In the aftermath of the earthquakes that hit Venezuela earlier this week, FIU disaster preparedness expert Dulce Suarez answers some key questions about humanitarian aid to Venezuela and how we can help. Suarez is the assistant director of the Academy for International Disaster Preparedness at FIU.
What is the most effective way to support relief efforts in Venezuela?
Here in South Florida, with such a large community coming from Venezuela, having family members, we're seeing a lot of different efforts. We're seeing people who are partnering with organizations like Global Empowerment Mission and going and packaging themselves.
We also see people who are sharing information about organizations on the ground. You can donate directly to them. We also see GoFundMe page. So there [are] different ways. It is where your heart wants to go. But the most effective way is providing monetary support to these organizations that are working in Venezuela right now. We do see that search and rescues, those with specific traits like Doctors Without Borders, they will be arriving in Venezuela in the next 48 hours and you could support them as well. But right now, our focus should be on those organizations on the ground by providing funds for them directly.
Which organizations can you trust to help earthquake victims in Venezuela?
As a humanitarian responders, there are certain protocols on where I encourage individuals to donate. One is to organizations that were already working in that country. For example, Save the Children, who are working with the displaced; Unicef; the United Nations World Food Program; or even organizations that you know that might have a GoFundMe, but that you know where the source is going. We want to make sure that you're making the most out of the impact that you can provide to those victims in, in currently in Venezuela.
What makes delivering aid to Venezuela so challenging?
The challenges in providing humanitarian aid in Venezuela are complex, but to begin with, it's a country that has been having some embargoes from the United States, which means that logistically, a container cannot be sent directly from Port Everglades to Venezuelan borders. Instead, we have to go through the channels making sure that the aid is given to the right hands and also with the blessing of the existing structure. So what that means is that us, as humanitarian responders, it takes us longer to procure the necessary ways and methods to get that item.
Another concern is security. When a disaster occurs, security [and] structure, the common ways you get a container in, are no longer present. So we are managing in a disaster zone. How do we get the aid with airports that are not working, with ports that are destroyed? How do you get through it? And that's what's being evaluating currently in Venezuela. Once you know the map, you could send the help, that's how we're going to get that aid directly. Until then, the heroes right now are those organizations working in Venezuela who are grassroots, meaning these are communities that are opening their homes, the kitchens, giving that sandwich, giving that actual food directly to the search and rescue who are trying to save lives.
How are communication outages affecting families trying to reach loved ones in Venezuela?
Venezuela, their structure was already failing, meaning you had communication towers that needed to be replaced. You had a satellites that were not effective, you had power outages and now you have an earthquake that has devastated the entire country, which means that if you want to reach that family, they might not have the charge for their cell phones. WhatsApp might not be working. The satellites might not be effective. So they're trying to make the best out of 'hearing no news means good news.' And that is heartbreaking, to know that you can't get that communication out as you can. So there's a lot of grassroots, meaning communities, who are supporting each other, providing messages to those families, trying to be the avenue that bridges the unknown with good news.