Let's talk about Venezuela

Hello everyone! 

What is happening in Venezuela is something that never ceases to amaze me, but I've gradually come to understand how it works and what is projected for the future of this beautiful country is not promising. Venezuela is currently under a dictatorship and the only viable scenarios (taking into account the outcome of other dictatorships in the world) are: a coup d'état by the army or a coup d'état by the opposition with support from the army. There is no other option. One of the places I consider home is in the border with Venezuela. I have a memory of going with my dad and his best friend to the Venezuelan state closest to our city. At that time we went to eat at a McDonald's (which was a great novelty because in Colombia we didn't have any of that). My greatest dream was to have a Happy Meal, discover the taste of a Yankee hamburger and play with my new toy, because at that time all the emblematic products of the United States were a novelty for us, originally from a small town. 

I also used to accompany my dad to the grocery store, because at that time it was very cheap to go shopping. I remember seeing many clothing stores, plastic stores, supermarkets, and food stores. Lots of people on the street, very busy commerce, and long lines to be able to put gas in the cars. One of my favorite activities was going to the dairy section, they sold the best yogurt and chocolate milk I've ever tried in my life (I've never tried anything like that again). 

In my adolescence, I remember that it was a plan to go to the duty free to have some beers with my friends, we'd park the cars in the parks near the place, play music, talk, and laugh for a few hours. I remember that my first boyfriend would buy liquor and then come and sell it, because he organized outings with all my friends and the money came from there. I remember that my best friend filed papers in a Venezuelan state to be able to study medicine, since education had become accessible and it was not at all expensive compared to Colombia. I also remember that one of the most popular tourist plans was to take our families who came to visit to Venezuela. 

In the midst of all those memories, Chavez was already in power. The first time I noticed that things were changing was the first time Chavez closed the border, which he started doing juist for a few days. And in the event of any inconvenience with Colombia or its allies, closing the border was the most obvious solution. A few years later came the complete closure of the border and the takeover of the businesses that were on its side, which deeply affected the economy of both regions, since the commercial exchange of this border was always very fluid. Many people went bankrupt and had to start from scratch. 

Many years passed and there was diplomatic tension because the presidents of Colombia were right-wing, so the border was closed for years. Meanwhile, we began to hear stories that made no sense. Some said that the houses could be made of wooden boards but they definitely had a Directv antenna, that they dressed very brightly, that the government paid for their education, health, and that gasoline was free. While we listened to all these stories from our neighbors, we also learned about the cases of our relatives, friends, and acquaintances who had lost their businesses, were unemployed, and were looking for new options to earn money. 

In 2015 or 2016, I was already in another city and I began to meet many Venezuelans (which caught my attention because in the past it was not common to find so many people from the same country far from the border) and I began to hear first-hand stories of great pain and sacrifice. Some of them had saved too much to be able to make a very expensive trip and to start a new life in an unknown country. They always spoke with longing and passion about the country they left behind and how much they missed their families. Someone once told me that he had gone to an interview with the only shoes he had that were very torn, without having eaten lunch and with just enough money for the bus tickets, that he had felt very embarrassed, but that interview had changed his life and he was grateful for having gotten that job.

It became more common to see many people walking along the roads that connected the cities of Colombia (where heavy traffic like tractor-trailers passed by), you could see entire families from children to the elderly. I have an image engraved in my memory, I remember that at a stop that the bus I was traveling on made to what I consider my second city, I was waiting next to the bus for the driver to arrive because I was eating and I saw a family of Venezuelans (they had a bag with the flag of that country, most of them had that bag), but I focused on a couple, possibly my same age, very thin and carrying a baby in their arms wrapped in many blankets, they were going along the edge of the road, I only thought, How will they manage to finish that journey? From there on it was uphill and there was a very cold part because it was a moor. Really seeing them had a big impact on me. 

I'm fortunate to have met incredible people, very happy and persevering people. However, in the country, stories of robbery and murder by criminals from Venezuela became more and more frequent, so many violent stories that stigmatization ended up being part of the final judgment when hearing each new piece of news. Mockery and xenophobia became common, because violence always brings more violence, it's a cycle. The economy began to be affected and you knew it because you heard that it was increasingly difficult to get a job, the presidential elections came and both the center and the right made it clear that we couldn't "become a Venezuela." 

The next piece of news that deeply moved me was knowing that many of the immigrants continued their route with the hope of reaching the United States, they began to mention that in the Darien Gap many people died because of the harshness of the jungle and because there were many groups of criminals who took advantage of people who tried to cross, entire families destroyed. 

I've said it many times and I'll say it again, money and power corrupt. It's incredible to me to think of everything that the Venezuelan people have had to suffer because of their leaders (both left and right). There has been so much corruption and violence that it seems impossible for them to get out of there. I deeply admire those people who fight every day to have a different ending, those who march, protest, demonstrate and those who, being outside their country, want us to know how things really are. I love the human spirit of those who seek and defend human rights. 

It's strange how indirectly you learn to love a country that you haven't explored enough... I suppose you learn to love Venezuela because of the beautiful people you meet. You imagine Venezuela because of its stories and those tales full of nostalgia, homeland and love. I truly hope that things get better because we all deserve to be in our country and have real possibilities for development. Right now the situation is murky and full of blood, it is what it is, but I hope that those who fight don't give up and that at some point they can once again have the homeland that most people dream of.

I have created my Paypal account in case you want to support my dreams in any way: cavc0424@gmail.com