You CAN'T eat ice cream in this country!

Eating ice cream in Venezuela is luxurious. A venezuelan citizen can't afford it and if he does everyone will envy him and try to steal it!

 I saw this story in @esdevenezolanoss instagram (see the post here) and I felt SADLY identified and also felt the need of sharing it, so I will try to translate it for you:

 “I am writing this because today, about an hour ago, I decided to afford the luxury of buying me a Sunday ice cream in Sabana Grande’s McDonalds. Firstly, they reluctantly gave me the ice cream (I don’t know why) and just after paying and grabbing my ice cream, in less than 10 seconds, a lady of no more than 4 decades, starts asking me for a little sip of my ice cream *I haven’t even tasted my f***ing ice cream by myself!* and they are already asking me to feed them! I keep walking while I said no to her with my head.

 After two minutes of walking towards to the subway station, a kid followed me, he was more agressive, he even got by my side and asked one more time. I said no again and this time it hurted me, because I thought he maybe haven’t tasted a single cookie for months or even years. But well, I kept walking, feeling guilty and upset for the way my ice cream was putting all people’s attention on me and also, the levels of penury this city has reached.  

With half of my ice cream I was almost in Plaza Venezuela subway station, and this time was about two guys who seemed in their twenties, with bags and seated near the concrete seats of the boulevard. I saw them and they saw me. Immediately, after passing them, I felt someone following me. 

I started walking faster and suddenly, so fast that I couldn’t react, he took my ice cream from my hand, I was holding it tightly, so the ice cream fell and scattered all over the floor. With still at least a quarter of ice cream he ran away heading to a street down the boulevard… 

A F***ing Sunday that costs 200.000 Bolivares, 200.000 Bolivares that I could have spent in fruits but I preferred to buy a simple ice cream to forget college stress, an ice cream that has been stolen by a guy of my age, I cursed everything, people looked at me, and I kept walking…” 

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Ok. First of all I want to emphasize that when he refers to ice cream as a “luxury” he means it. In Venezuela the minimum wage is 797.510 Bolivares Fuertes, equivalent to $3 dollars, and the ice cream costs 200.000 Bolivares or approximately $1, so, you only earn $3 a month and will spend $1 entire dollar in ice cream when you have to feed your family? You simply can’t. 

 It may sound like exaggeration, but I can say that all this person says is true because I have experimented this too, they are begging for food everywhere, even in your house looking inside your trash can. I can’t help but feel sad every day when I see kids malnourished or when I hear that another person has died starving to death. 

On the other hand. I feel grateful because despite the famine, although the country’s current situation affects me too, I still can eat. I want to invite you to BE GRATEFUL with all you have, plenty of people would do anything to have what YOU HAVE!   

WHEN WILL THIS BE OVER? #sosvzla  

My apologies if I have grammar mistakes, please if you notice any correct me!