Venezuela, once among the richest countries in Latin-American now needs food aid. Only free and fair elections can save the country, writes Eamon Stack.
Things could not get worse for Kevin and his mother Madelle. In crisis-ridden Venezuela, they could not get a hospital to treat Kevin.Kevin Masterson’s Dad was Patrick Masterson, from Raheny in Dublin. Patrick left Ireland in the 1970s to go to London and there he met a Venezuelan potter called Madelle. They decided to go to Venezuela which had a booming economy due to the high oil price, to start a new life.
Patrick’s son Kevin, now a young adult, worked hard to earn a few bolivars, the local currency that lost value by the week. His sister, Ita, left for Peru, on foot. Crisis struck last September when Madelle fell and broke her wrist, ribs and suffered a punctured lung. Kevin needed money to cover hospital care and there was none in Venezuela.
He developed a chronic bleeding ulcer – the product of stress and malnutrition and he needed an immediate operation. The minimum cost was $1000. Again, his Irish family and friends quickly sent the money and he was treated. Venezuela’s core issue is that its only source of income is from oil but their production is down 70% and the price of oil is 25% of its peak in 2006. This is a true economic disaster.
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