DRY GOODS MERCADO IN PORLAMAR; CRIME IN VENEZUELA
La Guardia, Isla de Margarita, Venezuela, Saturday, 31 March 2007
One day last week Kathleen and I went over to the big, modern covered textile market in Porlamar. Basically, there were hundreds of stalls selling a lot of the same clothing. But the prices are low and it was fun to interact with the people. As usual there were lots of things to photograph, a constant being the children and adults. The Venezuelans are always so willing to be photographed, taking childish delight in seeing the digital pictures if even for a few seconds. The digital camera, which I thought might make things awkward, has actually turned out to be a great ice breaker every time.
The children in the photo are of Lebanese descent. The man with the white hair is their Tio (uncle) and the older teenager is a cousin. He in turn has a cousin living in Ottawa. It’s quite common to find that Venezuelans have relatives in the U.S.A. or Canada. (True for Ecuadorians too but with a lot of couples now too working in Europe. Remittances from these people have become important sources of overseas currency for poor Latin American countries.) Other photos are of faces around the market including the waiter at the open-air restaurant we had lunch at inside the market. Aren’t they all beautiful?
Although I do not have any exact numbers at hand, I was surprised to learn that there are such a large Middle Eastern and Asian components to Venezuelan society. Many, many grocery shops - in fact, I know of right two right here in La Guardia; one of them is directly across from us – are run by Chinese. The Chinese seem to keep very much to themselves. The Lebanese, Syrians (both Muslim and Christians) are also very active shopkeepers but much more outgoing. They also do a lot of the unofficial “banking” i.e. money-changing. Almost any “Arab” shop you go into in Porlamar or Juangriego will change money at the better, unofficial rate. Although I have not quite figured out the money flows, I am sure a lot of the tourists selling dollars or euros for bolivaros are actually somehow innocently complicit in drug-money laundering. Maybe the shopkeeper sells you “bollies” at a discount to the unofficial exchange rate (recently this has been double the official rate of $1 = Bs 2150). Then he turns around and sells it to a drug trafficker at a lower rate. The trafficker buys drugs in dollars or euros. Can this be right?
As another comment on the country, we have by the way never encountered any overt anti-Americanism here in Venezuela whatsoever even though the person you are talking to might be very pro-Chávez and very critical of American government policy. The fishermen around the village can be a little gruff at times but it is not personal. Some of them just don’t smile a lot. On the whole the Venezuelans have been delightful, cheerful and helpful where we have needed it.
Crime in Venezuela
Another conundrum: why does Venezuela not only have the highest crime rate in Latin America including the highest murder rate? How can this be? Is it demographic, i.e. is it because such a large part of the population is comprised of single men between the ages of 15 and 30 and therefore in exactly the right age for crime? Is it drug-related, i.e. are crimes being committed to feed the habit or are their narco-market wars going on? Maybe it’s related to the years of poverty that have bred callousness about violent crime. Or are the murders crimes of passion? And surely other Latin American countries have similar demographics, drug problems, cultural biases and economic disparities.
Maybe I can research this a bit and write an article on the topic.
La Guardia, Isla de Margarita, Venezuela, Saturday, 31 March 2007
One day last week Kathleen and I went over to the big, modern covered textile market in Porlamar. Basically, there were hundreds of stalls selling a lot of the same clothing. But the prices are low and it was fun to interact with the people. As usual there were lots of things to photograph, a constant being the children and adults. The Venezuelans are always so willing to be photographed, taking childish delight in seeing the digital pictures if even for a few seconds. The digital camera, which I thought might make things awkward, has actually turned out to be a great ice breaker every time.
The children in the photo are of Lebanese descent. The man with the white hair is their Tio (uncle) and the older teenager is a cousin. He in turn has a cousin living in Ottawa. It’s quite common to find that Venezuelans have relatives in the U.S.A. or Canada. (True for Ecuadorians too but with a lot of couples now too working in Europe. Remittances from these people have become important sources of overseas currency for poor Latin American countries.) Other photos are of faces around the market including the waiter at the open-air restaurant we had lunch at inside the market. Aren’t they all beautiful?
Although I do not have any exact numbers at hand, I was surprised to learn that there are such a large Middle Eastern and Asian components to Venezuelan society. Many, many grocery shops - in fact, I know of right two right here in La Guardia; one of them is directly across from us – are run by Chinese. The Chinese seem to keep very much to themselves. The Lebanese, Syrians (both Muslim and Christians) are also very active shopkeepers but much more outgoing. They also do a lot of the unofficial “banking” i.e. money-changing. Almost any “Arab” shop you go into in Porlamar or Juangriego will change money at the better, unofficial rate. Although I have not quite figured out the money flows, I am sure a lot of the tourists selling dollars or euros for bolivaros are actually somehow innocently complicit in drug-money laundering. Maybe the shopkeeper sells you “bollies” at a discount to the unofficial exchange rate (recently this has been double the official rate of $1 = Bs 2150). Then he turns around and sells it to a drug trafficker at a lower rate. The trafficker buys drugs in dollars or euros. Can this be right?
As another comment on the country, we have by the way never encountered any overt anti-Americanism here in Venezuela whatsoever even though the person you are talking to might be very pro-Chávez and very critical of American government policy. The fishermen around the village can be a little gruff at times but it is not personal. Some of them just don’t smile a lot. On the whole the Venezuelans have been delightful, cheerful and helpful where we have needed it.
Crime in Venezuela
Another conundrum: why does Venezuela not only have the highest crime rate in Latin America including the highest murder rate? How can this be? Is it demographic, i.e. is it because such a large part of the population is comprised of single men between the ages of 15 and 30 and therefore in exactly the right age for crime? Is it drug-related, i.e. are crimes being committed to feed the habit or are their narco-market wars going on? Maybe it’s related to the years of poverty that have bred callousness about violent crime. Or are the murders crimes of passion? And surely other Latin American countries have similar demographics, drug problems, cultural biases and economic disparities.
Maybe I can research this a bit and write an article on the topic.
posted by rjb @ Saturday, March 31, 2007
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