Alessandra Arcidiacono, a member of the humanitarian team at the Caritas Internationalis General Secretariat, is following the Caritas response to the crisis in Venezuela. Since 2017, nearly 6 million Venezuelans have migrated to neighbouring countries in Latin America due to political and socioeconomic instability within the country.
Alessandra, you were recently in Venezuela to discuss and assess Caritas’ humanitarian response to the crisis in the country. How long were you there and which localities did you visit?
I was in Caracas in late November to attend the annual meeting of Caritas Internationalis Working Group on the Venezuela Crisis. It was important to be there physically after two years of virtual meetings. We assessed the humanitarian response and highlighted the need to address the serious human and social consequences that Venezuelans continue to suffer inside and outside Venezuela. I also had the opportunity to visit communities served by Caritas Venezuela in Caracas, in Los Teques (in Miranda State) and in San Felipe (Yaracuy State).
This socioeconomic crisis has been ongoing for the last 6 years. But, for many people around the world, the situation in Venezuela has become a “forgotten crisis”. Can you briefly explain to us when and how this crisis began?
The country suffered progressive and massive impoverishment of the population between 2014-2021 fuelled by an escalating economic and humanitarian crisis characterized by the total collapse of public services, the absence of safe water, the constant failure of the electricity system, the deterioration of the health system, the shortage of food and medicines, the loss of purchasing power with the highest inflation in the world (the basic salary was more or less equivalent to 2 USD in 2019 and is now 30 USD).
Today, in Venezuela, communities are affected by a threefold complex crisis: poverty caused by the ongoing humanitarian crisis, migration (nearly 7 million Venezuelans have fled their country in recent years leaving children in the care of the elderly and neighbours), and climate change. The recent effects of the rains and floods throughout the country, with a sad toll of deaths and damage, clearly showed how already fragile communities lack basic infrastructure and are especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
After being on the ground in Venezuela, can you describe what an average day would be like for families? What are their needs and the challenges they face on a daily basis?
In November, I saw signs of an apparent economic recovery from 2019 on the occasion of my previous visit. At that time, shops, pharmacies were closed or completely out of stock. People stood in long queues to get something to eat or bartered what little they had. Nowadays, at least in Caracas, you can find gasoline, food, medicines, all the goods you need, but at an exorbitant price for 90% of Venezuelans. You can’t buy a pair of shoes for $20 for your child if you earn $30 a month. Some studies indicate that Venezuela is today the most unequal country in the region.
I could see how a 27-year-old young woman with 7 children lives in the slum (barrio El Paraiso) in Caracas. Her husband has no job and her only hope is to see her children grow up thanks to the “SAMAN” project of Caritas Venezuela, which has opened a ‘comedor’ (a canteen) for children in the barrio. Children with nutritional deficiencies receive therapeutic food and assistance as do pregnant and lactating mothers.
Many young men and women survive with few options to overcome a reality that oppresses them and leaves them with no possibility of dreaming of a better future for themselves and their families. With the minimum wage, families can only purchase 11.20% of the food basket, which is one tenth of what a family needs to survive.
And then there are the migrants, the “caminantes”. Venezuelans continue to move in and out of their country, transiting South and Central America, driven by the hope of achieving stability for their families. Real integration continues to be a challenge to overcome, while at the same time, we witness an increase in unsafe routes and human trade in deadly corridors in which thousands risk their lives. The impact of COVID-19 exacerbated the discrimination and xenophobia in the host countries.
What is Caritas doing to alleviate the sufferings of these vulnerable families? And what can people do to help?
Caritas Venezuela can rely on a vast network of dioceses across the country including hundreds of parishes and more than 20,000 volunteers who work closely with local communities, indeed are themselves part of these communities.
Caritas Venezuela has been responding to the humanitarian crisis since 2017 through projects funded by the Caritas Internationalis Confederation and in close cooperation with the UN Agencies. The most relevant intervention led by Caritas Venezuela is the SAMAN project (malnutrition monitoring, through which Caritas Venezuela is able to assess the nutritional situation of children under 5 and pregnant or lactating women in all its parishes across 23 states of the country.
Caritas Venezuela has also organised on a regular basis food kitchens and health consultancies in its parishes by reaching at least 200,000 people in 2021/2022.
Caritas Venezuela implements the TENGO project to improve the food security of 4,000 vulnerable households through the distribution of financial assistance through e-vouchers and empower the local markets. The people served are referred from the SAMAN project and identified as food insecure.
In the border countries (including Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile), Caritas has been implementing projects with Caritas Internationalis Member Organisations, Governments, ECHO and UN funding to assist thousands of migrant Venezuelans with protection, food, shelter and health services. Integration barriers must be overcome in terms of regularization of status, recognition of education, as well as training and cultural integration strategies that allow migrants to live with dignity.