“Only when they have been seriously shipwrecked will they seriously find what they need,” says the great G.K. Chesterton in his piece “The living man”, but for those of us who live in Venezuela the question always arises: do we still need to be shipwrecked further? Have we hit bottom? The truth is that every time we feel that the ship is falling apart, not only does the storm subside, but we miraculously find a way to continue sailing. It is not about settling for swallowing water from a “perfect storm”, but finding a silver lining even at every stroke of the wave.

We started May by celebrating Labor Day in unprecedented and very complex conditions. Projections for Latin America published in the joint report between the ILO and ECLAC are alarming: an average unemployment that can reach 11.4% (with 11.5 million new unemployed), and an underemployment rate of 54% that places this population in a situation of extreme vulnerability to the pandemic. This would imply that in our region poverty would reach 34.7% (214.7 million people) and extreme poverty 13% (83.4 million people), thus increasing already existing inequalities. Although Venezuela is not included in these reports, we know that our country is far from the average considering multiple factors.

Faced with such a panorama, what can each of us do? It is more than documented in history that solutions and real changes are not generated when everything “is all right”, but rather when we have a shipwrecking feeling. In this sense, not only can we accumulate the impacts that reality gives us, but it is also necessary to understand the meaning of what happens to us and to look at what we have in the present: who we are, what gifts we have received, what reality is made of, what we know how to do, who we can count on, and to get started. There are always positive signs that reality hides.

Freedom in these moments could be reduced to looking into the shadows or turning and looking at where light comes from. This way also allows us to see which adventure partners we have. Our choice is to recognize this or not, and it has to be done now!

Dr. Eugenio Borgna points out a risk and a possibility: «Once danger ceases, forgetfulness easily enters men. However, there will be some, I do not know how many, who in this time of pain will have taken the opportunity to be more attentive, to listen to themselves and to others more deeply. Yes, after this rough test some of us will be reborn, capable of new hope.”