A man buys flowers at a bazaar ahead of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, in Tehran, Iran, March 18, 2021. (Photo by Ahmad Halabisaz/Xinhua)
Married male vendors are the only men whose wives will be happier if they go back home with no flower in their hands, Farshid, an Iranian street flower vendor joked.
If the U.S. sanctions are lifted, he imagined, he would be able to save enough money and run his own flower store, and then, "my wife would be happy if I bring her flowers at night."
TEHRAN, March 20 (Xinhua) -- As the Persian new year, or Nowruz, arrives on March 21, Farshid, a street flower vendor in Tehran, has been joyfully engaged in the year-end peak sales season, though still overshadowed by U.S. sanctions.
Ever since May 2018, when the United States, under former President Donald Trump, pulled out of a 2015 nuclear deal and reimposed its unilateral sanctions on Iran, the country's currency has slumped, while inflation has skyrocketed.
Iran's annual inflation rate stood at roughly 40 percent in recent months. Data also showed that food prices were rising with an annual rate of above 60 percent.
A man wearing a face mask selects flower at a bazaar in Tehran, Iran, March 19, 2020, ahead of Nowruz or the Iranian New Year. (Photo by Ahmad Halabisaz/Xinhua)
After the prices started rising, people began cutting their expenses and flowers were among the first things they tended to exclude from their purchase basket, "which was quite understandable as I, myself, started to practice a degree of frugality," said Farshid, who only gave his first name.
"The Americans thought their sanctions could cause famine, but even under tougher circumstances, life will always continue to go on," he added.
"We, however, have had to be more careful of how we spend our money," he said.
On Nowruz's arrival and his plans for the holidays, he noted that "with or without money the new year is a time of happiness."
"I wish I had more money and could buy good gifts for my wife, father and mother. But nevertheless, I am happy that we are healthy and have enough to eat," he said, striking an optimistic tone.
His sales over the past few days explained his optimism. Farshid said "This year, people have become more hopeful. I can read that from their faces as well as my daily sales."
Dolls of Haji Firouz, a traditional character who appears at the start of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, are displayed for sale at a bazaar ahead of Nowruz in Tehran, Iran, March 18, 2021. (Photo by Ahmad Halabisaz/Xinhua)
"It looks as if the new Iranian administration's efforts and the prospect of the sanctions removal have rekindled their hopes," he said, referring to the Vienna negotiations aimed at the revival of the Iran nuclear deal, which could relieve the pressure on the Iranian people.
"With foreigners having sanctioned us, we only have each other. We should support one another, lest some of us fail to feel happy on Nowruz," Farshid stressed.
"Before the sanctions' re-imposition, I had some regular customers in addition to lots of occasional ones. I hope when the sanctions are lifted, people would have enough money to dare spend some of it on flowers," Farshid said, calling on people to buy flowers from street vendors more often as their flowers cannot be stored for the next day
He said any day he could sell his entire stock of flowers would be a good day.
People play traditional music instruments at a bazaar ahead of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, in Tehran, Iran, March 18, 2021. (Photo by Ahmad Halabisaz/Xinhua)
"We, married male flower vendors, have a joke among us: We are the only men whose wives will be happier if they go back home with no flower in their hands."
Farshid noted "Perhaps, if the sanctions are lifted, I will be able to save enough money and run my own flower store. Perhaps, then, my wife would be happy if I bring her flowers at night." ■
