As someone born and raised close to Colombia in many senses, the Venezuela Live Aid was the quintessential gathering of that nation of superposed identities and affections that lives around this border. The symbolism goes way beyond what Branson said.
Venezuela Aid Live brought up the best of people, regardless of which side of the border they come from, while it helped to make our problems visible to the world. But the event, from that marginalized, strange place, also showed the strength we Venezuelans have built, even under the threat of war.
Music, hope, possible mistakes… The Colombian epicentre of Venezuela Aid Live is a mix of emotions and premonitions a day before the concert and the security-sensitive visit of three presidents. Here are some voices of the city.
In the first Cucuta Chronicles dispatch, our intrepid reporters pretend to be married and face the bleak possibilities of separation and abduction, until they solve the situation and cross the border by the power of a couple of Andean pastries.
A huge benefit concert in Cucuta will serve as a prelude to push forward the humanitarian aid and to create more global awareness on the Venezuelan crisis. But can it bring more public attention to our crisis or simply attract those convinced?
We're all waiting to see how the current stalemate in Venezuela will be resolved, but free and democratic elections should be the outcome of the crisis, and that means including around 3 million Venezuelans of the diaspora, even if they have no regular status.
Rescate Venezuela was the NGO that started the engines for the entry of the humanitarian aid. This Sunday, February 17th, the humanitarian camps exercise officially began. This is the chronicle of one of them in Macarao, Caracas.
With a Live Aid concert scheduled for Friday 22nd and volunteers rallying to the call for help, February 23rd is shaping up to be a showdown between the democratic forces and the dictatorship, though it’s not an endgame in itself.
While some professional pessimists complain about the speed of this transition (because toppling a dictatorship must take a couple of magic tricks,) the dictatorship keeps shrinking its action range under international pressure.
After three weeks that felt like a year, the Venezuelan transition process feels a bit stagnated. An article in Bloomberg reminds us that the usurpation is far from over, and that many things could still go wrong. But there are also reasons to not freak out (that much) about it.
We’ve been able to hang on for 22 years in one of the craziest media landscapes in the world. We’ve seen different media outlets in Venezuela (and abroad) closing shop, something we’re looking to avoid at all costs. Your collaboration goes a long way in helping us weather the storm.
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