A personal reflection on one of the recurrent topics of conversation and observations that the world really is small for some. My normal definition of “it’s a small world” would be if I bump into an Australian friend whilst in Paris or something…However, for many here, the world can be reduced to their sector of a barrio.
Today the father of the young man who was shot in front of the house came to discuss the possibility of securing this sector with locked gates for access. It is not an entirely practical plan regardless as there are at least 4 access staircases and a connecting pathway in this sector, which covers 14 houses. However, the father felt that events such as the shooting of his son the other day could be prevented by eliminating open access as “those that shot him aren’t from here”. This phrase was repeated several times until I asked where he thought they were actually from. He said they were from “up there” indicating a sector of this barrio just a bit above the house…
A similar comment was made when I returned to Barrio La Pradera in La Vega to collect a mobile phone I had left there by accident. I took a La Vega taxi up to La Pradera sector and the driver, who had lived in La Vega for 25 years, said he didn’t go up to La Pradera sector as it is very dangerous. From an outsider’s perspective though, there is no diffrence between his sector and La Pradera in terms of general levels of violence; however, people feel more comfortable within their own sector and always seem to perceive the gang members and delinquents from other sectors as more dangerous. In many ways this divides and conquers; it seems to indirectly lead to passive acceptance of those gangs etc in each sector as their presence implies protection from those that are worse…In an effort to tackle this, VENINOS has supported the El Saman Sports Education Programme for several years with many positive outcomes. Boys, who often might not be able to move freely even within their own barrio, are travelling to games in shanty towns all over Caracas. They also play the teams from the International Schools (and are proud to say they win against much bigger European and North American teenagers!) and their horizons often broaden with such exposure. They are “protected” by their team membership instead of gang membership and, as a result, have the opportunity to see different areas and meet youths from many different barrios in a competitive but neutral environment. They also play in mixed teams where players for the same team are often from different barrios. This compared to some 10 year olds who, despite living in a capital city, have never seen an escalator, been to a shopping mall or gone to the cinema or a museum etc (all of which have been cited to me on this trip and I have witnessed myself)…
The update on the young man that was shot is that he should be OK. He is still in hospital and has a fever due to an infection but his colon and lung are beginning to heal.
