Windows without Bars

A couple of days ago I had the chance to meet a talented, educated, intelligent and upright Venezuelan actor. It was on the occasion of the Los Angeles film festival, where the Venezuelan movie, El Pasajero, was being screened and where he was honored for his starring role. Speaking long distance to his wife, he observed surprised, how he was in a second floor apartment, taking in the beautiful views of Los Angeles. The sunset view reminded him of Caracas, with some palm trees and hills in the horizon and the combination of Spanish style homes among skyscrapers. Then he added astonished that there were no bars on the windows. Venezuelans have forgotten that in most other countries people live without bars on their windows. Only in countries were crime and anarchy are strife do citizen have to resort to locking themselves in their homes, apartments and neighborhoods in order to protect themselves from the violence that oppresses those that live in it. The ghettofication of the country where I was born angers me more than I could have ever predicted, when I left many year ago in search of a more intellectual and peaceful life.

In fact, there is a whole generation of Venezuelans that only know to lock themselves behind bars every night in order to avoid being robed or killed. The human capacity to adapt and tolerate such a degree of insecurity and lack of basic liberties continues to amaze me. If we were being held against our will, we could probably rouse the citizenry into destroying those bars that separate us from everyone else, and create a sense of infinite distrust in our surroundings. But what does one do when citizens lock themselves up voluntarily? What does one due when murderers and thieves freely roam the streets and honest, hardworking people are prisoners behind their own bars?

Till when will my compatriots put up with this situation that has deprived them of their basic human liberties? Windows without bars is the destiny and reality of most of the world’s inhabitants, but not that of Venezuelans.