I try to endure it because I'm afraid of losing a day's work. Taking a day off means I don't get paid that day," she said.
The burden of making a living in old age
At 74, when many people are enjoying their retirement with their children and grandchildren, Mrs. Hoang Thi Mai still pushes her fruit cart through the streets of Hanoi every morning. Her small business is her only source of income to make ends meet.
Originally from Hung Yen province, she moved to Hanoi many years ago to make a living. On a good day, she earns about 200,000 VND. After deducting the cost of goods, rent, and living expenses, the remaining amount is negligible.
Following numerous campaigns to restore urban order, the appearance of Hanoi's sidewalks is undergoing noticeable changes.
What saddened her most was that as she got older, her health deteriorated. Joint pain became more frequent. Each time she went for a check-up, she had to carefully consider every penny of the hospital fees.
Behind her street vendor stall lies a life of hardship. Her husband served in the army but was denied benefits due to a lack of paperwork and passed away prematurely after years of illness. She raised two children alone. Now that her children have their own families, she still chooses to continue working.
"As long as I'm healthy, I'll keep working; I don't want to be a burden to my children and grandchildren. I just hope the city government will be flexible and arrange an area where freelance workers and elderly people like me can sell for a few hours each day," Mrs. Mai expressed.
That desire is also shared by many informal workers making a living on the streets. They understand that sidewalks need to be returned to pedestrians, and traffic needs to flow more smoothly. However, behind the orderly streets are thousands of workers still struggling to adapt to new ways of earning a living.
Amidst increasingly orderly and clean streets, street vendors' carts continue to move silently. The campaign to restore order to sidewalks is an essential requirement in the process of urban development. But behind each of these policies, there are still people striving to adapt every day. They hope for more suitable livelihood opportunities so they can continue to work with their own strength.
Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/phan-doi-sau-ganh-hang-rong-238260701212357391.htm
