ISLAMABAD-The Valentine’s Day on Friday increased the glamour of city and flowers shops but vendors observed slight surge in their business. Seema Bibi is 60 years old and on this Valentine Day she is selling flowers in one of the posh sector’s market to earn some extra money.
As the luxury vehicles and residents of the city including foreigners reach Kohsar market for dining and shopping, Seema Bibi hopes they may stop at her stall and buy flowers from her.
As poverty has remained her companion throughout life, she does not have sufficient funds to run her business in a shop in the federal capital of the government. Seema Bibi has set her flowers on the footpath and was sitting behind a dozen bouquets and looking for buyers.
Since morning, she sold only a few bouquets of red roses and she is worried about her investment.
“Rich people ignore my footpath stall and prefer purchasing flowers from shops in the market,” she said with disappointment. She has red and yellow roses, glads and Nargis but prices of all flowers are same.
“I charge Rs20 for a single rose and shop owner sells same of Rs50,” she said. She said that her business did not go good this day and she remained sitting idle as people visit, ask about price and then move away. “They will get same thing on expensive price from shop but will not purchase from footpath,” Seema Bibi said. She said that she is working as vendor for last two decades but her hardships of life have not changed and neither government nor media think about poor. She has two sons and five grandchildren and she seems hopeless from government and society as her third generation has entered into the vicious circle of poverty. “No one even thinks to set me up a canteen from where I can run my expenses better,” she said.
She said that she expects nothing from government, media and society and earns little from which she feeds her grandchildren. “I do not vote in elections as these rulers came in power to serve their own purposes and they do it well,” said Seema Bibi.