Rafael grew up in the western part of Caracas, in a lower-middle-class family. Like most of his friends, he never viewed the educational system as a way to improve his life. On the contrary, they all engaged, in one way or another, in petty crimes, hustling, and various scams to make some money, and sometimes even in drug trafficking. Eventually, Rafael realized that his life was going nowhere, but straight to jail or something worse. So, he decided to leave Caracas. He managed to secure a decent job in Margarita, as a store manager for an international company, and he began to earn a living honestly. Life was good. He saved some money and could buy the things he had dreamed of all his life: a 4×4, a motorcycle, an expensive mountain bike… His girlfriend of the time, Gabriela, seeing that Rafael was now a man, agreed to marry him, despite her mother’s wishes and advice. They moved into a very small apartment owned by Gabriela’s father.
But Rafael wanted more. He wanted his own place and now thought he could afford it. So he saved a bit more and, with his father’s help, bought a small plot of land on a beautiful hill overlooking the sea. This, he believed, would become his little piece of paradise. Every penny he could save went toward buying bricks, cement, a toilet, then a washing machine, some furniture, a television, kitchen utensils, and so on. He started filling his small apartment with items for his future house. Every night, they discussed plans and went to bed together. On his days off, he would go to his plot to level it, measure it, prepare and lay the foundations, and imagine the house of his dreams.
And so the construction began. Without any knowledge of architecture or engineering, Rafael led a team made up of Gabriela and two local helpers in building his own house. Meanwhile, he lost his job. His mother and father frequently came to the rescue, both financially and practically, as the project progressed. This setback slowed the plan, but with a lot of personal sacrifice from almost all family members, Rafael finished his house. During this time, his wife gave birth to a beautiful daughter, Nina. Rafael felt complete now; he had escaped the vicious cycle in Caracas and after three years of hard work, he had a family, a house, and some belongings, all products of his honest effort.
But happiness wasn’t meant to last long. Once, when Rafael decided to move into his new house with Gabriela and Nina, the same workers who had assisted him during the project built a small brick factory on the land adjacent to his. Needing water for the brick production, the workers connected a hose to Rafael’s water tank without permission. Upset by the abuse and noise, Rafael complained to the local authorities, who came to his place, made the workers dismantle the factory (which was built on residential land), repair the damages, and sign a warning. They didn’t take this well.
Two weeks ago, Rafael’s dog was sick. Gabriela took him to the vet and was told he had been poisoned. Unfortunately, it was too late when they got there, and the dog died. Last week, Rafael was returning from work, a new job he had found in the construction industry thanks to the skills he acquired over the last three years. As he approached his house, he saw three men at his door with machetes attacking Gabriela, who was holding Nina in her arms. He parked and jumped out of the car, only to realize they were his former workers and another relative. There were two more men watching, standing in the street: the workers’ father and uncle, a family gang. When the workers, alerted by their father, noticed Rafael’s arrival, they turned against him, leaving Gabriela beaten and Nina screaming. Brandishing machetes, they proceeded to chase him. So, Rafael started to run from the house. Luckily, Gabriela reacted very quickly, took Nina to the car, and drove away to pick up Rafael, who had managed to escape from the thugs chasing them after dodging machete strikes. Eventually, Rafael got into the car, and they fled. They went straight to the police and returned to check things at home with two officers. None of the neighbors wanted to speak about what happened. The police warned him, “You’d better leave this place. These thugs know when you come and go; next time, you might find your wife and daughter dead. We can’t do anything more since no witness is willing to corroborate your story.
Rafael and Gabriela are completely distraught. Nina, a normally healthy baby, has spent several nights crying and shaking. They don’t know what to do; their efforts over the last three years are slipping away. The authorities are unwilling to assist them beyond the occasional paid visits. They no longer want to stay in Margarita, so they will not only lose their home but also Rafael’s only source of income.
The women in their family advise caution and forgiveness. The men in their family, along with Rafael’s old friends from Caracas, are urging him to take matters into his own hands and are ready to help. They’re pushing him to, as they say in Venezuela, “kill the snake at the head,” meaning to eliminate the gang, which is another family, do not forget. Rafael is very confused. On one hand, he wants to avenge the abuses against Gabriela and Nina. He told his father, “Every scream from my child, every bruise and nightmare of my wife, every drop of my sweat will be paid back…”. The situation has forced him to abandon a recently signed project worth millions, something that would have put him back on his feet. Nevertheless, Rafael’s most powerful argument was, “The system in this damn country is why people turn to violence. How can it be that thugs end up ruling, always winning, against all reason and the law? How is it that authorities declare themselves incapable so quickly and openly? How can I forget and forgive? How can I allow this to happen to me and my family? Why must we abandon our property, our lives, our home? Why should we waste so much honest effort? Is this what life is about? Am I destined to let these thugs get away with this, just like that? This country is cursed. We’re all condemned, silently doomed to a life of violence, misery, and death.”
Rafael’s old friends are ready and eager for some gang warfare. A terrible tragedy might unfold, taking in the enormous number of unresolved and uninvestigated violent deaths in Venezuela. All due to anarchy, all because of the utter uselessness of the judicial system and the police. A country without law, without institutions where aggrieved parties can seek redress, is indeed a cursed place.