"Boat Show" or "Food Show"?

I saw on Twitter that the famous Miami “Boat Show” took place last weekend. It seems some Venezuelans went to enjoy the “wonderful” world of boats. They say that what is on display there, for sale, are luxury speedboats, yachts of every length, catamarans and so on. All the very latest models! A marvelous exhibition showing the boat “of your dreams,” so you can sail the paradise beaches of the Caribbean. Oh! And so you can show it to your friends on BlackBerry, Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.

Meanwhile, here in Caracas, we had a somewhat different weekend. After weeks of watching our phones or Twitter for tips on where we could find milk, flour, cooking oil… toilet paper!, some of us had the good fortune to “hoard” a few products to save for several friends who are going through hell in the interior of the country. They came especially to visit us from Puerto La Cruz, Barquisimeto and Valencia, and we put on a kind of “Food Show” for them.

The Show lasted several days because they arrived on different days and at different times (some got stuck in a terrible traffic jam from La Encrucijada on, not to mention those coming from Puerto La Cruz, who ran into a horrendous accident on the highway and whose car overheated). That is why we had to divide up and hide what we had “hoarded” so we could share it out fairly. When they arrived, they rushed desperately to the bathroom, and as soon as they came out the only thing they asked was whether we had found the things they needed. We went to the living room and offered them quesillo flan with a little lemonade (the days when we used to offer a little whiskey are history).

We began the “Food Show.” The first thing we brought out was 2 packages of toilet paper (with 4! rolls each). I can’t describe the shout and the happy faces they made when we showed them. They literally pounced on them! Then came the best part: 4 packages of Harina PAN, which dazzled them as if it were the sun itself. “But where did you find it?” was all they kept repeating as they stroked the package. They were radiant with happiness! We went on: 1 big tub of Mavesa margarine, because it was impossible to find butter; a package of Montalbán sugar! WOWWW!!!!!; a KILO of fresh white cheese (that really was a miracle); 4 bars of soap; 4 tubes of toothpaste; and the final gift: a big bottle of Mazeite cooking oil! More shouts and grateful applause!!!!!

The “Food Show” was a real success. Never in my life had I seen so much happiness. Never in my life had I felt so happy at my friends’ happiness! It was repeated with the three groups who came from the interior. I, of course, was left without Mavesa, without cheese and without Mazeite; and well, yes, I kept 4 rolls of toilet paper hidden in case I can’t find any more. This week we will go back to hopping from market to market to find the products. And you know what? What happiness to be able to make someone else’s life happy with something we thought was so simple and is now like a jewel! Truly there is nothing greater in life than being able to help others, even with a little thing.

This, my dear brothers and sisters, is how the great majority of Venezuelans are living: surviving and helping! Suffering in this “survival” has made our hearts immense!, children, young people and adults alike. This has been the great miracle of the new Venezuela! Many of us Venezuelans are following Pope Francis’s call to live as true Christians, attentive to our brothers and sisters.

Every time we gave them something, our friends asked us: how many hours did you have to stand in line to get this? They tell us that in the interior they have to hop to more than ten times as many places as we do in Caracas to find things, and that sometimes, just to get 1 package of corn flour (not even Harina PAN), they have to stand in lines of more than four hours.

Meanwhile in Miami some Venezuelans were enjoying their “wonderful” Boat Show, choosing their latest-model little yacht. I suppose they will take the chance to bring back their groceries from there as well, on their private plane, because they can’t be hopping from market to market, much less standing in line for 1, 2, 3 or 4 hours.

Well, that’s life, my dear brothers and sisters. But do you want me to tell you something? Those of us who are struggling hard to survive honestly in this country cannot live indifferent to the suffering of so many Venezuelans. And we feel immensely HAPPY!!!!! to be here, surviving and helping whomever we can. Because living honestly and for others: that is priceless!!!

And since those of us who live this way are the majority in Venezuela, it will not be long before Justice comes to our Homeland. Every day I feel prouder of our beloved people, who have finally woken up and will no longer put up with a few living in luxury and wasting our country’s resources as if their neighbors did not exist. Long live Venezuela, and long live our beloved Venezuelan people!