The abstract of goodbyes…

Goodbyes are necessary in life, you say goodbye to situations, ages, cycles, physical spaces, it is like a ritual that leaves behind everything that will no longer be part of your life, but there is no doubt that the most painful goodbyes they are those of people, saying goodbye to a loved one due to death, moving, migration is hard. Living it or seeing it happen up close to someone you love is not easy to overcome.

Today I have cried a lot, in my previous post I mentioned that I am Venezuelan, those who know even a little about the current reality of the Venezuelan citizen or have heard in the news, networks, or international information pages know that we live in a country in crisis, where many people have had to emigrate looking for quality of life and personal, professional and family improvements. We Venezuelans would never have imagined that we would have to go through this because we have always been a prosperous country, despite being from the third world. But the truth is that although those of us who are still here bite the bullet, the reality is that we are going through hardships and that in something as basic as health or services (electricity, water, toilets, internet, food) that a person requires in their day to day are not optimal in most states, cities and sectors.

The idea of this article is not to focus on the "country situation" in Venezuela, but to go directly, in my very personal opinion, to all those families separated due to migration.

It hasn't touched me directly, thank God I have my complete family unit (husband, daughters, parents)... but it has been the turn of my sisters, younger than me to leave. Particularly, the sister who follows me, who I love and adore and with whom I have a very good relationship (well, we are 3 sisters, and the three of us get along super well). She had to leave the country at the end of 2018. She emigrated to Bogotá, Colombia with her two small children (a one and a half year old baby and my 3 year old niece) which made it super difficult for her to settle down because with two small children, he couldn't work so many hours and he barely had enough money. The truth was a lot of work at the beginning. Her husband emigrated with her almost a year later, at the time they could not go together, because my sister had financial help from a relative who took her and her husband did not have enough money to go with her.

His relationship with his partner was very deteriorated and emigrating made things worse, so they decided to separate and he returned to the country with the children months later so that she could work and from there, despite the fact that they were no longer a couple, she could help them financially. And so it was that my little nephews came back for a while and then her mother came to look for them again. She being more established there she could have them and give her things that were done uphill here, she also managed to take our younger sister so that she could take care of the children and have the possibility of working outside of her. Just when they were establishing themselves, the global pandemic entered our lives, which left them loked up and without work foor many,not atall easy

My sister had met a Colombian some time after their separation, with whom she formalized a relationship and who saw through those two long years of quarantine for them. He for being a transporter if she managed to work and bring support to his home. They remain together now and are always supportive of my sister, as is her family.

This year in the month of March my nephews returned to visit us, to share with their grandparents and their father. They are beautiful and big, they are now 7 and 5 years old and they have always missed the affection and sharing of their family, but especially their father. They have been happy for 6 months here and they want to stay to study for the new school year.

They have enjoyed sharing with their father to the fullest and although they live with my parents, their maternal grandparents, their father visited them frequently and they went out for a walk, shared and even stayed days together. He took care of them and pampered them a lot.

Yes! He spoke in the past tense because just this Monday, September 12, I had to fire him because he suddenly decided to emigrate again.

It is no secret to anyone that in Venezuela we get used to living badly and for peace of mind we ignore that being in optimal conditions and having improvements or quality of life is very expensive and difficult, but it should be normal. We are living one day at a time, but most of the time it is desperate.

My brother-in-law (he is no longer brother-in-law as such, but those ties are not broken) did not help them financially as he wanted, because he used to taxi, he had a cart with which he provided travel services for a transport cooperative to another city, but if the car He had an accident, he had no way to solve it and he stayed days without working. The economic situation is frustrating, it is what hits the most. For this reason he decided to go to conquer the American dream.

Making the decision to go “wet” or illegal by paying coyotes for the journey through the Darién Jungle, the border between Colombia and Panama, to follow a route of approximately 6 countries by land. Countries such as: Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico until reaching Texas.

Saying goodbye to his children is the most difficult thing he has had to do, for the second time, and because they are so small they do not understand the magnitude of the situation. As an aunt, I have cried a lot, today that he has just been in communication with me because that is when the dangerous crossing of the "Darién plug" was going to begin, before he wanted to tell me that I was more than an aunt to his children, that I am like her mother here right now and that she will please take good care of her babies, because she was making all this effort for them to help them financially and for improvements for all. He sent me an audio that broke me sentimentally, the truth... I hate goodbyes, these types of goodbyes are not fair because they are external causes that force you to separate from what you love most, believing that the most important thing is economics, but The most important thing is not LOVE, and he has been a good father as far as he could and my nephews love him and now, for a long time they will not have him. Venezuelans have had to live with a very harsh reality.

This is just an isolated case of a forced farewell, of so many Venezuelan families separated and spread throughout the world today.

Good relief...

This story will continue…