It’s Hard, We Know That!

We all know that Venezuela is going through one of the most difficult periods in its history. These past years I have thought a great deal about my Lebanese great-grandparents and about people I knew who lived through the Second World War. I remember the stories they told me about how they cooked with whatever they had and how they made food stretch.

Without a doubt, what worries everyone most is the shortage and the exorbitant cost of medicines. Many have died because they could not take their medication or could not be treated at the hospital. That is a brutal reality, and I have thought about it a lot, because I know it could happen to any of us living in Venezuela right now. Not to mention the tragic reality of crime, which can also take our lives at any moment.

I know, then, that the situation we are living in, and what lies ahead, is anything but easy. And I think that as long as we are aware of it, and are very clear that we have to hold on, come what may, and not abandon the fight (each in our own family, our own work, our own neighborhood), we can change the destiny of our beloved Venezuela.

These months I have watched several films about the Second World War, and I am currently reading a wonderful book called El baile tras la tormenta (The Dance After the Storm) by José Miguel Cejas, which tells the personal stories of people who stayed in Poland, Lithuania, Croatia, Latvia and other countries, fighting against communism.

People who went through terrible things, extreme cold, real hunger, who were imprisoned and tortured… but thanks to their resistance and to what they did (each the little they could), that communism came to an end, and what they have achieved in their countries (after the terrible traces that savage totalitarianism left behind) is impressive. They managed to move forward and recover. And let it be said that those countries had neither the climate nor the natural wealth that Venezuela has.

But beyond whatever natural wealth we may have, in Venezuela there are a great many young people (and the not-so-young) who are educated, talented and hardworking, ready to work twenty-four hours a day if necessary to find another way and rebuild our country.

It is true that many talented young people have left. But it is also true that there are a great many young people here who could have left and have not. And I say this with authority, because my six children are in Venezuela and are staying in Venezuela to fight for their country. And with them, so many of their friends, who come here, to my house, to get together, to study, to dream together of a better Venezuela. Meanwhile, I have to figure out what on earth to feed all those kids who are always hungry.

No one is going to take away my hope, because I am surrounded by hope. I am amazed by the number of highly qualified people who write to me, who are here (engineers, architects, lawyers and more), who are giving their all for their country and are ready to work (without charging a cent) to rebuild our beloved Venezuela.

There is no shortage here of honest, well-prepared people. There is no shortage of people who heroically endure each day and are always looking out for someone worse off than themselves. There is no shortage of people being forged by injustice who dream of Justice for their country. There is no shortage here of people who never stop dreaming, never stop praying, and who work and fight without rest for a better Venezuela for all Venezuelans, for all our children, for all our grandchildren.

There is no shortage of hope here; that is why nothing and no one will ever take it from us. There are many of us dreaming the same dreams! There are many of us who love this land of grace madly, where God willed us to be born! There are many of us who are holding on, and we will hold on, come what may!

There are many of us preparing for a rebirth in our Homeland! A rebirth in which, above all things, Truth, Justice, Freedom and Peace shine for all!