‘They have no water, no power, nothing’
As the world battles the COVID-19 pandemic, Venezuela is in crisis as the country's economy continues to plummet.
By Jecholiah Marriott
Children in Maracaibo, a city in Venezuela, together in makeshift shelter. Photo by Annabel Rodriguez
“When you know that it is happening in the place where you grew up, it’s worse.”
Twenty-four years ago, Norely Rodriguez left behind her loved ones as she left Venezuela, the place she called home for the first 18 years of her life.
Young Norely would have never imagined the catastrophic state her native land would be in, that would leave her and her daughter Annabelle to have to join the fight against the Venezuelan crisis and start Dreams of Hope, an organization focused on feeding Maracaibo residents.
Today, Venezuela is in disaster, as its government invalidates the country’s crisis and leaves its residents in fear, hunger and pain.
Started a Long Time Ago
Venezuela, once known for sitting on the world’s largest oil reserves, now has one rig left. As hyperinflation runs rampant, many of its residents can barely afford a meal. The question everyone is wondering is, what happened to the once-wealthy country?
It was 1998 when Hugo Chávez was elected president, promising to use the country’s wealth to end poverty and corruption in politics (spoiler alert, that doesn’t happen). He started social programs all aimed at helping the country’s people. Sounds great, doesn’t it? Only there was one problem: money.
“To finance educational, health, food and housing programs for a population of over 30 million, the government redirected oil profits to address pressing social inequality,” says Pomona College Latin American Studies Prof. Miguel Tinker Salas, author of “Venezuela: What Everyone Needs to Know.”
Chávez redirected oil profits to his Misiones (his social programs), causing oil production to experience a decline. Without keeping up with their main source of finance, they continued to spend money that would eventually run out.
In 2013, Nicolás Maduro was elected president. That same year, oil prices dropped from $100 to $70. As time went on, the economy continued its degeneration. The Venezuelan currency, the Bolivar, depreciated in value when Maduro tried to solve the budget gap by printing more money.
Maduro’s insistence that hunger does not exist and his refusal of aid from other countries is in stark contrast to the President of the National Assembly Juan Guaidó’s openness about the country’s humanitarian emergency and requests for international aid.
“They don’t even want to admit what is happening. I don’t think they care. Chávez started all of this, but he cared,” Norely Rodriguez explains.
What People Are Experiencing
While the fight for political power progresses, hyperinflation continues to take hold with a rate of over 10,000% percent per year, leaving Venezuela no longer able to afford necessities, such as food and medicinal items.
“We walked into one of the children's care wards, lights were all off, it was really crappy quality, they didn’t have any medical instruments. . .” Danilo Lavia explains.
Lavia is a New Jersey-based restaurant owner who spent time in Caracas, the country’s capital, back in 2019, documenting his experiences there.
He had visited a local hospital, where he saw firsthand the quality and horror that the residents have to live with.
“That was the first time that I kind of materialized in my mind the fact that this country was dry for like 20 hours of the day,” he says.
Without subsistence, including a lack of running water, people are dying frequently, especially amid the current COVID-19 pandemic. Previously cured diseases like malaria have resurfaced, while malnutrition has risen.
Venezuela is hungry.
Sometimes wages barely cover a meal, severely affecting children, causing them to resort to digging through trash.
Child malnutrition has reached crisis levels, the U.N. children agency revealed. Caritas, a relief organization, found that 16% of children ages 5 and under suffer from acute malnutrition and nearly twice as many suffer from low growth rates. A lack of proper nutrition stunts growth and prevents full development.
“A population suffering from malnutrition implies we are going to have adults with less physical and intellectual potential,” Raquel Mendoza, a nutritionist, explained to Reuters.
Health experts argue that Venezuela will face a full generation of young people who won’t be able to meet their full physical and mental potential.
An entire generation.
“Most children, all they’re thinking about is having food and surviving. . . It's not like in this country (the United States), where you have the privilege to (ask) little kids where you do you want to be when you grow up, what's your dream?” Anabelle Rodriguez says.
What They Have Turned To
Millions have fled Venezuela to nearby countries such as Columbia and Peru in hopes of escaping the terrible circumstances.
Others have stayed but resorted to a life of crime. Hardship has caused Venezuela to become the most dangerous country in South America.
“If we don’t steal, we don’t eat,” a gang member explains to a France 24 correspondent. “We defend our neighborhood. We don’t let anyone steal here.”
Some have taken more spiritual routes. Venezuelan religious traditions combine Spanish, Catholic, African and Indigenous beliefs.
For example, many have taken solace in deceased criminals. The Santos Malandros is a group that worships a court of thugs, a man named Ishamel Sanchez and his friends. Turning to the gangsters for guidance is a solution for those who need something to believe in.
Their faith requires strength, but how can they do that when they go without sustenance?
What People Are Doing to Help
“The reason it started is because our best friend over there was trying her best to feed the children…we saw those photos and how terrible the crisis is over there,” Anabelle Rodriguez explains.
Annabelle and her mother, Norely, are two of the four founders of Dreams of Hope, or Sueños De Esperanza. They began Dreams of Hope in hopes of helping “the children in Maracaibo, Venezuela grow with a better and healthier life.”
They collect donations from several locations, including here in Michigan, items ranging from canned foods to school supplies, and even monetary donations. They then use the money to buy and send necessities to the residents there.
“If we want the country to have better hope, we need to give the children that hope,” Norely Rodriguez says.
All For Venezuela is another organization helping families in Venezuela. They were inspired by the Venezuelan aid refusal. They partner with donors and accept physical donations. Their goal is to create awareness and alleviate some of the severe shortages of basic goods.
What can YOU do to help? Pray that change will come, and donate to the many organizations trying to make a difference.
Here’s some online to check out:
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