Jira

Jira was an impoverished merchant who ran a fruit stand in the city Mos Espa on the planet Tatooine for many years. She sold various fruits, vegetables, and other wares, becoming a permanent fixture of Mos Espa's streets, although she lived in extreme poverty. In her old age, Jira was friends with the enslaved child Anakin Skywalker, with whom she would occasionally share free produce in exchange for repairs on her equipment.

In 33 BBY, Jira helped Skywalker and his friends Kitster Chanchani Banai, Pala Kwi'teksa, and Dorn coordinate the rescue of several Ghostling children who had been kidnapped on behalf of the Hutt Gardulla Besadii the Elder. The vendor offered her apartment as a meeting place, provided practical advice to help the children in their plot, and collected financial donations from enslaved people in Mos Espa to help smuggle the Ghostlings offworld. When the plan nearly went awry, Jira attempted to persuade Skywalker to take the opportunity to leave Tatooine, but the boy chose to stay and saw to the successful escape of the Ghostlings with Jira's help.

The following year, Jira's cooling unit broke down, and Skywalker found a replacement for her in Watto's junkyard. He told Jira about it shortly afterwards when he purchased fruit from her for his new offworld acquaintances, Qui-Gon Jinn, Padmé Amidala, and Jar Jar Binks. The interaction was interrupted when Jira alerted the boy to an oncoming sandstorm. Skywalker soon after secured his freedom by winning the Boonta Eve Classic podrace and stopped by Jira's stall on his way off Tatooine to give her money to buy a new cooling unit. The two friends never saw each other again, and Jira was nowhere to be found in Mos Espa when Skywalker returned there ten years later.

Text and facts from the “Jira/Legends” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.