'I fear for those who are still there'

Alejandra Preciado

Although Alejandra Preciado lived comfortably in Venezuela, she wasn't immune to the crisis that stormed the country.

“I couldn’t live at peace in Venezuela”, she says “if I went out someone could rob you or someone could intercept you and kidnap you or simply kill you to get your phone”.

For the best part of a decade, Alejandra lived on a constant state of alert. She had become used to living like that.

Her family had enough money to buy the overpriced essentials, but safety couldn’t be bought.

And that wasn't life.

There wasn't a future in Venezuela and, as a daughter of Peruvians, she took the decision to leave Venezuela for the Andean country.

“I left Venezuela in search of a better future because in Venezuela there’s no quality of life”

Forty years ago, Alejandra’s parents left Peru to settle in Caracas. Venezuela’s steady economic growth made it an attractive destination for many immigrants. ‘Saudi’ Venezuela -as it was called because of its reliance on oil exports- was one of the richest countries in South America.

Thanks to her parents’ work, as she proudly tells me, she managed to live a comfortable life in Caracas. She went to a good school and later to a good university where she would graduate as a Computer Engineer in 2016. Her passion, however, was always flowers.

Her family had a flower shop in Caracas, where Alejandra would learn to love the trade.

Shortly after graduation, engineering became a distant dream. She didn’t regret her decision and remembered that landing a job in that industry was now almost impossible and even if you did, you wouldn’t be properly compensated.

Alejandra posing with her diploma at her graduation.

Alejandra posing with her diploma at her graduation.

As the crisis began to aggravate, Alejandra’s parents' economic power allowed them to get around some of the problems affecting millions of Venezuelans.

“We had the economic capacity to buy the overpriced food. Those who earn minimum wage, don’t have the capacity of acquiring the essential food like chicken, meat, rice, ham and cheese. You can’t buy these with a minimum wage”.

However, some things can’t be avoided, not even with money.

“We lived with a lot of anxiety”, she says, “I couldn’t live at peace in Venezuela. I was always on alert [...] if you went out someone could rob you or someone could intercept you and kidnap you or simply kill you to get your phone.

"But you get used to living like that. You know that the police are useless and you are more afraid of them than of the people on the streets”.

Alejandra couldn’t escape the bleak levels of crime in Caracas and took some measures to protect herself. She knew to dress humbly not to attract any attention and didn’t use her phone on the streets under any circumstance. She says she wasn’t scared but was always on alert.

As the situation deteriorated even further, Alejandra decided to leave the country. That wasn’t a life worth living; there was no future in Venezuela.

She was devastated as she waved goodbye to her loved ones in Venezuela. Fear overtook her as she thought of those she was leaving behind, what would happen to them, but there was no looking back.

In March 2018, Alejandra left Venezuela.

Alejandra at a family dinner in Venezuela.

Alejandra arrived in Lima on the 18^th of March. Thanks to her parent’s family, she didn’t struggle too much to adapt to her new country and shortly after arriving, she set up a business from her parent’s house.

The only business that she was interested in: flowers.

Backed by her own savings and with help from her family, Alejandra’s flower venture became a shop by the end of December. In less than a year, she laid down a future for herself, something she wouldn’t have been able to do back in Venezuela.

She had fulfilled her desire to find a better future, but still couldn’t be at peace.

Her mother and her boyfriend were still in Venezuela. She feared for them.

Alejandra at a family dinner in Venezuela.

They came to visit her for three months in July and both decided to move to Peru. They returned to Caracas to pack up their stuff and his boyfriend decided to sell all of his stuff to have extra money for when he went to Lima. They were supposed to leave Venezuela together on the 4^th of November.

Her mom left on the planned date, but her boyfriend didn’t go with her. His dad had been shot.

Fortunately, his boyfriend's father recovered and shortly after, he moved to Peru by the end of 2018.

With him gone, one less person close to her lies in Venezuela. And as time passes, fewer people dear to Alejandra remain in Venezuela. Most have settled either in Peru or in a different country, but they all left for the same reason.

Alejandra, meanwhile, has settled in Peru and plans to stay in the country for the foreseeable future.

Her dual nationality facilitates her stay and has found in her recently opened flower shop an exciting new project. In Peru, she has all the comforts that she once had in Venezuela in addition to a big family that made her adaption a lot smoother. And although she longs for her country, her future lies in Peru.

Alejandra at her recently opened flower shop.

Alejandra at her recently opened flower shop.

Alejandra has met a huge number of Venezuelans in the country during her stay. She’s talked and heard their stories; every one more moving than the other.

In the newspapers, television, it was impossible to escape the reports of her fellow countrymen as they escaped the chaos.

“It makes me sad”, she says when asked about all those Venezuelans struggling in Peru, “Although I didn’t go through that, it hurts”.

She couldn't fight back the tears.

"Although I didn't go through that, it hurts".

Speaking to other fellow countrymen, she has learned how classist Peruvian society is. But they don't only discriminate against Venezuelans but against Peruvians as well.

"It makes me upset [...] Venezuelans are kind people, Peruvians aren't used to be like that".

Many Venezuelans face that discrimination everyday in Peru.

...

Thousands of Venezuelans continue to leave their country every day.

Most of them aren't as lucky as Alejandra, but they all share the same dream: to find a better life away from a place where it just doesn't seem possible anymore.