It would be hypocrite for me to just wish plainly a Happy New Year when we all know that this would not be the case for those of us living in Venezuela. Even if the new year wish of a majority of Venezuelans, that Chavez leaves office, were to take place in the next few days, the damage he has brought to the country is so profound that the year ahead would be very tough, no matter how elated the we could be at the prospect of a recovery.
Thus, in all honesty, I can only wish a Happy New Year for those of you who live outside of Venezuela where mundane issues are still a balm. For those of us inside Venezuela I can only wish, in all sincerity, that the coming year does not bring you any new degradation, any personal tragedy; because short of hitting the jackpot, it is as much as you can hope for the next year.
And not to sound as dark as I started, at least for us inside, next year we will be motivated because indeed we need to put an end to this regime before this regime puts an end on us. The real wish for us is that we may have the strength to deal with what is in store.
Sunday, January 02, 2011
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I have to agree with you Daniel. What bothers me at the moment is that the price of crude is still going up and that gas may reach 4USD a gallon by Memorial Day. Besides starting another global economic downturn it could help keep Chavez going for longer than we would like. However, reading sites like Barrio Radar, his core support the poor are starting to be much more vocal in questioning his "programs". When they come down from the ranchos, the dye will cast!
ReplyDeletehow bout those of us who want to live and it gets harder,and more expensive.
ReplyDeleteIm depressed because of the state our country is in.Really.
Daniel, I hope the New Year is full of hope & promise although I have profound doubts. I live in Venezuela.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work.
My dear Daniel,
ReplyDeletewhat can I say? this has been the worst year ever for me personally. I'm kind of glad is over, but then again I have no hope of things turning around.
Anyway, I'll wish you un muy feliz año con abrazo y todo! It's the venezuelan in me :)
As always, thanks for your excellent posts.
The rows to hoe will indeed be hard ones this year and next.
ReplyDeleteHere's hoping it turns out right in the end.
Peace
Never before have I seen such a radical divide between my hopes and my expectations. If the worst of my expectations materialize, Venezuelans will need every scrap of strength they can muster simply to survive.
ReplyDeleteFor my part, I am trying to leave Venezuela. The Government has made its message clear to expats and all Venezuelans in opposition to Chavez, "You are not welcome here any longer. Take what you can and go. But, above all, go. There is no place for you here."
I could stay and make a stand, as Daniel is bravely doing. In fact, if I truly believed that the majority of Venezuelans were willing to fight for their freedom, I might have decided take up the fight by their sides. But I see no such will in the people, and so I have concluded that this is not my fight.
Many of us find that to leave is easier said than done. Assets need to be sold in a climate in which there are far more sellers than buyers. Relationships complicate matters. And, one needs to decide where to go to.
So, 2011 will mark a turning point in my life, and that of many others here in Venezuela. My New Year's wish for us all is that we face up to and make our decisions with courage and wisdom, and that we follow through on those decisions with diligence and conviction.
Spiritual quality rather than material quantity?
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately people say their greatest needs are:
1. Time
2. Money
3. Health
All physical needs.
Most leftist governments attempt to insure physical needs at a big cost.In Venezuela people have far more time than we do here in the US, with which to play and rest.One holiday ends,then the new one begins.I got sick of vacation when I worked in Venezuela.I was one of the few who used Semana Santa to create new learning materials for school, write exercises for programs and reorganize my house instead of going to the beach.
People in Venezuela have far easier made money than we have here in the US( after all it is an oil rich country)with many lax rules,and with much lower standards for employment plus a huge and lucrative informal economy.
Last but not least most people have access to free or inexpensive health care( unlike here in the US where most of us( unless we are quite poor) have to pay through the nose for it.You can even go to a pharmacy to ask for FREE diagnosis and medicine that would never be accessible here in the US.
So what does all this show me? It is the spiritual world of quality that really makes the tell tale difference in happiness to SOME:Freedom, hope,gratitude , faith etc etc.These are the much needed qualities that hard leftist governments are so good at hiding and that in Venezuela are severely attacked, making life more intrinsically difficult for many of us.Fear, disillusionment and loss of faith are magnified in Venezuela to those sensitive and lucky enough to perceive it.
Yet I hear so many people say they cannot leave Venezuela because in foreign countries they won't have good jobs, maids,or an entertaining life style.Remember, we gringos are a boring lot.All work and no play makes Jack a very dull boy.And Europe is super hard on illegal immigration.
But the important thing is to make a conscious choice.
:( or :)
It will not be long until the starving folks in Venezuela won't have the strength to steal anything from their empty stores.
ReplyDeleteThe disaster will be blamed on a plot hatched in the USA by President Warren G. Harding.
My advice to anyone that lives in Venezuela would be to flee.
Now!
If 50 plus % of the population votes for a person who was responsible of the deaths of people in Canal ocho, and the broncos I SAW shooting rockets at the Helicoide and the police academy in petare, and a glorious f16 shooting a bronco with the avila as it´s background, ah what memories.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you expect, allways a happy new year. I am not kidding old people teach, most people are arse holes doesn´t mean you have to be one or be sorry to call a duck a duck.
I can´t help encrispar most conciudadanos, but it´s my duty, and I thank you for doing it so mildly, it takes some blind love and faith to do so, so nicely, you are a tragic comedian :) ;P.
O well, another year is here, not much ad dendum will come till 2012, cause then we will see the jimmy carter approval, or not!
I just will be happy that people like you did or try to cry foul...
Bravo Pueblo, 99 to 1 but o so well. Next life we will be shure to bring arepas y callapas...
A ustedes que entretienen un idioma ausente, aquel que quiso comunicar.
ReplyDeleteSe enfrentaron a familiares y amigos, sus dioses e ilusiones.
Solo por describir promesas y sueños.
Queriendo ahogar lo que no respira.
Si, a ustedes blogeros, Feliz Año!, y que bronquios evolucionen!