AFTER faithfully serving in the newspaper business in South Georgetown for more than 12 years, a horrific experience with robbers last week has forced a well-known young female newspaper vendor to give up the trade for which she has a passion and fervour, and is equally endowed with amazing energy.

The woman, who without discrimination sells each of the dailies, distributing papers in Tucville, Guy Hoc Park, Lamaha Park and Joint Services Housing Scheme, related an experience of being held up and robbed by two young men last Tuesday, shortly after leaving her home to go and uplift her supplies of newspapers.
Terri, (not her right name) recalled that it was around 04:10 hrs and she had just left her home and was just a short distance away when two young men, slimly built and in their late teens rode up on bicycles, dismounted and threw the bikes down at the roadside then walked up to her.

She recalled that she saw one of the men attempt to push his hands into his pocket and then on the same note, commanded her, saying: “Empty your pocket!”
Gripped by fear, she impulsively threw her hands up into the air in surrender and in resignation retorted: “Y’all empty it.”
And of course they had the temerity to run through her pockets.
They relieved her of about $5000 she had on her person, sprinted off and jumped back onto their bicycles, heading in the direction of the Sophia Black and White Bridge.
Thanking God that they did not harm her, Terri dolefully struggled back home and told her family what had happened.

She was traumatised and can now still visualise what might have been the scenario had the man whipped a gun out of his pocket and what would have played out had her husband been with her, because man as he is, he was not going to get away without a struggle.
For the next two days she was unable to perform her duties and eventually, in the interest of her safety, painfully and reluctantly, made a decision to give up vending.

“It’s a decision I regret, because actually it is a family tradition that I maintained. My mother who died several years ago was a newspaper vendor and I took over from her. I enjoyed doing the job, but then there comes a time when one has to make tough decisions for the sake of their children. My children need me and I need to be around for them,” the woman said.