I’m going to keep this one short. It’s best it stays that way. I’m Venezuelan, or rather it’s one of the many things I am, but one that stands out to me. My heart often wishes of that far away country, bleeding for its many wounds, for the grandmothers who are robbed on their doorsteps and the children who cannot wash themselves daily. These people are my family; they could've been my friends. Yet through all my sadness I find myself sitting on the same couch, the same bench, waiting for things to change. How I wish I could be the one to change them.
No matter how many world leaders say they dislike what is happening there, it doesn't change the way the media ignores the situation — the way countless countries in the end do nothing to help. It doesn’t change the fact that once you’re there, the system doesn't want change. Which brings me back to you all.
Ignorance is the evil that will take us all if we let it. Ignorance is what prevents countries like Venezuela from finally pushing over the edge and making changes. The suppressed rarely find ways to usurp their oppressors. It is the third party that must get involved. It is the third party that must help the suppressed make that final push and yet they never do. My hopes have been raised by random social media frenzies of people from all over my home in the Midwest sharing the issues. In days the interest is gone, a new explosion is the most important story in town. Without peers, I am left to watch a country that is my blood, a country I want to visit and experience, die a slow death as if each of the four horsemen are taking their turn.
When was the last time you heard about the war in Ukraine? When was the last time you heard about the Dakota Pipeline Crisis? When was the last time you heard about Venezuela? These places and problems don’t pause when you look away. It’s when you look away that things reach their worst. Don't let convenience empathy be the last stand for those that are struggling.
This might not be as long as some of the articles you see here, but that’s because this shouldn’t take effort to do. It shouldn't be hard to make people care about starvation, crime sprees and dictators. This should be easy. Why isn’t it?
When the horrors pour on to the news about what is happening there, don’t ignore then. Don’t ignore them because it’s all true. Don’t ignore them because everyone matters and lives are at stake. Don’t ignore them because the world is full of Venezuelans who won't go home.
- Dominic Bisogno
