Flag of Venezuela. Wikipedia
I don't usually talk much about the situation in my country, I've always felt that it's a topic that doesn't interest many people, but, as I've been more involved in the community, many people have asked me: How bad is the situation here?
This post could be summarized by just saying that the situation is bad or simply most people can't live here, but that would be incomplete, which I don't like at all.
How bad is the situation here? What should people do to try to survive in this country? Perhaps we are not a country at constant war where it is obvious that death is almost always present, but, although we are not at war with anyone so far, Venezuela is a country with an incredibly high death rate. Before my vacation, I made a presentation at school talking about Venezuela's death rate. While researching, I found this: Trends in infant mortality in Venezuela between 1985 and 2016: a systematic analysis of demographic data
It is a report that analyzes the infant mortality rate in Venezuela. This analysis concludes that the Venezuelan infant mortality rate increased by 40% in 2016, reaching the incredible amount of 21.1 deaths for every 1000 births. This is not a small amount at all, it is a big one. The highest infant mortality rate in the the US in 2018 is in the state of Mississippi with 8.9 deaths per 1000 births. It's a huge difference and it's just scary to be born in this country.
If you're lucky enough to be born without problems
Your problems don't end here: How hard can it be to live here? A lot.
I'll get right to the point. Living here is impossible if you only depend on your salary, I don't deny that in other countries it's like that too, but the difference in purchasing power is abysmal. The minimum salary of a Venezuelan is 150,000 BSS, that is, 4$...
It pains me to say it, but yes, 4 American dollars is what a person earns for a month's work. The dollar in my country has a very high value, but people only earn misery and it is not enough to buy food for a whole month. A packet of flour costs BSS 45,000, which is 30% of the minimum wage. It is just a matter of thinking how much one person can do to survive here, even more so those people who have children or have large families. I know parents who stop eating to feed their children with the little they earn. Mathematically it is simply impossible to live this way, prices far exceed what a person earns.
The basic food basket in Venezuela costs around $300. Can you believe that? How is it possible for a person to live in this country when the basic basket that supplies his needs per month costs $300 while he only earns $4 per month?
Teachers, accountants, administrators and a large number of public workers manage to earn money in different ways. And this is what I want to cover now.
Steem Logo. Wikipedia
How do people survive here?
I've said it before, people are looking for more ways to make money. Many people go to the internet to find ways to earn money through this tool, the dollar has great value here, so, if the person can earn money in another currency, it would be much better.
I know English teachers who offer to do translation works on the internet and they have done really well, as well as people who work as writers for freelance projects and I even know professional designers who do any kind of work on the internet. The thing is to look for opportunities and not stop, if you stop, it will cost you very much.
This explains why so many Venezuelans come to Steem. The idea of generating money in a social network is simply incredible, but, unfortunately, most only come with the idea of making money without doing anything else, which is a little disappointing but I think it's our fault (Spanish community) for not knowing how to teach new users to be an exemplary user in the community. Although obviously, I don't want to say that all Venezuelans only come for the money, I know several people from my country who really are amazing and, even if they don't make that much money on their posts, they are still here doing community.
Also, there is another type of people who only take advantage of the situation in our country to ask for donations and things like that. I will take this opportunity to give my opinion about this type of person: Don't give them anything.
I'm asking you, they don't deserve it. Ok, maybe yes, but let's see that from another perspective: I know a lot of people who work very hard, who try to do the best job possible and who also have families to help or children to feed. I understand that it can be painful to see how someone with 3 children is going through a bad situation and asks for donations, but just think that there is also a person with 6 children who has 3 jobs and still looks for opportunities to earn money that also requires your help.
How am I doing in this situation?
I will explain to you how bad the situation can get in a Venezuelan family using me as an example.
In my house, we are 8 people (my father who has been living with us for 1 year, my 2 uncles, my 3 cousins, my cousin and me). My uncle and aunt are pensioned workers, while only one of my cousins and my dad work earning minimum wage while another cousin is dedicated to buying and selling things like soft drinks and all that, my cousin and I are 15 and 16 years old respectively, so we still can't work legally. Yes, I'm missing a cousin, but that cousin is 6 years old, so..
My cousin and I are looking for opportunities online. He is a designer, actually, the work he does in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and Lightroom is just amazing, but it's hard to get customers or things to do, so he can't take advantage of that knowledge.
I, on the other hand, simply studied a little bit of everything. I ended up in this world and I've been involved in a lot of projects since I started, I've done everything because every chance to be able to earn some money (no matter how little) means too much to me. I remember that I started on a page called freebitco.in, then I started mining Bitcoin with my pc, then I moved on to trading and learned about everything a little bit as I did all that. It's a big world, there are so many things to do and learn.
What impact does Steem have on my life today?
To be perfectly honest, Steem has meant too much to me since I started on the platform. Thanks to Steem I had my first smartphone (it was a Moto G5 Plus, I remember it perfectly), I had my first laptop (A laptop with an I7 and 8 GB of Ram, it's a dream come true) and I have also managed to make a huge economic contribution to my family with all the money I have earned on the platform.
Today, with the bear market, it has been very difficult to achieve a stable income at Steem. Before I used to publish daily and have a stable income that way, but due to several things that happened as time went by, I don't have enough support to keep actively publishing, but this is why I want to make my contribution to the community and not just be a content creator.
I stayed here because it's the only place where I can actively participate in a community while I can make money, for me Steem is an incredible opportunity to have complete freedom of expression while you can make money with your words. It's a beautiful community full of amazing people who are always willing to help improve Steem, something I'll be working on this 2020 and I know many exciting things are coming up.
Cheers!