Very thought-provoking post and very generous proposal (the comments upvoting dynamic).

I had been told this but a la venezolana some years ago, after my separation and subsequent divorce.

What do you know, this decision might actually end up helping those people! When you become a star in the sky, you inspire other people to follow you and walk down the path that you have set before their eyes.

A friend of mine advised me to just go. Leave the town, the country even, for my own sake. I did not understand it then, I could not accept it. Saw it as selfish and cold-hearted. After all, I would be leaving my two daughters behind.

Time proved my friend right. A lot has happened since and I have grown more embittered and desperate in a country that every day threatens to suck every ounce of energy you may have. We surround ourselves with people who far from helping are also in need of help. We become some sort of AA ("Apathetic Anonymous"), although our apathy is quite noticeable.

My ruin has also translated into my daughters'. My negativity has become theirs.
That can still be changed. I am working on it, but it has become way more difficult now.