I had been told that the worst time to be in Ukraine was winter, and for a "Caribbean" like me, used to Isla de Margarita and Los Roques, to name a few of the most beautiful islands in the world, I thought it would be hard to bear 30 degrees Celsius below zero and... I got over it
I wake up for my second day at Kyiv feeling awesome under so much fostering in such short time. We decide to eat prior to the scheduled meetings during the afternoon. There I had my first alarm experience due to bombing at a country in war. Traffic and people on the streets looked quite normal during day light (at night, half the city is in total darkness), and when the sirens blow, I feel that at the restaurant where we were eating, people kept behaving as if nothing were happening.
I reached Ukraine after a long bus drive from Kraków to Leopolis. On the first part of “A Venezuelan in Ukraine” I talked about the moment when I crossed the Rubicon, when going across the border from Poland. I illustrated it with an image describing my first impressions when leaving the bus at the city’s main square, under full darkness across the train’s and buses’ station.
I am in a bus, going to Ukraine, weighing the look for adventures and choices that led to this trip, not without anxiety, but with, at the same time, the parallel courage and certainty, of being at ease walking at the right side of history. A nun is sitting next to me, on one side, and at a right a kid with his little brother and his mother, but missing the father; he is not with them. The kid tells me that he is fighting for them and their country.
“Yo soy Libertador” pro memoria y libertad de Venezuela
During the last two decades, we Venezuelans have experienced the systematic and traumatic takeover of our democratic institutions.
Our judicial system is no longer impartial, apolitical, and respectful of the rule of law. Our different branches of government are no longer independent from one another. And virtually all major politicians of opposition are either in exile or banned from public life.
In countries like Venezuela, corruption is more than a problem, is a system.
Today, the United Nations celebrates International Anti-Corruption Day, which seeks to highlight the “rights and responsibilities of everyone” in tackling corruption, including government officials, civil society, and the public.
Achieving peace in Ukraine is vital to Europe’s Future
Dear readers,
Since 1939, there has never been a greater chance of war between two major countries in Europe than the one we face today.
The EU mission said that the elections had "arbitrary disqualification" of opposition candidates as well as a "disproportionate" state bias.
Last Sunday, Venezuela held a “mega-election” to elect all regional and municipal authorities, including 23 governors and 335 mayors.
Venezuela will hold another sham election on Sunday.
On Sunday, Venezuela will hold its latest sham election. This time to “elect” regional and municipal authorities, including 23 governors and 335 mayors.
