The Bigger Issue?
cartoon by bigeyedeer
Not usually very observant, I had noticed that the Big Issue sellers on the usual pitches seemed to have changed nationality – and that some of them were a bit more aggressive than usual, but a chance look at Steve Clarkson’s blog focused my attention on a disturbing trend.
What seems to be happening is that large numbers of Romanian immigrants have moved (quite legally) to the UK , and, predictably, without marketable skills and with minimal fluency in English, some of these people have found problems in finding jobs and accommodation. According to street gossip, a Romanian ‘Mr Big’ has developed a new business model, whereby he buys bulk supplies of The Big Issue and distributes these to pseudo-employees, folk who then go out onto street corners and sell the magazine in the traditional way. Nothing illegal about it – and the magazine itself is bound by the terms of its charter, as Big Issue Scotland national sales manager Michael Luby explains:
“It’s homelessness in general they are trying to find a solution for. When the EU expanded its borders, in many ways they left us to pick up the pieces. Over 7,000 Romanians have arrived here in the past year. They expected the streets to be paved with gold, but they aren’t, and a lot of them quickly found it difficult to find a home, just like the local sellers did. In that way, the Romanians met our criteria, and nobody who meets our criteria will ever be turned away. If their only other options are begging or stealing, I’m proud that we’ve given them a chance.”
Predictably, there has been a fair amount of pushback from displaced local Big Issue vendors. Popular press and blogs have commented too: click these links to see what I mean -
Of course, the situation could be read as an indictment of the entrepreneurial flair of Scots Big Issue vendors. At another level it appears as organised abuse of a goodwill system designed to help the less fortunate, something that sticks in the craw of most decent folk.
The last word from Steve Clarkson sums it up very well -
“In a largely depoliticised society where popular culture is more prone to discuss Pepsi v Coke than most wider issues, many people simply pop up their umbrellas to shelter from the drizzly political weather. But if you buy Big Issues make sure you know exactly where the money is going, or else the meagre profits of many in “homelessness or vulnerable housing” will be buried in the January frost”.
Think about it if you are looking forward to the warmth and love of a family Christmas, and send a reply if you have strong opinions on this topic.