Venezuela Is Dying

This is Venezuela.

This is the country where I was born.

This is the country that saw me growing up.

This is the country that is right now dying.

Dying because of a government that refuses to give up their power in order to keep stealing money, using the harbors to traffic drugs and to enjoys goods that they have taken away from a hardworking and oppressed nation.

Dying because of an army that seems to have forgotten that they are Venezuelans too, that their family also struggles to find food, medicine, water, clothes, places to life, security, jobs... An army that seems to think that they are immortal and that laws don't apply to them. An army that seems to think that history won't remember their actions.

Dying as a result of a lack of education in a society that prefers to choose a political party that gives a bag of food instead of creating a society in which you are able to work in order to gain enough money so, therefore, you could buy whatever you need/want/dream. A part of a society in which the main objective seems to be to steal from the "rich." A part of a society that prefers to spread hate just for the sake of political ideologies.

Dying by reason of the fear of death itself, because fighting for your freedom, rights, and values in Venezuela means almost certain death.

Dying because it seems that everybody in the world cares about what is happening in the streets where my friends are battling a regime day after day but nobody wants to be involved.

Dying thanks to a big part of the media that portrays the young generation of Venezuelans as "guarimberos" or even terrorists just because they are against the dictatorship imposed in my country. A young generation so brave that even if they know they don't have guns or armor or even a clear path, they keep resisting the infamous acts of a dishonorable army.

Dying because right now the minimum wage you can earn monthly in Venezuela is almost $5. Can you think of how to survive for a month with just $5?

Dying because if you are walking on the street and there is a cop near, you would feel more insecure than if there was a gang near.

Dying because sometimes it seems easier to find a gun with a box full of bullets and drugs than meat or a box of eggs or even milk.

Dying because they have been telling us that it can't get worse... but sadly, it seems that there is no end to the horror that surrounds Venezuela. Hope and faith are more difficult to find than gold these days where I lived.

It is unknown what lies ahead of this painful chapter.

It is depressing to read opinions from Venezuelans who still believe that the problem lies in the lack of money; a large part of the society lacks the knowledge to see that the root of the problem is the lack of education and cultural evolution. Of course not having a solution to the economic problem, or the corruption in every public institution, and the famine happening due to a shortage of food is severe and also critical, but if we don't improve the quality of the education, how much time would have to pass for it to happen again in case we solve the problem the first time?

Sadly, it is not easy to spread this kind of information and debate due to the oppression in the country, but even if the possibility for spreading all these ideas arises, how can somebody who is seeking and begging for medicines to treat themselves or their loved ones be able to even listen to all of this? Let's be honest, nobody in that position would be interested in anything else other than solving their own problems and satisfying their necessities; the situation in Venezuela is so bad that apparently even Hope left the country.

All I ask from you, reader, is to share these words, in order to make more people every day aware of the pain Venezuela is going through; maybe it doesn't help too much but, from outside the country, it is the least I can do.