VeneBites co-owner Lida Yajure says she is “heartbroken for our country,” echoing the emotions of many Venezuelans in the capital city after seeing photos, receiving phone calls from loved ones and watching headlines unfold following the back-to-back major earthquakes that struck Venezuela’s northern coast June 24 and caused devastation across the region.
Venezuelan officials reported that almost 1,000 people had been confirmed dead and at least 4,300 people were injured. Officials have warned that the number of deaths is expected to rise as crews worked for the fourth day on June 27 to comb through rubble for signs of life.
Thankfully, Yajure said she was able to confirm that her sister, nephew, niece, cousins, aunt and uncle back home are safe after spending a day unable to reach them. However, her great-uncle’s apartment building was completely destroyed while he was out to dinner.
“Everybody’s devastated, we don’t know what happened and how it happened — but it happened too fast and too hard,” Yajure said as she shows a reporter with the Democrat a glimpse of her social media timeline saturated with videos and pictures of the devastation.
She grew emotional while recounting a phone call with the restaurant’s social media coordinator, who is back home in Venezuela trying to stay strong for his mother and grandmother as they navigate the aftermath of the earthquakes. He described witnessing a man cope with widespread destruction while facing uncertainty about what comes next.
“I can’t even imagine, being in the situation like that,” she said.
Over at Florida State University, fourth-year criminology student Sofia Gomez said the families of the Venezuelan Student Association’s roughly 200 members are safe. The organization serves as a home away from home for Venezuelan students, helping them stay connected to one another and their culture.
While the news of their families’ safety has brought relief, it has not eased the heartbreak of watching their home country suffer from afar.
“We know that we are far, there’s people that have been out of the country for 10-15 years, but we still love our country. We still care about the people inside Venezuela, and we were just trying to help as much as we can, even though we’re not physically there in Venezuela to help,” Gomez said in an interview with the Tallahassee Democrat on June 26.
In response, the community has collaborated on how they can do their part. The local restaurant and students from the local association hope to host a collection night. For now the students have organized a drive with the help of the Hispanic/Latine Student Union at FSU (HLSU).
How you can help
The student organization has launched a “United for Veneuzuela Donations” drive. They are collecting non-perishable foods, first-aid supplies, over-the-counter pain relievers, personal hygiene items as well as gently used clothes. Items may be collected at these homes:
With the help of HLSU they have also established a drop off location on the third level of Florida State’s Student Union in El Centro (Room 3220).
Nonprofit organization “I Love Venezuela Foundation” based in Miami, has launched a GoFundMe as emergency relief for the earthquake victims. As of June 26, $2.9 million has been raised out of their $4 million dollar goal.
For more information, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/emergency-relief-for-venezuela-earthquake-victims.
Kyla A. Sanford can be reached at ksanford@tallahassee.com.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: ‘Heartbroken for our country’: Tallahassee Venezuelans respond after earthquakes
Reporting by Kyla A Sanford, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Kyla A Sanford, Tallahassee Democrat | USA TODAY Network
