Okay. Full disclosure: I have been (very happily) married to a Venezuelan girl for almost 25 years. As a result I think that it is fair to say that I know Venezuela (at least Caracas and it's environs) fairly well. I also have had the privilege of meeting and getting to know many Venezuelans from all stratas of their society - the rich, the middle class and the poor. To be frank, I like Venezuelans - in general, I have found them all to be a generous, fun-loving and kind people who will willingly lend you a hand whenever and wherever it might be needed.
That is why it saddens me enormously to see the terrible destruction of this beautiful and naturally wealthy country which had been blessed with oil, gold and abundant forests. There is no reason why Venezuela is in the dire straits that it is in except for two words: politics and incompetence. The fact is that President Maburro ('Burro' in Spanish means 'donkey' and the misspelling is deliberate) and his cronies aided and abetted by China, Iran and especially Cuba have literally destroyed the country with approximately one-fifth of it's citizenry voting with their feet and leaving.
Not many in this country (or elsewhere for that matter) have ever stopped to think how desperate a person must feel to take the decision to pack up and leave your home and your family and your friends of a lifetime and go to another country where you have no family, no friends and you don't even speak the language.
But there are elements in this society (including those in high office) who dance with Maburro and his cronies and who refuse to criticize them even when a baby is murdered.
I have said it before but it bears repeating: if you ever want to understand a problem go back to basics. Why are so many people (especially poor people) willing and want to leave their homes to travel (often by illegal means) To another country? And the answer invariably is economics - they feel that they have no future in a country run by foreigners (mostly Cubans) and drug lords. And we sit here smugly and say and do nothing even when a child (read 'baby') is murdered by an over zealous and uncaring bigot who has a State sanctioned gun and who knows that the State will protect him no matter what!
But its not right. And it is not right when we don't call a spade a spade and refuse to even criticize the Donkey for creating the terrible conditions that make his people want to leave.
I have read the Donkey's statement in today's newspapers where he claims to bemoan the tragedy of the baby's murder. Yeah! Right! He is really sorry but it isn't his fault! And our Prime Minister "reaches out" to the Donkey's Vice President but doesn't criticize the Donkey et al for creating the conditions that led to the mass exodus of Venezuela's citizens which led to the murder. It would be reasonable, for example, to tell the Cubans that they are ultimately responsible or at the very least have helped to create the conditions that led to this child's murder.
But, you see, the murdered child was a nobody and a creature of no importance. On the other hand, the Donkey et al are persons of great importance and we must never offend them!
P.S. I am acutely aware that because of this post as well as others that I can never go back to Venezuela again. And that is a great pity because I really do like it there. Its just that I don't feel like getting tortured and thrown in a Venezuelan jail to rot and while I like the country I don't like it enough to risk that!
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