International Women’s Day

The word hasn’t reached this street in Sant’ Elena that it’s a festive day for women.

This day is commonly observed here by means of sprays of mimosa.  I’ve written about this before.

I never buy the bunches of mimosa sold by various street vendors, but this little bouquet was bestowed on me by a member of a social club that we walked past this evening. They had a whole table full of them, and it was getting late.

Today, in addition to the mimosa, we had a 24-hour transit strike (busses, trams, trains, and of course vaporettos).  This is some sort of inexplicable sub-tradition, because Women’s Day has been disfigured by a transit strike more than once.  Some vaporettos will run, but it will be a task to reorganize your day to accommodate the ACTV, the public transport company.  If this strike were to accomplish something, I’d be so glad.  But it seems a feeble reed to wield in the struggles that women live through every day, up to and including their struggles with the ACTV.

The ACTV has a hundred reasons for calling strikes; we have one every few months.  They are mostly politically motivated and are usually directed at lapses in administration.  Work problems, not human problems.  This year they’ve decided to take every social problem yet identified and load them onto a highly worthy cause and, you know, let the women carry it.

This is the announcement on the vaporetto dock.  Note that the date is written, as typical here, with the day first, month second.
These are the reasons for the strike:  “Against masculine violence against women and violence in general towards LGBTQIPA persons; against every discrimination, molestation and sexual blackmail regarding access to and in the places of work; against the sexual division of work and racism; against job insecurity, exploitation, disparities of salary, involuntary part-time and being fired; against the dismantling and privatization of the social state; for the right to free and accessible public services, to income, to the minimum salary according to law, to the reduction of work hours to be equal to salary, to the house, to work, to scholastic education, to health care and to public transport (wait, what?); for the safeguarding of health and safety in the workplace; for the defense and strengthening of safe houses, of the centers against violence and the anticipation of measures of escape from violence; for the defense of Law 194 (right to abortion) and the right to self-determination, of the national network of public consultori (these correspond to social workers) and without objectors; for the redistribution of wealth, social and environmental justice; for the defense of the right to strike.”  It’s impossible to object to these goals, but I still can’t see how not showing up for work is going to accomplish them.  I guess there will just have to be another strike.

So the ACTV demonstrates its sensitivity to the problems of women in Venice, the nation, the world, by creating problems for women.  Transport strikes absolutely mangle your day in a city with basically two alternatives — feet and taxis.  Let’s say you have to accompany your sick neighbor to the hospital for her radiation therapy today.  During a strike last year we walked to the only functioning vaporetto stop, much farther than the usual stop, and took the sole working vaporetto two stops to San Zaccaria, where they put everybody ashore.  Then we had to walk inland, streets, bridges, streets, bridges, to get to the hospital under our own fading steam.  She was so frail by then, but such a trouper.

When the next strike rolled around she could hardly walk to the corner anymore, so we had to take a taxi — that will be 50 euros (rate from her house to the hospital).  And 50 euros back, naturally.  Her pension was 750 a month.  But sure, the ACTV’s union disagreements come first.

So just work your way around the strike however you can, or can’t.  Kids going to school?  Get them up at 4:00.  (Made up, but not by much.)  Going to your job, or your second job, today?  Call to say you can’t make it and lose the day’s pay.  Or walk. Be sure to consult the labyrinthine schedule of the times and routes of the limited service, or just decide to stay home.

So thank you, ACTV, for acknowledging all the problems that ought not to exist in a woman’s world.  I don’t see you on the list, though.

It’s a good thing the timetable for the flowering of this mimosa tree behind us is not scheduled by the ACTV.  I wonder if they’d make the tree go on strike?

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5 Comments

  1. The mimosa seems to be one of the few things that is not on the list.
    Perhaps they will add it next year 😉
    Nice to hear from you again Erla
    Julie

  2. This is the craziest thing. Stay well! You take good care of your neighbors.
    Here we just had the city’s teachers go on strike. Parents were formally informed the day before but it had been in the news for a few days. At least they’re not saying they’re only doing it for the kids! Are strike placards usually filled with so much prose?

    1. More or less, yes. This was definitely more. Perhaps there are legal requirements to mentioning every point. Or maybe they got carried away this time. Who can say?

  3. As always, well written and deftly pointed. I took a friend to the hospital today, stopped at the grocery on the way home, and at both places, there they were: the women who keep the world running, grinding away at their usual work. The least the very least I can do is say thank you, and hope the smile under my mask shows in my eyes. The very least, and a great deal more.

    1. It’s heartening to know that you notice and acknowledge this. Sounds like you do this every day, so no need to wait for the mimosa to give you the hint.

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