The people of Venezuela are divided into two political groups – Chavismo and the opposition. There has been extreme violence with riots in multiple parts of the country where over 100 people have died so far in protests. Students throw stones and Molotov cocktails as the army shoots rubber bullets, and sometimes real bullets, aimed point black at the heads and faces of the first line of protesters. Some have been run over by tanks and others have almost lost their lives from the force of water cannons. News of all this has circled the world through pictures, and it is just a typical day, nowadays, in the capital of Caracas.
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| Caracas, Venezuela – Government protests – Reynaldo Riobueno |
And then there is extreme criminality as well, so extreme, that it’s common for armed motorcyclists to rob cars adjacent to them as you wait at a traffic light. Most people look away and let the robbery happen. It has become so common and so dangerous that we feel helpless. And what about the police? They might not want to get involved either. Criminals are better trained and armed than cops are and in some cases they are even neighbors who “run” the same block.
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| Valencia, Venezuela – Riding – Jose Francisco Morales |
As if all this is not enough, we have extreme corruption, an extremely dysfunctional economy, extreme hyperinflation, extreme shortages of food and medicine, extreme poverty, extreme suffering, extreme chaos and, as never before, even extremist Islamic groups like Hezbollah.
There have been 173 official cases where it has been determined that Venezuela, a country that is not able to issue passports to its own people due to lack of supplies and working equipment, has issued Venezuelan documentation to people with ties to Islamic extremists to travel to other countries with Venezuelan documents.
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| Venezuela – Refracted – Luis Machado |
In addition, Venezuelans have been exposed to an extreme socio-economic meltdown over the last few years. Middle-class families have disappeared; they have become part of the colossal impoverishment of the country and have no access to foreign currencies, while upper-class families have grown richer from doing business in a foreign currency, especially in dollars and euros.
There have been many people who, in order to avoid extreme poverty, have decided to “traffic” food and other scarce items and sell them on the black market at “scalpers” prices. It is illegal for anyone except the government to sell “regulated” products, which are those products distributed only by the government and at controlled prices and quantities due to their scarcity.
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| Maracaibo, Venezuela – In town – amnat |
There is also a marked division between the opposition and supporters of the regime. The food basket that the government gives out to the people can only be obtained by holders of a special card called: “Carnet de la Patria,” which is only given to Chavistas and Maduristas who then are forced to vote for the regime and do lots of pro-government things such as marching, protesting and wearing their symbols and apparel. If not? The government threatens, the government punishes, the government sets up and imprisons.
When it comes to the economy, hyperinflation reached one million percent this year according to Forbes. Most Venezuelans now live way below the poverty line, and I would even say that many are living way below that, they are living in postwar conditions.
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| Merida, Venezuela – Waiting at the supermarket – Watch The World |
Why do I say that? Because the official state of being in poverty does cover meals, meaning, you are probably able to semi-afford food, a one dollar meal perhaps? In Venezuela, however, there is no food, and the food you can find, is sold at dollar prices and only the lucky Venezuelan who is able to make $10 a month, definitively not what you earn under the minimum wage, can afford this food.
That has forced thousands of Venezuelans to flee the country, even by foot, walking weeks and weeks to reach neighboring countries, some even dying on the way to get there. And what about those who stay behind? Many are eating out of trash cans when they eat. Others are fainting and giving up their kids since they are unable to feed them. The situation is really extreme. They don’t give up their kids because they don’t love them enough; they give up their kids because they love them too much to witness their death.
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| Ologa, Venezuela – Life on stilt houses – sunsinger |
Even when it comes to migrating, Venezuela shows its extremes. There are people who have profited from all the scarcity the country faces and have migrated under investor visas while the majority of their fellow Venezuelans must suffer and work illegally, doing what no one wants to do and getting paid what no one would consider enough, only to be able to stay afloat and help those they left behind.
The situation in Venezuela has gotten so extreme that, especially in Caracas, many of the massive, dangerous riots take place in areas neighboring some of Caracas’s major clinics, which more than once have had to raise their “Red Cross flags” to signal a neutral zone and protect their patients from getting bombarded by tear gas and bullets, an act that has not stopped the ongoing bombardment nonetheless. If the government doesn’t stop it, who will?
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| Caracas, Venezuela – Protests – Edgloris Marys |
And perhaps the best example to illustrate the extreme crisis nowadays in Venezuela is the number of kids and adults that lose their lives due to the national emergency in the area of healthcare because of the shortage and even complete lack of hospital supplies and pharmaceutical drugs.
Doctors in Venezuela are heroes and warriors, they operate with the assistance of cellphone flashlights during the constant, countless blackouts that clinics and hospitals experience every day, and they even get jailed and beaten up by government officials when they stand up for their rights and the rights of their patients in the countless protests that take place in the country.
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| Choroni, Venezuela – Do it yourself – Davide Bonaldo |
They see people die who they could have easily saved with the help of antibiotics or a catheter, and they are struggling to survive hyperinflation like everyone else since they don’t make any more money than the police officers, the waiters or the bank tellers. They are always hanging by the thread of all the extremes that make Venezuela one of the best examples of the worst type of policy that there is and ever will be.
It’s like living in an apocalypse or the outcome of a successful New World Order agenda to diminish the population, as Venezuelans are dying silently and slowly. Venezuelan politicians are murderers. It isn’t the 100+ who have died in protests, it’s the many mothers who have lost their children to a high fever turning into meningitis due to a lack of medicine or the grandparents who have died because they could no longer find or afford their medication. And the list goes on, and on, as we hang by extremes.
Credits
Photo 1: Caracas, Venezuela – Standing – Andrés Gerlotti (Unsplash)
Photo 2: Caracas, Venezuela – Government protests – Reynaldo Riobueno (Shutterstock)
Photo 3: Valencia, Venezuela – Riding – Jose Francisco Morales (Unsplash)
Photo 4: Venezuela – Refracted – Luis Machado (Unsplash)
Photo 5: Maracaibo, Venezuela – In town – amnat (Shutterstock)
Photo 6: Merida, Venezuela – Waiting at the supermarket – Watch The World (Shutterstock)
Photo 7: Caracas, Venezuela – Protests – Edgloris Marys (Shutterstock)
Photo 8: Choroni, Venezuela – Do it yourself – Davide Bonaldo (Shutterstock)
Locations
Home: www.perypatetik.net
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The Syncretion of Polarization and Extremes
Alencar, Joana. Lack of Social Trust – Brazil. January 2019.
Romano, Mavi. Censorship and Cultural Survival in a World without Gods – Spain. January 2019.
The Codex of Uncertainty Transposed
Alencar, Joana. Uncertainty – Our Spirit – Brazil. November 2018.
Awdejuk, Pawel. Niepewność – The Road to Freedom – Poland. July 2018.
Bell, Sarah. The Bushfire Drive – Australia. July 2018.
Bondarenko, Evgeny. Twenty Plus Years. August 2018.
Cajoto, Christina. The Trajectory of Life – España. August 2018.
Castañeda, Martha Corzo. Worried Workers – Peru. February 2018.
Cooleridge, Tweeney. Uncertainty in the Abstract – Slovakia. March 2018.
Cordido, Veronica. The Crib of Uncertainty – Venezuela. January 2018.
Dastan, S.A. Uncertain Waters – Turkey. March 2019.
Deiana, Sara. The Dark Side of Perfection. September 2018.
Electra P. Aβεβαιότητα: The Enemy of Romantic Relationships – Greece. February 2018
Escandell, Andrea da Silva. Compromise – Uruguay. March 2018
Fischer, Kristin. Talking about Cancer – Germany. September 2018.
Gómez, Javier. Uncharted Bliss. October 2018
Goumiri, Abdennour. Uncertainty Is All There Is – France. February 2018.
Guerrero, Marilin. Crossing the Uncertain Path of Life – Cuba. February 2018.
Guillot, Iuliana. Preparing for Change – Romania. June 2018.
Huihao, Mu. Going the Uncertain Way. July 2017.
Husaini, Maha. Inshallah – Jordan. December 2018
Israyelyan, Mania. 30 Years of Anoroshutyun – Armenia. December 2018.
Julber, Lillian. What Will Tomorrow Bring? – Chile. July 2018.
Kanunova, Nigina. Metamorphoses in Modern Life. June 2018.
Kingsley, Anastasia. Expect the Unexpected. November 2018.
Konbaz, Rahaf. So You Say You Want A Revolution – Syria. March 2018.
Korneeva, Kate. One We – Russia. April 2018.
Krnceska, Sofija. No Name Country – Macedonia. May 2018.
Lassa, Verónica. The Old Eastern Books of Uncertainty – Argentina. May 2018.
Lozano, Gabriela. El cuchillo de la incertidumbre : Piercing Uncertainty – México. January 2018.
Marti, Sol. A Thought Falling – Spain and Germany. December 2018.
Pang, Lian. Now or Later? October 2018.
Phelps, Jade. Healing Journey Pulls Us Apart – America. June 2018.
Protić, Aleksandar. Environmental Uncertainty. August 2018.
Romano, Mavi. An Uncertain Democracy – Spain. April 2018
Ranaldo, Mary. Incerto or Flexible: Italia and UK. March 2018.
Ray, Sanjay Kumar. Once upon a Time in a Queue – India. November 2018.
Çakır, Peren. Building a Future in Times of Uncertainty – Argentina and Turkey. May 2018.
Sanmartín, Virginia. Qué Será, Será – Spain. June 2018.
Samir, Ahmed. Uncertainty in Personal Life. January 2018.
Sariñana, Alejandra González. A Brighter Future? – Mexico. December 2018.
Skobic, Aleksandar. Genetic Code Name: Unique – Bosnia and Herzegovina. December 2018.
Sekulić, Jelena. Nesigurnost of the Past, Present and Future – Serbia. June 2018.
Sem, Sebastião. Vagrant Poets. September 2018.
Sepi, Andreea. Uncertainties Galore – Germany. April 2018.
Sevunts, Nane. From Uncertainty to Newness. November 2018.
Sitorus, Rina. When Uncertainty Reaches the Land of Certainty – Indonesia and the Netherlands. May 2018.
Trojnar, Kamila. Ephemeral. October 2018.
Quintero, Jonay. The Fear of Not Knowing – España. January 2018.
Uberti, Alejandra Baccino. Adventure – Uruguay. September 2018.
Vuka. Lacking Uncertainty in Political Culture – Serbia. April 2018.
Wallis, Toni. Living for Today – South Africa. October 2018.
Younes, Ghadir. Economic Uncertainty in Life – Lebanon. Part 38.
Zakharova, Anastasiya. LGBQT – Russia. August 2018.
The Anthology of Global Instability
Alvisi, Andrea. Political and Social Instability: The Brexit Mess. May 2017.
Bahras. Unstable Air Pollution – Unstable Solutions: Mongolia. June 2017.
Bichen, Svetlana Novoselova. Mental and Cultural Instability: Russia and Turkey. February 2017.
Bondarenko, Evgeny. Hybrid War: Ukraine. December 2018.
Borghi, Silvana Renée. Living in Inestabilidad. September 2017.
Caetano, Raphael. Instabilidade emocional: Brazil. February 2017.
Çakır, Peren. On the Road in Search of Stability: Argentina and Turkey. June 2017.
Casas, Marilin Guerrero. Emotional Estabilidad: The Key To a Happy Life – Cuba. December 2017.
Charles-Dee. Social Onstabiliteit – South Africa. December 2017.
Cordido, Verónica. Instability, a Stable Reality: Venezuela and America. April 2017.
Dastan, S.A. The Stability of Instability: Turkey and Syria. March 2017.
D’Adam, Anton. Psychosocial Instability in Argentina and America: El granero del mundo and The Manifest Destiny. January 2017.
Delibasheva, Emilia. Political Instability: Electoral Coups in America and Bulgaria. December 2016.
Ellie. Angry Folk: Korea. June 2017.
Farid, Isis Kamal. Stability Is Not An Option – Egypt. August 2017.
Friedrich, Angelika. Introduction: The Emblem of Instability. September 2016.
Fondevik, Vigdis. Unstable Nature: Norway and Denmark. October 2016.
Ghadir, Younes. Political Instability – Lebanon. September 2017.
Gómez, Javier. The Way of No Way – Argentina and the UK. December 2017.
Gotera, Jay R. In Flux Amid Rising Local and Regional Tensions – Philippines. November 2017.
Guillot, Iulianna. Starting and Staying in Instability – Moldova. October 2017.
Gjuzelov, Zoran. The Нестабилност of Transition – Macedonia. November 2017.
Halimi, Sophia. Modern Instabilité: Youth and Employment in France and China. March 2017.
Hernandez, Jonay Quintero. Embracing Instability – Spain. February 2017.
Kelvin, Sera. The Stability in Expecting Emotional Instability: Brazil. April 2017.
Konbaz, Rahaf. The Castaways: On the Verge of Life – Syria. August 2017.
Korneeva, Ekaterina. Instability… or Flexibility? July 2017.
Kreutzer, Karina. Hidden Instabilität – Ecuador and Switzerland. December 2017.
Krnceska, Sofija. Decades of Economic Instability – Macedonia. September 2017.
Kutscher, Karin. Inestabilidad in Interpersonal Relationships – Chile. October 2017.
Larousse, Annabelle. Legal and Emotional Instability in a Transgender Life – Ireland. August 2017.
Larrosa, Mariela. The Very Stable Spanish Instability. April 2017.
Lobos, José. Political Instability: Guatemala. May 2017.
Lozano, Gabriela. Estructuras Inestables: Vignettes of a Contemporary, Not Quite Collapsing Country – Mexico. November 2017.
MacSweeny, Michael. A House on a Hill – America. October 2017.
Mankevich, Tatiana. The Absence of Linguistic Cтабiльнасць: Does the Belarusian Language Have a Future? December 2016.
McGuiness, Matthew. Loving Lady Instability. November 2017.
Meschi, Isabelle. Linguistic Instabilité and Instabilità: France and Italy. November 2016.
Mitra, Ashutosh. The Instability of Change: India. January 2016.
Moussly, Sahar. The Instability of Tyranny: Syria and the Syrian Diaspora. December 2016.
Nastou, Eliza. Psychological Αστάθεια and Inestabilidad during the Economic Crisis: Greece and Spain. December 2016.
Nevosadova, Jirina. Whatever Happens, It Is Experience. May 2017.
Olisthoughts. Stable Instability – Moldova. October 2017.
Partykowska, Natalia. Niestabilność and адсутнасць стабільнасці in the Arts: Polish and Belarusian Theater. January 2017.
Payan, Rodrigo Arenas. Impotence – Venezuela and Columbia. September 2017.
Persio, P.L.F. Social Instabilità and Instabiliteit: Italy and the Netherlands. November 2016.
Pranevich, Liubou. Cultural Instability: Belarus and Poland. March 2017.
Protić, Aleksandar. Demographic Instability: Serbia. July 2017.
Romano, Mavi. Unstable Identities: Ecuador and Europe. October 2016.
Sekulić, Jelena. Нестабилност/Nestabilnost in Language – Serbia. August 2017.
Sepa, Andreea. Instabilitate vs. Stabilität: How Important Are Cultural Differences? – Romania and Germany. September 2017.
Shunit. Economic Instability: Guinea and Gambia. April 2017.
Shalunova, Marina. Language Instability: Russia. June 2017
Sitorus, Rina. Instabilitas Toleransi: Indonesia. May 2017.
Skrypka, Vladyslav. National нестійкість: Ukraine. July 2017.
Staniulis, Justas. Nestabilumas of Gediminas Hill and the Threat to the Symbol of the State: Lithuania. July 2017.
Sousa, Antonia. Social and Economic Instabilidade: Portugal. January 2017.
Vuka. My Intimate Imbalanced Inclination. March 2017.
Walton, Éva. Historical and Psychological Bizonytalanság within Hungarian Culture. January 2017.
Yücel, Sabahattin. The Instability of Turkish Education and its Effect on Culture and Language: Turkey. July 2017.
Zadrożna-Nowak, Amelia. Economic Instability: Poles at Home and the Polish Diaspora. November 2016.
Zakharova, Anastasiya. Instability in Relationships: Russia. April 2017.
Forthcoming
CW 4 – South America – Alejandra Baccion
CW 5 – Germany and Romania – Andreea Sepi
CW 6 – South Africa – Sarah Leah Pimentel
CW 7 – Bolivia – Osvaldo Montano
CW 8 – Spain – Jonay Quintero Hernandez
CW 9 – Indonesia – Rina Sitorus
CW 10 – Mexico – Alejandra Gonzalez Sarinana
CW 11 – Armenia – Armine Asryan
CW 12 – Serbia – Vuka Mijuskovic
CW 13 – Peru – Monica Valenzuela
CW 14 – Bosnia and Herzegovina – Aleksandar Skobic
CW 15 – Argentina – Julieta Spirito
CW 16 – Italy – Mary Ranaldo
CW 17 – Lebanon – Ghadir Younes
CW 18 – Cuba – Marilin Guerrero Casas
CW 19 – Ukraine – Evgeny Bondarenko
CW 20 – Uruguay – Andrea da Silva Escandell
CW 21 – Spain – Jazz Williams
CW 22 – Armenia – Mania Israyelyan
CW 23 – Poland – Pawel Awdejuk
CW 24 – Balkans – Aleksandar Protic
CW 25 – Italy – Daniela Cannarella
CW 26 – Serbia – Jelena Sekulic
CW 27 – Tajikistan – Nigina Kanunova
CW 28 – Portugal – Nuno Rosalino
CW 29 – Uruguay – Lillian Julber
CW 30 – Argentina – Javier Gomez
Source: The Codex of Uncertainty Transposed