“I have eaten chicken bones and pieces of arepas from the garbage”: humanitarian crisis subjugates families in Zulia

According to the Maracaibo Chamber of Commerce (CCM), the basic food basket is around 500 dollars a month.

Correspondent lapatilla.com

The month of May arrived and discontent increased among the citizens. The salary increase did not meet the expectations of the people in Zulia.

Sadly, in the ravines or spaces where solid waste is dumped you can see children, young people, and older adults digging through the garbage to find something to eat.

According to the sociologist Adnovio Suárez, this situation is caused by the brutal drop in purchasing power.

In his opinion, formal and informal workers cannot access quality food.

“Satisfying hunger is a biological need. Working and covering household and personal needs are the aspirations of all good citizens of the world. Receiving a payment for your work that cannot even cover the food of a home is demeaning. Hence the thousands of cases of depression, homelessness and famine that are registered in Venezuela,” he warned.

The young man seen in one of the photographs that accompanies this note prefers to be identified with the nickname “pájaro” (bird).

He told lapatilla.com that he has not been able to study because his parents cannot buy the uniform or school supplies, but that he dreams of going to school.

“Feeling hungry and not having anything to eat is terrible. My mom and dad work selling coffee and cigarettes. When I was little, we ate rice, chicken, and plantain. Now we don’t make enough for that. We have one meal a day and it is usually arepa or rice with just margarine,” he recounted.

The 13-year-old boy, shy and sad, said that when he cannot tolerate hunger, he walks to a ravine near his home, in the José Domingo Rus parish, in San Francisco.

“I have found chicken bones with meat, pieces of arepas with cheese, and half eaten bananas. I don’t understand how they can throw away such good things, if there are so many of us that can’t eat well.”

Since the beginning of 2023, the rise of the dollar against the bolivar has slowed down the economy in the region. Merchants report that sales have fallen by more than 35%.

The hope of an emergency salary increase vanished after the announcements of Nicolás Maduro. Announcements were only limited to the increase of bonuses that do not affect salary, social benefits and year end bonuses.