Our friends from Venezuela are facing a horrific reality. Wednesday night, the country was hit by two back-to-back earthquakes, each among the strongest in a century. As I write this, the official confirmed death toll is well over 200 and rising, with thousands injured and many more trapped under rubble. Here are some resources for supporting the relief effort, including a wonderful book.
Pictured at top: appeal by We Love Foundation.
There’s unthinkable devastation, spanning Caracas (including the airport, complicating relief) and the coastal area of La Guaira; see recent reporting by AP. The image of people pulling loved ones from out of the rubble is all too familiar from recent wars, especially images from Palestine and Lebanon. But even acts of nature are more than that: we’re seeing this suffering precisely because society’s infrastructure worldwide is fragile and mirrors inequalities and injustice.
I spoke to two Venezuelan-born artists I follow, Carlotta Aoun and Hyperaktivist (Ana Laura Rincon). I certainly welcome other takes or places to support. Ana Laura is a DJ and event organizer; Carlotta is a media artist. And this represents research across our broader networks.
In Venezuela, the situation is especially dire because of government neglect. A predictable disaster is met with a grossly inadequate response or medical preparedness, making the disaster far more punishing. So giving is important as neighbors try to support one another through mutual aid.
As is often the case, supporting projects directly (and not NGOs, especially international NGOs) is the best way to ensure your giving reaches the country and is not blocked or delayed.
We Love Foundation comes highly, highly recommended as your first stop (GoFundMe has caused problems for Palestinians but seems to be functioning here):
Emergency Relief for Venezuela Earthquake Victims [gofundme]
See also We Love Foundation‘s own site on their work
You can also support Silvana Travele’s gorgeous book Venezuelan Youth (also available with a print), out on the UK’s Guest Editions. Right now, all profits from those sales go directly to the appeal.
London-based Olindo Records, which puts out Venezuelan music, is donating 100% of its profits from record sales for the next week. Check the full label or this release by Raúl Monsalve y Los Forajidos:
There’s an obligation for all of us — it’s the familiar combination of government neglect with foreign policies (here, by the United States) that have worsened the situation.
As Carlotta writes on her social media (reproduced with permission) — this will resonate, I’m sure:
Raging against the inefficiency of the useless government — not only promoted years of infrastructure collapse, leaving you completely helpless facing this disaster. We’ve been waiting for this earthquake for 60 years. A government that cares would have hospitals ready and trained, military ready and trained, civilian drills…. THE RAGE, THE ARRECHERA IS BEYOND.
I don’t think this needs translation:
colapso constante e interminable, natural estructural gubernamental
destrucción destrucción
más destrucción solo destrucción
mi país, hasta cuando
For some added context — just a glimpse into the many, many artists from Venezuela who are part of our lives — here’s Carlotta talking about a “symbiotic experiment for future ways of breathing”:
And as a kind of time capsule from 2018:
More recent:
I also especially appreciate Ana Laura’s “Lucero,” as contributed to the Al Gharib (Tripoli, Lebanon) compilation for Palestine in 2021.
Just keeping your energy level up while you give to these causes and share the word and tell your friends.