Growing in conflict

From my husband’s graduating class less than half still live in Venezuela. The rest have emigrated to the USA or South America even Australia. This sample of men is an accurate illustration of what has been happening in Venezuela since 1999, when Hugo Chavez won the presidential elections and began to move the country in the socialist direction. From those that continue to live here, some have become rich buying and selling dollars in the black market, a way of life that is illegal but results in huge payoffs, just like any high risk endeavor. The rest of the men have been working in a country where private ownership is constantly attacked, where manufacturers and distributors close their doors on a daily basis, where raw materials are scarce because the country produces little and imports a lot. As professionals leave, we lose our most valuable asset, the studied, trained, and highly skilled human resource. But even in this dire situation, amid shortages, inflation above 50%, rampant crime, etc. some people choose to stay one more year. 

Some of my husband’s friends who have left assume that those of us that stay here do so because we are used to having maids, going to the Country Club on weekends or are comfortable working in the family business with flexible hours and vacation days, suggesting that we put our comfort before the safety of our family, our kids. In reality, living here is not very comfortable at all. While most of us have domestic help, spend much of our free time in the Country Club and work in businesses started by our families, the reasons we stay run much deeper. Some of us stay because we want to care for our parents (who are adamant about not deserting their country), others because their businesses continue to grow and even thrive in the current environment, still others because they cannot practice their profession anywhere else (like lawyers), and some because even though they have lost everything they are not ready to give up. The fact is that all of us would give up domestic help if we didn’t have to visit three or four supermarkets to find basic foodstuff like oil, flour, chicken or toilet paper. We would gladly trade in our membership at the Country Club for more than a single safe place to hang-out with the kids. All of us would be willing to sell our family business and enter the corporate world if paid a fair price for the company that has been in the family for decades.

And yet… living in any country in conflict has certain opportunities that are closely linked to personal growth and development. Professionals who stay and work in Venezuela learn to solve problems they wouldn’t face anywhere else, on a daily basis. Successful executives must make business work using a single manufacturer and regional distributor in a company that is probably weighed down by under qualified and over protected human resource in a hostile environment run by a socialist government. This is especially hard on small businesses, that do not have the financial muscle to import raw materials from another country, set-up their own distribution chain, pay off the employees that do not meet company objectives or hire an expensive law firm to protect their rights. Everyday executives like my husband and his friends find creative solutions to obstacles that would daunt business people in other countries. They have developed an eye for finding opportunities in a place that is fraught by human right violations, corruption and violence and have become extreme players in the sport of making profit. There is not a single masters program in the world that will teach business administrators, lawyers, doctors and other professionals what they are learning daily by living here in Venezuela. 

Life here for me, as a writer, is just as interesting. I am constantly scared and inspired by the people around me, the stories of an express kidnapping gone bad or grandmothers spear-heading a dangerous march to Miraflores, our Whitehouse. At this moment Venezuela offers no peace, no safety and no guarantee that your rights will be protected. But it is a moment in time, a part of history which has changed the country forever. We could go, and maybe we will, but until then we continue to learn and grow from conflict. We do our best to create a bubble of peace, safety and happiness for our kids by surrounding ourselves with family and friends, taking them to places that are safe, explaining the situation in simple terms so that they too can grow while instilling importance of finding a solution and never giving up. No one ever said life would be perfect and it is in the flaws of life where there is most room to grow.