How The Crisis In Venezuela Has Affected The Future Of Many Kids

Often, we see immigrants walking around, and we wonder why they decide to come to a foreign country. In my case, as an immigrant, my family and I decided to immigrate to the United States because of the political crisis back in my home country Venezuela. I have been lucky enough to have a place to stay and call my second home but sadly this isn’t the case for most of the immigrants that have decided to leave the country of Venezuela. This crisis has risen rapidly and many people have fled the country due to the lack of food and medical services. As a result of the political and social crisis, families have been obligated to leave the country in search of a better future for their kids.

One of the most alarming figures is that over 800,000 kids have lost connection with their parents as a result of forced immigration. Most of the people have decided to leave for neighboring countries like Brazil and Colombia. At the northern border of Brazil, the Venezuelan kids and young adults make up 50% of the immigrants according to ACNUR (United Nations High Commissioners for Refugees). People walk thousands of miles a day to get as close as they can to a new country and a better future. Countries have reacted in a good way by giving homes and medical services for those who decide to immigrate while other countries have decided to return them back to Venezuela due to the over representation of Venezuelan immigrants or to persecute and kill them. Unfortunately, kids and young adults have been affected in a negative way. The Venezuelan crisis has caused families to fall apart because of medical issues and financial issues, and it has caused families to have to turn to their kids for financial assistance. And as a result of all of these issues, many kids have to give up their dreams and goals.

When people drive or walk around the streets of Venezuela they might bump into kids – very young kids – trying to sell anything they can in order to be able to bring money back home. They will sell anything from wiping car windows to a bag of concrete. People can also find kids asking for money or just wandering the streets with a soccer ball made out of plastic bags. These are not things people would normally see on a regular day in the U.S. these types of jobs or experiences have prevented the kids and young adults from fulfilling their dreams and potentials, and it has provoked them in some cases to take the wrong path in life and turn to drugs and violence or even death.

Sadly Most teenagers have chosen the path of violence as a fault from all this. They have decided to take this path because at one point in their lives they realized that they were tired of waking up every morning at 6:00 AM to stand or walk around a traffic light, carrying over 40 pounds of food, trying to get at least enough money to be able to afford one gallon of milk for their siblings and their families. Kids and young adults have decided to give up on school so they can work more hours to bring a small portion of money to their homes. Young adults have found an “easier” way to try and find ways to maintain their households and that is by stealing and robbing other people. This has turned into a big epidemic in Venezuela, and it has distracted young adults from staying in the right path and following their dreams, they have come to the point where they have to kill to be able to survive and bring resources back to their homes, this epidemic has decreased the percentage of kids that achieve their goals.

Schools and the government are not doing anything to prevent it. Venezuela is going to have a future where adults won’t be capable of developing their maximum potential. The corrupted government boasts of talking about Venezuela’s future, but that future is being destroyed. This crisis not only has affected kids mentally but also physically, a recent research done by Dr. Urbina from ACNUR (United Nations High Commissioners for Refugees), has found that kids of this generation have lost three to five centimeters in their growth, the study also reflects that more than 15% of the population younger than 5 years old suffer from malnutrition, “there are mothers who have to put their kids to bed earlier because they have nothing to feed them at night” said Dr. Urbina. On the physiological part, psychologist Abel Sarabia from Cecodap ( Centro Comunitario De Aprendizaje), indicated that one in every four children who are received in the organization has some type of alteration in their mood, due to consequences related to anxiety and depression. And when it comes to education for these kids, over 3,000 teachers quit their jobs because their salary is equivalent to only two or three dollars a month. According to research done by The New York Times, Venezuela has the worst economic crisis for a country without war.

Many organizations and even other governments have been trying to get involved in helping the people and the future of Venezuela. But of course, this has been hard to achieve due to our corrupt government. In 2017 The United States and former self-proclaimed president of Venezuela Juan Guaidó got together to find a way to bring medical resources and food through the frontier of Colombia and Venezuela. the corrupt president Nicolas Maduro decided to close the border for 48 hours and not let the help come in the country. The president has denied any type of help from any other country due to the relationship he has lost with other countries. Venezuela is experiencing the biggest economic collapse in a country without war in at least 45 years. According to economists,the president is not accepting the help we are getting offered. Other local organizations have been able to help but not on a large scale. That’s why any type of minor help would be very well accepted by any organization, kids are prevented from getting the nutrition they need on a daily basis, so they have to turn to organizations to be able to get at least one box with a small portion of food each month.

Venezuela is in need of a drastic change so we can hope for a better future where our people are able to develop their maximum potential, and they don’t have to go through what the Venezuelan people are going through at this moment. There is hope for a change but everyone has to work together in exchange for a good outcome, kids these days don’t deserve being either separated from their parents or not being able to get the nutrition they need to get on a daily basis. They deserve a country where they can reach their potential and one day be able to achieve their goals