A number of Guyanese who have faced hardships in Venezuela due to the country’s crumbling economy and escalating crime wave, have been returning home, leaving hard-earned assets behind.
They have taken up residence with relatives on the Essequibo Coast, West Demerara and East Bank Essequibo having lost the battle to survive under harsh conditions.
In an interview with Stabroek News one of returnees said “Venezuela was very nice. We hardly had robbery and everything was selling cheap…”
But suddenly, after Nicolas Maduro took over as president in 2013 following former President Hugo Chavez’s death, and with the falling world oil prices, the country’s economy took a serious dive. Prices started skyrocketing and there was a scarcity of food, fuel and cash along with a collapse of the health care, education and transport systems.
