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February 26, 2019 22:09
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Updated on February 26, 2019 22:48
To the south-east of Venezuela, in the depths of the state of Bolívar, to the south, is an ancient land inhabited by the Pemón people, which, in the eyes of all visitors, is presented as a natural miracle combining sand white, green slopes, reddish stones and jumps. crystal clear waters and the oldest tepuyes in the history of the Earth.
A worn asphalt road crosses the mountains and thousands of acres of bushy trees rise to a cloudy sky that removes nothing to the beauty of the imposing green that submerges everything. "Welcome to Canaima National Park" reads a deteriorated wooden sign that seems to float on the side of the road.
The icy breeze hits the face, a strong smell of moisture emerges from each stretch of the course and all vestiges of the city disappear. Nature encompasses everything and, as it appears from a fantasy, in the massive Guyana, La Gran Sabana is grandiose, infinite.
Different shades of green mingle in the vast valleys and, in the distance, the tepuyes appear behind the clouds as if they were a mirage. The sun penetrates the gray sky and the light transforms the landscape into a festival of colors: reddish, yellow, green and whitish soils temporarily transform the south of the state of Bolívar into an impressionist painting.
However, beyond the savannahs and the morichales, an unprecedented war zone has been devised, which envelops all southerners in a fog of panic, suffering, fury and death.
Santa Elena de Uairén, capital of the municipality of Gran Sabana, home to creoles, brazilians and pemones, is located a few kilometers from the border with the Federative Republic of Brazil. crucial point for the entry of Brazilian humanitarian aid scheduled for 23 February.
Since Tuesday, February 19, an alarming darkness hovers over the streets of Santa Elena. the electrical service breaks down since the first rays of the sun appear in the sky and the lights of the city remain absent. The chaos begins to take advantage of the smaller spaces and all the beauty of the Gran Sabana seems to occupy a distant space that takes place in another world, millions of miles away.
Thursday, February 21st. The heat squeaks, overwhelms; the city remains in the dark from 5:00 am and in the center of the city, the Santamarías seem closed.
"They remove the light so that we can not communicate or organize for the 23rd, to look for humanitarian aid, but it does not matter, it does not matter whether we will be enlightened or not," says one of the women who leads the civil society group that registers the group of volunteers for humanitarian aid.
The others shake their heads, they cry enraged. "The moment is now".
The afternoon falls and an announcement by Nicolás Maduro triggers all alarms: the indefinite closure of the border with Brazil from 20h. The chaos that was sometimes almost imperceptible is now palpable, strikes and grows.
People are hurrying to the border and vehicles are moving at full speed to change their latitude before closing. The passage of minutes is crucial, time becomes an enemy.
"No matter that they close the border, humanitarian aid will arrive, we will make it possible," they say.
They nod, they shout furiously. "The moment is now".
The night is approaching and Santa Elena de Uairén is rapidly descending to total darkness. Batteries downloaded, inability to communicate and constant worry about not knowing what will happen the next hour will flood every street, every corner.
The lamps are lit untimely and shouts of feast are heard in the center of the city. Joy combined with fear. Uncertainty about the duration of the stability of the electrical service, mobilizes the population, the catches are not fed.
The night sky of the Gran Sabana is filled with stars that seem to be watching over a city in which the tension increases with the advance of the night. Santa Elena de Uairén is about to experience the most critical and difficult hours of her city history.
Friday, February 22nd. They murdered Zoraida Rodríguez.
The indigenous community of Kumarakapay, in San Francisco de Yuruaní, is a gateway in the Gran Sabana to reach Santa Elena de Uairén, where a demonstration would be held on February 23 in favor of the entrance of the city. humanitarian aid.
Early Friday, a military convoy heading for the border town attacked the Kumarakapay Pumons. A shootout left the first official toll of 12 wounded and one dead Indian, Zoraida Rodríguez.
Santa Elena de Uairén woke up shaken, hurt, hurt.
Under the hot sun of the middle of the morning, the less serious wounded of the attack begin to arrive at Rosario Vera Zurita Hospital, in Santa Elena, while those most likely to die are transferred to Boa Vista, Brazil, where they can go. assisted with appropriate supplies and resources.
The Pemones cry their wounded, they cry Zoraida Rodríguez, they cry to violence, to injustice. "It's the war".
Fear and anger mobilize the inhabitants of the border town, repudiate violence and reinforce their need for struggle: the struggle is not only about humanitarian aid, but now the suffering of the ancestral community that lives in Gran Sabana. and who protects their sacred lands.
"It's the war".
Tears burn on the faces of injured Pemones who are struggling for their lives in a medical facility unable to meet their health needs. Palpita de Santa Elena de Uairén, writhing before the attacks. The Indians decide to go to the border to claim their rights, fight against injustices, against death.
At the height of Fort Roraima, located 10 kilometers before the exact point of the border between Venezuela and Brazil, more than 20 members of the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) hold their shields and claim to be there to prevent the passage of the Humanitarian aid sent by the Brazilian Government; but the roar of an enraged people who have been attacked is approaching, hundreds of people who are asking for justice, who are asking for life, are approaching.
"It's the war".
With shouts, slogans and even bows and arrows, hundreds of people march to protest the obsession with power, against violence and repression. The fight begins.
Whites and menacing, that's how tanks appear that have only one purpose: to suppress an indignant people who cry against suffering. The sound of the first blows of tear gasps resonates in the ears of the present and even if the toxic smoke invades everything, it is not enough to diminish the courage of the demonstrators who are looking for a way to defend against the barbarism which does not stop attack them .
In the field of combat, there is a disadvantage, fear begins to gain ground and, after a difficult confrontation, comes uncertainty, suffering.
"Yes, it's war."
Saturday, February 23rd. Santa Elena de Uairén is still under attack from the previous day, but does not feel distressed by the challenges of crossing such a date. Came the day.
The Saturday morning arrives icy and with a clear blue sky that frames the entire landscape and green mountains in the south. Border crossing stations are closed and in the center of the city, they are preparing for a new day of struggle.
With the course of the morning, the spirits are heated and an unstoppable force invades all the demonstrators, who walk determined towards the place where the day before has undergone the assault of the forces of the State.
But the picture has completely changed.
Armed civilians guard the border point, there is no trace of the GNB leaders and, in the distance, white armored monsters remain parked waiting for an order of action.
"It's the war".
The fight becomes bloodier, viler. The tanks begin to move slowly, but their speed increases and they are ready to destroy everything that they find in their path. they speed up and they head for the center of the city, they change their target of attack, they want to take everything.
Panic and rage apprehend the inhabitants of the city, terrorized by bullets and tear gas, every corner becomes a vulnerable point. The cries are deafening and the smoke covers everything; there is no place for mental health or shelter, only for the attack.
Since the deepest area of the indigenous community of Manakri, located inside Santa Elena de Uairén, one hears more and more the ceaseless action of all kinds of weapons. "They are slaughtering the people," said the woman in the area angrily, "but it's war, no one is going here."
Manakri is now the center of attack. Security forces take it to Emilio González, Mayor of Gran Sabana, who remains hidden in one of the community's homes while he's asking for help through D & B. Desperate phone calls.
"They will have to kill us all to get here."
The entrance to Manakri remains guarded by the inhabitants of the area and no one can cross before the end of the confrontation. the mayor's supporters are ready for anything, but the Bolivarian National Guard officials also use everything they've got, they shoot without setting a specific goal, they do not stop paying blood.
"It's the war".
After three hours of attack, violence and fear, the mayor flee from Manakri.
Santa Elena de Uairén is a desolate battlefield that brings together in each of its streets the remains of an incessant and bloody confrontation that stopped for a moment. People are hiding, they are terrified; some are immobilized by fear and others are quite determined to continue fighting despite the weapons and the attack.
"The Gran Sabana is respected, we do not deserve this massacre."
But the fight intensifies and the violence increases, there is no pity, there is no forgiveness. The shooting and persecution continue until dawn on Sunday and the rest is not presented as an option for locals who remain on the alert at home while waiting for the next outbreak. , the next massacre.
A deafening silence seems to be felt Sunday, February 24 with a comforting hug that does not diminish the tension felt in all the streets, in all the corners, now taken by the forces of the State. The morning ice reveals the signs of the war, the pain and the suffering of the people of Gran Sabana.
The twilight of the morning paints the sky with brilliant blues and oranges which, despite the transformation of the Gran Sabana into an almost miraculous space of such beauty, are not enough to soothe the pain, fear and loss of all inhabitants of the border town. who in just three days lived the darkest hours of its history.
The sun sets over Canaima National Park, but has not yet been placed on Santa Elena de Uairén.
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