RE: ReTo: Wheels and a Meal [Ruedas y una Comida]
Great post. Very touching.
For those of you that live outside Venezuela and perhaps don’t understand the context of this story.
Ten years ago, buying a set of tires and taking your family out for a dinner in a fast food restaurant was something normal that even the most humble workers could afford with a little effort.
Some years ago, the Venezuelan economy was destroyed. A set of tires costs much more than a whole year of wages for a humble worker. Taking your family out for a meal in a fast food restaurant costs three times the legal minimum monthly wage. In conclusion, it’s impossible to afford. Thousands and thousands of vehicles are rotting under the sun because the parts are unafordable and the middle class, as it disappeared, saw how their few assets (a small car, a small house) broke down because their income is hardly enough to feed their families for five days (provided they eat only 1 ½ meals a day instead of three).
The crisis’ been for so long that, most probably, those children don’t remember what a normal life is. For them this chaos is “normal”. They have to wait between two and three hours for a bus.
@amaponian uses his vehicle to get help and give help to his family and his wife’s family.
Thank you @sansoncarrasco for explaining that. It's helpful to understand what is going on. Here, for many of us in America, we just don't understand what life like that would be like. Eating "out" is so normal. Having food in the pantry is normal. Living with a working car is normal... It is difficult to comprehend life without those things. I'm grateful to be a part of this story.