Free hugs, smiles and looking for Walter Rodney - Groundings 16 Dec, 2024

 Hugs

"Give auntie a hug" the woman told her child. 

He was wearing a Christmas crown and had a big smile as he hugged auntie, Lina. Lina had a sign with Free Hugs and was calling out Free Hugs to people walking on the pavement.

Another woman told her ward to go and hug Lina. Some people walked , did not look or gave sideways glance like when you looking and not making eye contact. Some people walked past, changed their minds and walked back and hugged.

Others collected books and hugged, others collected books and didn't hug.

I was not giving free hugs. I had the 'free books' sign as a shield in front of me. 

Another time a man had come up behind me and given me a big hug on Main Street. Then asked me for a hundred. I gave him the hundred , and he didn't hug me again.

One man said .. " Free Books, this is good , books are knowledge". 

He took an autobiography from a white male survivor of fraternity hazing and violence. We talked a bit, he hugged Lina and gave me the half hug while shaking hands.  Another man I hadn't seen me a long time also gave me a half hug.

"Y'all men need to hug too" Lina told me. I said right, thinking of Covid and oropuche and all dem tings dat deh bout. 

But I think that I embrace the unknown citizens when I in a minibus front seat and put on a seatbelt that has the scent/odour of the people who traveled the same journey before me.

The day of Toshao Ridley Joseph's death in a hotel. The violence around it.  The violence in Guyana generally, and more to come.

A policeman heard us talking , questioning, and said 'yall watch a lot of crime shows'. 

Police were around, one man looking at the books and not sure. 

A police woman collected seedlings.

Lina had brought cherry and neem seedlings.  A man told her that a tree he collected from her a year ago and it is now bearing, and they hugged.

A  young man with a bruise on his forehead, walked around the pile of books. 

"Choose one for me" he said and I picked up one and gave him.

 'Is that anything about love' he asked and I said is about 100 things to do before you die. 'I mussee do fifty of these then'.. he picked up a neem seedling. "I like to plant" he said before asking. 'Do you want a bottle of water" reaching into his pocket for money.

A quiet woman who passed, then turned back,  offered money too for the books and seedlings and was surprised that all were free. She hugged Lina before walking away.

Smiles

Some people did not stop, but serious faces turned into smiley ones when they heard the calls and looked at us, made eye contact.  Some people did not smile but picked up books, and answered the question 'what do you do to take care of yourself'. One passed , he had sword., smiled when we asked him what it was.

A woman thought long and said 'I like to bathe, cream my skin ', a young woman said after a long time.. 'eat healthy' and I felt she like me that it was aspirational and we talked a bit about self care, and eating ice  cream or pumpkin.

A boy told me 'make your own tea, pack your own clothes, make your bed' . His friend picked up a comic and asked 'So do I have to answer a question?" and I said "No, but you can ask me a question"? and he asked "What do you do for a living?"

And I stuttered a bit , but I had paid taxes that morning and said 'I train in human rights and so' and the boy said 'okay'.

Another man asked if we from overseas , because like it is a farren thing  to stand up on the road and hug up strange people and give away books and seedlings. I tell the man no, we from right here.

 Looking for Walter Rodney

A man asking why we doing this and what the origin, and we explain about Rodney and he say good good because he know about Rodney and Nkrumah.. he ask if we brought anything written by Walter Rodney.  He dressed like me, shorts, tee shirt, slippers - and had a black haversack with cement stains on.

First time we did this was on Black Friday, June 2014 to remind people who was Walter Rodney.  We had school children reading Rodney books and so. This time though was just books, hugs and seedlings.

The man  tell us is a good thing we doing. but we should bring Rodney next time.

He didn't take a free hug but as he walked away he shouted his name to us. 

Feature Image from Embrace Peace