The beginning of a year is a time for hope and a fresh start. A time of new beginnings and a time of motivation to get things done, the right way. Once January hits, there’s a feeling of a starting something new and a sense of accomplishment that a year has passed and a new one is laid out right in front of us.

Around the world it is no different. Ask a Venezuelan in January of 2017 how they felt about the upcoming year. They would tell you they have a sense of hope, although small, and they are feeling a wave of change. The opposition had just taken over majority of the National Assembly and there were changes being made to combat the Socialist government led by (almost) dictator, Nicolás Maduro. It was the beginning of the year… the beginning of a new Venezuela.

Think again. It was not the beginning of a new Venezuela. It was the beginning of something worse. Something scary and something violent. Just a few weeks into the year, multiple opposition leaders were arrested. This struck the people with an impending fear and protests began. Move into March, with tensions at an all-time high and the government taking over and dissolving the power of the opposition in the National Assembly… and now you are facing a full on constitutional crisis.

Although the decision of taking over the National Assembly was reversed, in fear of international criticism and a rise in protests (ironic)… Maduro, with his intelligent timing, decided a few days later he wanted to hold a special assembly to rewrite the constitution. Obviously, trying to find a way to keep his administration in power. So, the opposition said “no thank you” and went to the streets.

Every single day since the end of March, Venezuelans have been on the streets. Protesting against this socialist government that the people fear will turn into a dictatorship. Protesting the lack of food… the lack of medicine… the lack of freedom. Although fear or repression limited the Venezuelan opposition protests at first, in mid-April they organized the “Mother of All Marches.” This called on every Venezuelan in every state in an attempt to block and stop everything in the capital, Caracas. This march could potentially be known as the largest march in Venezuelan history, with an estimated 1.2 million protestors involved.

This march turned deadly. People were shot and killed by the government controlled National Guard. People were arrested and badly injured. But this has been the pattern of protests since then... And the government does not seem to make a difference.

Tear gas. Beatings. Shootings. It is the violence the government has turned to in order to stop the demonstrators. But don’t think the Venezuelans don’t fight back… they haven’t left the streets in over a month and a half. And they don’t plan to. There was, however, a new trend in the recent weeks…. Throwing glass bottles with human excrement mixed with water at the police. Yes, poop bombs are a thing. Hey, your ideas make the people want to throw up, they might as well make you throw up too.

The death toll has rose to over 40 in the past couple weeks. More than 1,300 people have been detained. The amount of injuries is too high to count. But the pain people feel from the government is much worse. People cannot find food or medicine. There is no proper healthcare and people are losing babies and mothers every single day. Those who are sick cannot find the proper care, even doctors are a scarce resource. The crime rate is through the roof and inflation has hit the three-digit mark. Right now, there feels like there is no escape. The only way to combat this is to stay in the street. Stay against Maduro’s government. And do everything possible to stop him from creating a dictatorship.

Venezuelans in America are stuck. We are angry and we are upset. All we want to do is be out there on the street with our family and friends protesting against the injustice and corruption our people are facing. We have to go about our daily lives with the constant fear of a dreaded phone call. We go about our day with the Venezuelan news channels on all the time, constantly checking our Twitter and Instagram accounts for some sort of update or some sort of information. All we can do here is pray and hope that something changes.

I want everyone to know what is going on in Venezuela. I want the whole world to see what happens when you give power to the wrong people. And although I can’t make anyone do anything about the situation…. I can at least tell people what is happening. So many people have no idea that Venezuela is as bad and corrupt as it is. People will casually ask me, “Oh, so what’s going on?” Well, people are dying at the hands of a corrupt government. That’s what’s going on.

I pray every day that my people and my country will find a sense of hope and a sense of peace. I want to be able to go back to the beautiful country my mother once called home and see it thriving. I pray that there will one day be peace again.

I ask everyone to spread the word about what is going on. Join the fight. Join the Venezuelan fight to freedom.