What would you call them, saints? Or perhaps, terrorists?
www.vheadline.com Posted: Friday, January 31, 2003 - 4:30:24 AM By: Einnoc Lebrac
Date: Thu, 30 Jan 2003 20:55:16 -0800 (PST) From: Einnoc Lebrac venezuelanoestuya@yahoo.com To: editor@vheadline.com Subject: in Venezuelan terms...
Dear Editor: Finally, somebody found the perfect way to explain things in understandable terms: The letter “This is a view that your commentarists have not wanted to present” (www.vheadline.com) made me realize that for the “haves” to understand Venezuela we need to talk to them in their own Venezuelan language: “American English” and in “American terms.”
Let's imagine this other analogy:
Time has passed, Vietnam is history, Watergate is history, Cold war is history, Capitalism is history, communism is history and so on ... the fashion now is “money & terrorism.”
President Hugo Bush is now in power in his beautiful “banana republic.” He has been telling the world that there is a big percentage of people suffering and starving, people whose rights have always been talked about but never really recognized, that salaries need to be adjusted to the reality of the country. These same people listen carefully to what Hugo Bush is saying and suddenly they realize that what made them so unhappy for many generations, which they had learned to accept as their destiny, what the “padre” at their local church has told them every Sunday… was not necessarily… necessary!
They suddenly realize that Hugo Bush is right, that being poor is not a crime, that there is hope … that they too should have dignity … that they too should be respected at their work place … that if they work hard, their efforts should be decently compensated, that the so called “minimum wage” is a shameful tactic to keep them poor and uneducated.
That the 14-year-old daughter of the maid does not need to silently accept to go to bed with the “senor” of the house because he threatened her with firing her mother… (although the mother would not believe her, because the “senor” is a gentleman who has been so good to them; he lets them take the leftovers home when they get a weekend off; and sometimes, he even sends his chauffeur to drop them off at “la redoma de petare” when they go home).
Antonio (fictive name) has been working as a chauffeur for Don Leandro, the Ambassador (fictive name) for over 13 years now, and Don Leandro's children now have a new dog, and it is Antonio who has to take care of the dog, which always does its “thing” by Antonio's bedroom door. Antonio does not like dogs, but he has to clean that dog's thing away every single morning … and he better not complain because, who cares how faithful he has been to Don Leandro all these years? He already lost his dignity, he can not afford to lose his job … Don Leandro, of course, is totally unaware of this, and he would probably think “if he does not like it, he can leave, I'm not forcing him to stay…” but Antonio does know that the only thing he knows how to do is drive, and with his wife at the hospital, and his two small children needing schooling … no, he can not afford to look for another job right now…
Maria Josefina, is an accountant ... in 1990 she turned 40, and that year after 12 years working for the same company, she lost her job. With a pair of twin daughters, Sussie and Luisa (10), she looked for a job in her field, but after two months, she could not find one. She opted for a secretarial position (she could not keep on living from her relatives charity, they could hardly cover their own needs) … all jobs posted on the paper indicated “entre 20 y 25” (between 20 and 25 years of age). Then her mother told her to try and calling Dr's So and So’s wife ... she is “copeyana” and knows many “important” people (the mother used to clean their house).
Maria Josefina called, as her mother suggested ... soon MJ gets a job at a government office … the lady tells her “but you know, since you have no experience there, they might not offer you a great salary, but is better than nothing…”
MJ gets an offer, her salary ½ the minimum wage, she would be the secretary of some “Commercial Attache.” Amongst her duties to take his suits to dry cleaning (politely asked, of course); shine his shoes; bring him coffee in the morning and in the afternoon; and never contradict him when he is in a bad mood, and when his wife calls to ask for something, MJ must attend to her needs before anything else. If she needs to go shopping, MJ must go with her and stay with the children until the wife is done with the shopping, then she drops her off at work at the end of the day (after regular working hours), the Boss’ wife can not drive MJ home because it is night time and MJ lives in a “barrio.” Too dangerous for “the wife.” Maria Josefina waits for the bus and cries, she desperately needed a job, her two little girls needed to eat …she has been raped of her dignity … she had no choice but to keep on doing this … for now … but the scar will forever stay. She now more than ever wants her little girls to get an education … but what are their chances?
Why would people like Maria Josefina want this situation to change?
Why would she want to vote again for someone like Hugo Bush ... I have no idea!
No, not all “the people” agree with what Hugo Jr. thinks ... the “haves” immediately begin to calculate the extent of this modification to the “status quo” of the “haves not.”
No way, Bush, if we start raising the salaries of the “uneducated and unqualified” workers, they might start getting ideas about saving money, getting an education, getting organized and start trying to negotiate fringe benefits ... then, who is going to do the dirty work?
- And above all ... instead of making a 200% profits ... we will end up making a decent profit!
We can not allow that, because that would prevent us from enjoying our yearly vacation in Florida or Switzerland, or sending our children to study in private schools or to the USA, and they would have to study here in “banana republic” ... and if that happens, then they will need to go to the same universities as “the poor,” and since we want our children to receive proper education, we're going to have to start giving something back to the communities where we live to improve schools, etc.
Hugo Jr. knew they were not going to like this idea ... and he was right, they are now panicking, they need to find the way to stop this and stop it fast.
The first thing that comes to mind ... since we are “civilized and educated” ... let's finish with the poor, let's starve them to death, let's kill them all to get rid of poverty, since “poverty” is something we do not understand ... but let's blame it on Hugo Bush.
Then an “intelligent, educated, civilized and rich” leader, says “wait a minute” let's get George W. Chavez to help us ... he is powerful and, the rich of all "banana republics" believe he is perfect, his administration holds the ultimate truth and therefore he should own all oil producing lands (no better product has been discovered or artificially created thus far, to replace oil) on top of that. George W. Chavez. is out for a vendetta against some "Arab" leader for having caused "some trouble" to George Chavez Sr. in the past ... and since he wants his dad to be proud of him, he is out to get it all… the head of the “Arab” leader and the OIL!
Now, he's the strongest of all and he's out to conquer every single drop of oil left in the world, and those who would oppose ... eell, he'll massacre them … he'll do it to avenge his father, and then he will help us ... our “banana republic” has much oil too. Let's accuse Bush of terrorism ... George W. Chavez would understand that, lets make Bush appear like a real threat to the USA ... let’s invent all kind of horrible terrorist stories (and let’s believe them too) ... let's attack our own oil industry to get the US’ attention, let's stay away from all the trouble, though, and let our followers kill themselves in the process to show some blood to the world and let's blame it on Hugo Bush.
In the end we will win, and if not, we will let George W. Chavez do what he does to those who do not think like him…the same as what we the “civilized, educated, rich" of Venezuela want to do to our own fellow Venezuelans...”
We have always been good to our employees, we can not pay them better salaries if they have no diplomas … they don't need to have savings, the government has public hospitals ... not enough to take care of the whole population of poor? ... oh well, too bad, some have to die, but that’s the government’s fault.
Helena Russell ends her letter: “Venezuelans constitute a peace-loving people, that have never gone to war, that have managed to maintain a democratic system for more that 50 years, and that refuse to see their democracy perish. The way that Venezuelans are responding to the abuses of the Chavez regime are nothing short of heroic”
Of course Venezuelans have never gone to war: Why would have they?
For over 50 years the oppressed have been oppressed without even calling it that way, and the oppressors have been enjoying it. Why would they have gone to war? Millions of Antonios and Maria Josefinas are real ... and their situation is not this government’s fault … it's the fault of over 50 years of your heroes being blind, selfish and totally ignorant of a reality that can no longer be hidden away.
If it is not Hugo Chavez Frias, it will be somebody else ... but “the people” have now woken up!
If the Chavez regime is abusive ... and it has been in existence for only 4 years … yes, those Venezuelans you are talking about, must be heroes … imagine if they would have been the ones being abused during the previous 50 years … what would you call them, saints? Or perhaps, terrorists?
Sorry people, all that “horrible” regime you have been enduring for four long years, is only seen that way by you and your equals ... the rest of the population have seen it worse for over 50 years, when everything seemed so perfect for you ... it was being hell for the rest of the country.
“Start thinking; and think right.” If the USA is right, everything else must be left, and I guess there is no way in between.
- Unless almighty USA decides otherwise, then we ... the “civilized, educated” ... will faithfully follow whatever “perfect” USA decides the new global order must be…
I now, get out of my analogy … as easy as the lady whose email address reads: “alimentausa” (“feed the USA”) … talking about analogies…
God help us all!
Einnoc Lebrac venezuelanoestuya@yahoo.com