Profile: Selling to Survive

Moseley village, Saturday afternoon. It’s a sunny day, and the pavements are busy with shoppers popping in and out of doorways, clutching bags, window shopping and meeting friends. But one figure isn’t going anywhere. She stands in the same place every weekend, whatever the weather. Some people ignore her, some say hello, some stop and chat, but eventually they all move on, leaving her where they found her, ready to talk to the next passer by.

Romanian-born Daniela Pueka has been selling the Big Issue outside the Co-op in Moseley for over five years now, and has become one of the village’s most familiar faces. But how many people actually stop to get to know her? As it turns out, quite a lot. When I arrive she is talking to someone and our subsequent conversation is constantly punctuated by people calling out ‘Hi Daniela!’ and ‘Morning!’ as they come and go. 

Daniela’s English is quite basic, and my Romanian is non-existent, so our ability to communicate was fairly limited. However, we persevered and, with good will on both sides, managed to understand each other. Daniela was keen to stress how selling the magazine has helped improve her language skills. 

“Before I didn’t speak too much,” she says, “Now I am a little better. All the people talk to me and I have a dictionary at home. But I still don’t understand all.”

Even without the language barrier, selling the Big Issue is not an easy way to make a living. Every Monday Daniela goes to the Big Issue office in the city centre to buy her magazines and re-book her Moseley pitch. She pays £1.25 per magazine. Then from Wednesday to Saturday she stands on her designated spot outside ASDA selling copies of the week’s edition for £2.50 each. If she hasn’t sold them all by Saturday afternoon, she comes back on Sunday. It’s not sale or return - if she doesn’t sell them, then that’s precious money wasted. In an average week, Daniela will sell between 50 and 55 magazines, making around £70 a week - well below minimum wage for the hours she puts in. And there’s no guarantee.

“If one week is not very good, if all the people are on holiday, then I sell maybe 40.” she says, which is why the weather has to be pretty bad to deter her. 

“If it’s raining too much in the morning, I don’t come,” she says, “but if I’m already here and it starts, then I stay. I was here all of January and February, even in the snow. If I am cold I drink something hot, maybe go inside for ten minutes, then come back out again.”

Given the difficulties with communication, the precarious nature of the income and the often unpleasant British weather, you would be forgiven for wondering why she does it. Susannah Wilson from the Big Issue Foundation explains.

“Romania is what we call an ‘A2’ country, the second wave of EU members. People from those countries are entitled to come to the UK, but are not allowed to work unless they are self employed. They aren’t permitted to get a job, but they are able to sell the Big Issue as each vendor is essentially working for themselves.”

“The majority of Romanians who come here are looking for a better life, hoping their children will be able to get a good education and achieve more than they could in Romania. Many are of Roma ethnicity and are often escaping discrimination in their home country. However, they often find it’s not as easy to make a living in the UK as they think.”

In the Birmingham catchment area, a large proportion of vendors are either Roma or Romanian, and many have families. Daniela herself is a single mother with four children to support. To go back to Romania would mean uprooting her kids from their schools to face possible persecution and a lower standard of living. Selling the Big Issue enables her to make ends meet, stay in the UK and give her children a better future.

But the life of a Big Issue seller is not without its problems. Daniela works hard to keep her pitch in friendly, suburban Moseley, and for good reason. Vendors are often the target for antisocial behaviour, from spitting and verbal abuse to being bullied and mugged for their takings. In January 2013, two Big Issue vendors were stabbed to death in Birmingham city centre, a very rare incident, but one that highlighted just how vulnerable they can be.

In Moseley, the biggest problem has been a handful of people, well-known to the local police, who operate as ‘one mag blaggers’ - people totally unconnected with the Big Issue, who get hold of a copy then use it as a pretext for begging. They go around the shops, bars and cafes, approaching members of the public and asking for money. These people give genuine vendors like Daniela a bad name, and do a lot of damage to the reputation of the Big Issue scheme, as Susannah explains.

“The Big Issue does not have money to spend on advertising. If it did there would be posters up everywhere telling the public that these people have nothing to do with us. Genuine Big Issue vendors all carry a photo ID badge, which they will happily show to anyone who asks to see it. They stand on authorised pitches, which they book on a weekly basis. If anyone encounters anyone selling the Big Issue coming up to them or begging or not carrying a badge, they should inform the police. And they should definitely not buy the magazine from these people.”

The good news is that one of Moseley’s infamous ‘one mag blaggers’ has now been issued with an ASBO banning him from the village, and Daniela insists she hasn’t had any other problems on her pitch.

“I like it here, I like being in one place. The people are nice, the police are nice. It’s a good place.”

It’s now nearing the end of her working day, and she only has about eight magazines left to sell. Every Saturday, after she has sold her last magazine, Daniela takes a bus to the Bullring markets and buys a treat for her children with the money that she’s made. I don’t want to hold her up. However, before I go, I ask her about the future. How long does she think she will be here, outside the Co-op in Moseley, selling the Big Issue to support her children? 

Her answer is simple. “I don’t know about the future. I just know I am here now.” 

And, in all honesty, how many of us bustling past her on a Saturday afternoon could really say anything different?

(Published in 'Moseley B13' July 2013)

Reader feedback:
"I just read your article in B13 and found it so interesting. I also liked the way it was presented in a positive way. I was also interested because she is in a way seen as an outsider who came here to better her life and as we well know there is a lot of prejudice against Romanians. So the way her story was presented was very important in helping the community accept and value her as a member of the community."