facebook Fr Michael visits Venezuela: Food for thought - Missionaries of the Sacred Heart
28 Mar 2019

In January 2019, MSC Missions Office Director Fr Michael O’Connell spent three weeks in Venezuela, visiting MSC parishes in the cities of Maracaibo and Caracas. Here, he shares his experiences and his thoughts on a country in crisis.

“Food is a big thing in Venezuela. The government is supposed to issue CLAP food boxes to each household once a month. It doesn’t happen every month; that all depends on the local committee. In some areas, the food parcel is a bag, not a box, so it contains a smaller amount. It’s extremely inconsistent. Before Christmas 2018, there were protests with roads blocked in local areas, because the government promised every family a leg of pork to share for Christmas – but of course, it didn’t happen. Some got it, and others didn’t. Once again, the government had a great idea, but it just didn’t happen.

When it comes to the food parcels, it doesn’t matter how many people are in a household – it’s one box per household per month. There might be three people or there might be 10, but everybody gets the same box (if they get one at all). Each box contains a good selection of basic food: sugar, black beans, rice, two packets of spaghetti, lentils, two litres of cooking oil, six tins of tuna, and ketchup.

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The food box doesn’t always arrive as it’s supposed to, but when it does come, it makes a huge difference as it contains quite an amount of food. Once again, this is in theory, and if the box contains what it’s supposed to – in some places, it’s just a plastic bag, and in other places, it’s nothing at all. The boxes tend to be distributed in Caracas, the capital, but not in Maracaibo. When I mentioned food parcels in one of our parishes in Maracaibo, they looked at me like I had two heads.

On occasion, it’s possible to buy a food parcel for 300 bolívars and legally sell it on for 1,800 bolívars. It can legally be sold for six times its purchase price – but what can locals buy with 1,800 bolívars? During my trip, I priced a small loaf of bread at 1,200 bolívars, a kilo of cheese at 3,000 bolívars, and 24 eggs at 6,000 bolívars. The price of the food parcel won’t go very far.”

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“Often, food is a matter of impressing a visitor.”

“One of the staple foods in Venezuela is arepa – it’s a form of ground maize, and it’s eaten toasted, fried, hot, cold… Every which way! Our equivalent would be a toasted sandwich. It’s about the size of a bagel, but a lot thinner, maybe half the depth. They cut it in half and put fillers in it. They usually have something like a marmalade or a jam on top of it, and then they put ham or cheese on top of that. The ham is quite watery, while the cheese is cheap, with a lot of salt in it. My curiosity was piqued at the combination of cheese and marmalade, and when I asked about it, I was told that the marmalade keeps the cheese from falling off! It’s nothing to do with the taste, but is a matter of practicality.

Often, food is a matter of impressing a visitor. Nobody wants to be thought of as being mean. If you’re having a celebration, it’s important to provide food. One evening during my stay in Maracaibo, I attended the first night of a Novena to Our Lady of Peace. A local group visited different houses, praying the rosary and singing hymns. One family gave out arepa with juice and coffee. There were between 20 and 25 people there, and there was enough for everyone – but it was eaten in darkness as there was no electricity. The house was lit by candles and the light from mobile phones, if people had them.

I also attended a meeting of teachers in Maracaibo, where lasagne and cake were provided. The high point of the gathering was the food. The lasagne came in big slices, but it was very stodgy, with very little meat. The cake was interesting – it was a round cake, and was cut in circles, not triangles. The circles were then sliced up, and it was very effective. There were no saucers or plates like we would provide, just serviettes and plastic cups for people to put their slice of cake in. There was no tea or coffee provided either; people brought their own drinks.”

“He who divides gets the biggest portion.”

“Generally, people eat very poorly. I found that the food was better this year than when I visited last year, but I think that’s down to the designated forager, or shopper, doing a good job. There is food there if you have the money to buy it. In Maracaibo, there’s a supermarket called the Ritz! Here on our side of the world, we associate the Ritz with a luxurious afternoon tea or a glamorous place to stay – in Venezuela, a trip to the Ritz means being able to buy basic groceries for your family.

Having said that, the shelves in the supermarkets can often be empty. In one chemist I visited, packets of paper tissues were put out to fill the shelves – all they had left was half a packet of blood pressure tablets. There are runs of things, and then they disappear. During my stay, I came across a man selling things like rice, flour, and oil, using WhatsApp. He was offering so much at such a price, and I wondered how he had access to all of this food when he wasn’t a wholesaler. I was told he must have a connection to someone in the know. His prices changed every day, but people with money to spend have phones and have access to social media, so WhatsApp was a very effective means for him.

One Sunday, I came back from Mass to find the road outside the MSC house blocked. A pop-up stall had been set up by the government, selling potatoes, carrots, and onions, and people were queuing to buy vegetables. The agricultural department had set up the stall, selling limited amounts of each item – people could only buy a maximum of 2kg of each item, for 2,000 bolívars each.

Cash is in short supply, the debit card is a big thing, and this stall facilitated debit card purchases. The government sometimes gives gifts of money into peoples’ bank accounts, so many people use their debit cards to pay for most things. This stall was set up out of the blue on a Sunday morning, and they stayed all day – with people queuing to buy produce until they left.

 

There is a saying in Venezuela: ‘He who divides gets the biggest portion’. When it comes to food and survival, I think that says it all.”

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Read Fr Michael’s thoughts on the Venezuelan economy crisis

Read more about Fr Michael’s visit to Caracas

Find out more about our missionary outreach in Venezuela