“Venezuela is currently undergoing a complex humanitarian emergency, where public services are almost non-existent and with an administration that is involved in the most prominent corruption cases in recent history.

In the evening, without electricity, the heat and mosquito bites didn’t let me sleep, and I couldn’t rest at all. In the morning, when I woke up, still without electric service, I wasn’t able to have a full breakfast. I went out of my house to catch public transport so I could go the university, and after a two-hour wait, the bus finally arrived!

I got to the university, and there was no class because the electrical wiring was stolen. I decided to go to the library and make some photocopies, but it was closed. I remembered that I couldn’t get them anyway because I only had my student allowance and I couldn’t even afford three sheets with it.

I went to my next class, and I encounter an almost-empty classroom. Several of my classmates didn’t attend class anymore… HA! And my professor… fled the country.

It’s lunchtime: the cafeteria is closed because the Ministry does not supply protein on time. That day… I didn’t have lunch. Five hours passed until my next class, and I was forced to stay at the university facilities because there is no public transport. I go into my class, and when I got out, there was no daylight. I got nervous and feared for my safety because I had to walk home. When I arrive, I notice that there is still no electricity, and now there is no running water either. I will have to spend an evening like the previous one… and yes, this is my day-to-day as a university student in Venezuela.

In March 2018, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) declared the Venezuelan migrant crisis as the greatest and most complex in the Americas in the last 70 years.

Autonomous universities only receive 20% of the requested budget from the Venezuelan State; 90% of which is allocated to meet the payroll, making it impossible to make investments, upkeep infrastructure and fund research.

On 25th of September 2018, the Venezuelan National Assembly declared a humanitarian emergency in the educational sector and demanded the authorities to comply with their constitutional duty to guarantee high-quality education.”

Content transcribed and translated by Jacobo Belilty for Hearts On Venezuela.

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