Greetings, dear Steemians
I finally got some images of my town's central market for @dswigle's #MarketFriday. I guess most people like to go to their local markets. Grocery shopping is usually a very rewarding experience. In my town, though, most people hate visiting the market. Not only do we have to deal with an outrageous hyper-inflation, but the overall insalubrity and unsafety of the area represent a challenge for anyone. I want to apologize in advance because the images that you will see here may not be the typical images you'd expect from a market: clean, fresh, eye-pleasing products. This, however, is what we have, a reality that is disturbing and embarrassing and which does not seem that is going to change any time soon.
I decided to take you with me along my usual walk to the market, so that you can get the feeling.
This is Blanco Fombona Av. You can read on the wall "Do not dump trash".
Every single street alng this road is full of sewage water.
It tends to cover the sidewalks, forcing people to walk in the middle of the streets, which in turn makes traffic hellish.
There are little fish in these waters and sometimes we see children fishing them out with their hands or with some improvised net.
The holes in the streets are part of everyday's life. This one has been like that for more than 6 years.
This is the actual entrance of the market. I took these pictures on Monday, a "lazy day", but on most other days this area is full of vendors who exhibit their products side by side all this filth.
The smell is unbearable.
Sometimes, the products (fish or fruits) fall in the water, the vendor just picks them up, pours some water on them and puts them back in the wheelbarrow.
Videos Disclaimer
I want to apologize in advance for the quality of the videos. They were made in a rush because this area is probably the most dangerous one in the whole city. People get robbed every single day. Sometimes there are ugly fights, stabbings, and even shootings. I had to do it as quick as possible without giving the impression that I was actually filming the area. Coincidentally, and I guess I should appologize for that too, every time I had the chance to pull the phone out and record, there was a voluptuous lady walking ahead of me. Sorry if I give the impression that I was actually going after them.
Main Entrance
Greens/Vegetables Area
Poultry and Meets Area
This area was pretty clean that day. There are usually blood puddles everywhere. This area has shown the most dramatic decline in the quality and amount of products. Meat is super expensive, less people buy, less products offered and they are poorly refrigerated, as you can see.
Fish Section
Not for the faint of heart
There are other local markets and farmers fairs in town where those who can't stand this market usually go shopping. I promise to bring you one of those places next Friday. Not everything is as bad as this, but this is a reality that must be made public, otherwise it is not happening. The worst thing poverty does to people is not that it subjects them to hardships and penury that weakens the spirit, but that it fosters conformism. It normalizes a state of being/living/seeing that makes it impossible for the person to even conceive a different, prettier, better world.
Thanks for your visit
As devastating as it is to see these images of your town and market, we can't begin to really understand what you and your fellow Venezuelans have to deal with daily. It is a travesty!
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That is actually a very good word for this. You watch the state-run TV channels, especially Channel 5, and it is Fantasy Land; even when they show poverty, the find ways to almost glamorize it.
Sad thing is poor people here sort of like that. It is quite a show when local authorities go to the market. They gather this huge crowd. They promise a cleaner, safer market, they shake hands, the force some businesses to sell cheaper corn flour or sugar for a day, and then they leave and nothing happens. But people celebrate their visit and their hand-shake as an eventful moment; and they can't wait for another visit when they can buy cheap sugar again.
I've always thought that there is no show without expectators; no travesty without an audience willing to watch, clap, and even laugh.
The whole political world has been somehow enjoying (profiting from?) this "show".
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It's getting to be quite a mess everywhere anymore it seems. Socialism is being pushed hard, globally. Corruption is at its peak. It is a bad time, as the insanity spreads.
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Raw sewerage running down the streets has started to happen over here more often of late, it is so sad to think back when this seldom occurred now people appear to accept it, or is it accepting the hand that has been dealt out?
Filth and squalor a clear indicator of a lost pride by people in an area. A stark reminder of how fast our country has gone downhill, state capture has been devastating to the vast majority.
Showing this to the world is a good reminder to those who have and those who simply don't have anything, life is rough for many, downright tough for most living below the breadline. Added into the equation alcohol abuse, drugs, rape, murder all negative impacts in regions like this.
!tip 5.00
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You are so right, @joanstewart.
Unions here have organized rallies about tons of things, most of which are related to salary complaints. But, what would be the point of having a good salary if you can't even get healthy food or clean water; if you can't walk the streets of your town because they are too filthy or unsafe? What would be the point of having money if money becomes worthless, if you do not even have a country where to spend it?
It's beyond me. One of the reasons I quit my teaching job was my frustration at getting my colleagues to agree on commonsensical issues.
It was a devastating realization for me that if the so-called "most brilliant minds" in the country could not see the source of the problem one could not expect much else from the average folk. And I do not mean to disrespect "the average folk" because I come from a family of average folks. My mother and father, without much schooling, saw the problem and never fell for any politician with a populist agenda. They had worked very hard their whole lives. They felt they had the moral leverage to make demands.
But there seems to come a time in the life of peoples where all reason is cancelled out, all consciousness, all self-reliance, and then we have spectacles like this and so many others around the world.
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Unions, middle management, politicians are all lining their pockets while prices soar, the poor become poorer, worse still is lack of cleanliness!
Rivers, streets are all polluted something we never grew up with, large corporations get fines they can afford, so continue dumping toxic trash wherever they feel fit.
World is in a cycle of cheap junk manufactured to throw away, not to last as it did in bygone years, we are chasing our own tails, soon we will bite it off. No matter how rich or poor one is, with no food or clean water we are doomed.
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I'm not sure which is more disturbing. The fact that people wander about just like there's nothing wrong with this, or the fact that it's happening at all while the world is sitting back and watching. I'm horrified and I've seen it before and yet I'm still horrified because of all the innocent people that have to live and walk on sewer water and trash and disease the has to be present in all that.
I appreciate you having the tenacity to take pictures so the world can see all of this and hopefully try to make a difference in these little lives. How can I not affect people when you say that there are little fish and sometimes children stick their hands in their to catch them. But Wilson the street are horrible but it's a sewer water in the trash that really push me over the edge. And to think that vendors actually put out food side by side with the filth. I know what garbage smells like a hot day, and the mere thought of all those people having to put up with that makes me ill. When I sit, thinking that the vendor May pick up it dropped fish pour a little water on it. Can you imagine taking that home and cooking it after it's fallen in the sewer water? The videos were good informative, even if I had to look it up for a while she was woman walking ahead of you. I actually thought that was a little funny. But I realized that that was not your intent.
Poverty Fosters conformism. You couldn't have said that any louder or clearer. Thank you Henry. Thank you so much and may God bless all of you. I appreciate you using Market Friday for your platform and I hope that I can muster up a little bit more interest in this post as I found it very informative and very appalling.
Thank you!! Be safe out there!
#MarketFriday loves you!
Upped and steemed
!tip 5.00
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Thank you so much, @dswigle, for giving me the impulse I needed to make this post.
It is disturbing at many levels, and as you suggest, maybe the most disturbing part of it is how it gets "naturalized". We get desensitized to poverty, suffering, and eventually death.
This is a crazy world we live in.
Some good innitiatives on the one hand, cool ideas to make some people's life better, end dictatorships, improve democrazy, etc.; but then the same forces that promote good thing on one front encourage or allow horrible things on other fronts.
We can never tell for sure who the good guys are. That's also disturbing.
In the meantime, people get used to the most outrageous things in the name of noone-said-life-would-be-easy.
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I knew you were living in terrible conditions and confronting poverty and extraordinary challenges, @hlezama, but it’s really hard to imagine until you see it. Thank you for sharing this with us so we better understand. Ending dictatorship sounds promising, along with infrastructure projects to solve the health hazards of garbage and bad water. I do hope there is hope and change on the horizon for Venezuela.
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Thanks, @jayna. Hope is all we have left. We don't have the same determinación or resources available to evildoers to do what must be done when it must
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don't say sorry because that's the reality and your words and images can be a warning for everyone.
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Thank you very much. Hopefully, it will raise awareness
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Little fish live in the sewer water running along the streets, and children eat these fish? Without getting sick? Henrry, these images are horrifying, and you (as always) nail it with insights like these:
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Thanks for stopping by, @carolkean. About the kids, I say every day that it is a miracle we have not had so far a pandemic. In the town I grew up it was very common to see small children interacting with animals, walking barefoot amid mud and manure, eating food without having washed it first, etc.
My mother raised us differently, but once in a while she suggested that a little exposure was necessary because people believed that helped the body developed antibodies.
There might be some true to this folk wisdom because what these kids do with that sewage water you have to see it to believe it.
Yesterday, I was walking to get a bottle of potable water and I saw a couple, a young man and a young woman crouching by a pile of trash eating rotten vegetables. Do they get sick? most likely, but they must recover pretty soon and eventually, who knows, maybe they become inmune.
At the very least, they seem to have been immunized against hope.
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Absolutely, our use of hand sanitizers, germicides, and antibiotics is messing up our immune systems. Normally I'd google a dozen links to support that assertion, but you already know this. Your mom has a point - "a little exposure" vs too much of a good thing. This is sad: At the very least, they seem to have been immunized against hope.
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You can find the community announcement on Discord :) and it has also been shared on our FB Page and Twitter feed.
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Thank you, guys, for your support.
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Thank you, lovely bug, for your support
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Hi @hlezama!
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Thank you, @innerblocks, for your support.
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🎁 Hi @hlezama! You have received 0.1 STEEM tip from @dswigle!
@dswigle wrote lately about: Living Abundantly Feel free to follow @dswigle if you like it :)
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It's really disturbing to see such places where food is served and hygiene isn't top priority. I actually love going to the local wet market because to me it's where the most fresh food such as meat, vegetables and fruits are sold.
but if this is how it is, it's a NO NO for me !
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It should be a NO NO for everybody, but irresponsible governments rely on people's need to make them get used to the most outrageous things. I am sure, though that if a boycot were organized and people refused to visit this market until it is remodelled and some strict sanitary measures are implemented, something would be done. My people has forgotten the power they can have when they all agree on the same thing and that same thing is good.
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@hlezama - this literally brought tears to my eyes this morning. And it's even more tragic knowing that this scene is not an isolated instance where you just sought out something for the shock factor, it's a way of life in many parts of the world. You gave a very impactful insight into the downright struggle it is to live in those conditions. I am ashamed for humanity to let this kind of thing go on and as you pointed out "become normalized".
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Sorry about that, @blueeyes8960.
I too share this feeling of shame for the current state of world affairs. World leaders and millionaires go around promoting their achievements in the consolidation of a better world, but that's not what we see in the streets of many parts of the world, which ironically, do not get a lot of publicity but end up becoming defining factors in world stability once the shit hits the fan.
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They say that a fish rots from its head my friend, Meaning that the heads of your country are rotten and it filters down into society.
We are also in trouble here as the country was stolen blind and it seems that it will get much worse before it gets any better.
All strength to you guys.
Blessings!
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Very true, man.
I get furious every time a government supporter asks, "what has the president done to you; how is he responsible for X or Y?"
They asume that unless the president or any other high ranking official directly hurts you or your family, they have nothing to do with your personal, financial, emotional, or profesional issues.
I know that teaching by example does not always make those who are supposed to mimic the desired behavior follow the example, but that would be a start and chances are it will work.
Hope your country does not get even close to mine in regards to the economy or social corruption.
Blessings to you and your people
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Oh my goodness, I think that we beat you guys in the corruption stakes my friend. I know that your situation is very bad and it can only get better when honest people are appointed as leaders.
The public here has had enough and now commissions were appointed to investigate the missing billions.
We also have a new president that has now gotten rid of most of the rotten apples in government.
All that you and I have is a great hope that life will get better.
In the meantime we do what we can for the poor, but it is difficult as we also struggle to survive.
We pray all of the best for you guys.
Blessings!
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This is such a difficult, but necessary, thing to see @hlezama and I appreciate you putting this out there for the world to see. I completely agree with your last statement, and it reminds me of the metaphor of the frog and the boiling water - put him in the hot water and he will rush to escape, but put him in warm water and gradually turn up the heat and he won't notice it's too hot until it's too late. I hope your country is able to recover from these horrendous conditions, because it seems like the water is way past the boiling point.
Also...
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Thanks, @traciyork. That metaphor is actually one I've been using for almost 20 years. They were very clever in ruining us slowly. I agree with you, "the water is way past boiling point"; that explains the inertia, the blindness.
Thanks for the candle. Nice touch, especially because the flag shows 7 stars, our old flag, before Chavez decided to add an 8th star as part of the new iconography. Even that we'll have to undo to get back on track.
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This is a pretty striking post, and you certainly have no need to apologise for it. The harsh reality is that far too many people live, buy, and sell like this. You're spot on that poverty breeds poverty. It's expensive to be poor! It's not easy to break the cycle, and it will only start by bringing it to light.
Very, very good post.
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Thanks, @wwwiebe
It is not, and it gets harder with time. This is the one thing that infuriates me about politicians when they expect the poor to wait for their arrangements, which are negotiated in the most luxurious scenarios and conditions. The poor cannot and should not wait. Then, they complain about leftist ideas winning spaces, or about terrorists groups growing stronger. Where do they get their strength, their simpathizers? from poor resentful people
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Yes, exactly. Wars are fought over resources more than anything, and when people are pushed to the point they have nothing to lose, revolution becomes the most viable alternative.
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Howdy hlezama! Very interesting information, an eye-opener!
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Thanks for stopping by, @janton. I am glad it caused some impact
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You are very welcome and yes it was very powerful!
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What an excellent post @hlezama, thank you for sharing. We need more people like you to show the tragedies around our world. I did not get to upvote before this paid out so I'll go vote one of your other fine stories. 👍
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Thanks, @wonderwop. Your comment is equally valuable to me
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