Juan Guaidó: ‘Exiles must tell the world the story of Venezuela’s pain’ | Opinion

For decades Venezuela was home to millions of immigrants. But in recent years, we have become a country that expels its population — not as a result of a natural disaster, but because of the deliberate actions of an oppressive regime that has ruined us as a society.

This has been an unprecedented and painful process for Venezuela, with hundreds of thousands of families separated by violence or economic disaster.

According to figures from the United Nations, at least 4 million Venezuelans have filtered into different regions of the world in search of job opportunities and to start a new life. That figure likely is higher if we take into account our compatriots who have been able to leave with passports from other countries — the children or grandchildren of immigrants who arrived in Venezuela never thinking that their descendants would be forced to repeat that experience.

We must also count all those who, in desperate conditions, cross the almost 1,400 miles of border between Venezuela and Colombia every day, without any official documentation. There has been no precedent on the American continent for such mass displacement, and Venezuelans are grateful to the reception Colombia and our other neighboring countries have given us. We appreciate their support and solidarity.

The vast majority of those who make up the Venezuelan diaspora have done so against their wishes. They are Venezuelans who never thought they would leave the land in where they were born. This has been a painful process, an emigration that is a forced exile.

During my visit to Buenos Aires, Argentina, a few months ago, an impromptu, but important, gathering of Venezuelans living there shouted something that has been engraved in my mind: “We want to return.”

That plea sums up the desire of the vast majority of Venezuelans who have left. They dream of and work to return to their country. That commitment, that feeling, wherever they are, is extremely important for the cause of freedom and democracy in Venezuela.

They are the best ambassadors we have to explain and denounce to the world the magnitude of the catastrophe caused by Venezuela’s dictatorship, sustaining the support of the community of democratic nations.

Ethics are crucial to our struggle. In this globalized world, evil and the defense of dictatorships have also been globalized. We cannot let world opinion divert its eyes from what is happening in Venezuela or be confused by the spread of the regime and its international allies. Venezuela is another example that democracy and freedom are not guaranteed anywhere in the world. We must always be vigilant to defend it.

What happens in our country is a warning to democracies. Venezuelan exiles understand that and their commitment is important for us who remain in Venezuela, but also for the cause of freedom throughout the world. In addition, Venezuelan exiles must be ready for the task ahead: rebuilding Venezuela. The experience they are accumulating by being in contact with people of other cultures and realities will be an invaluable asset.

I am convinced that despite the difficulty that, as a society, we have lived with in the past two decades, Venezuela will be reborn a better country. Venezuelans who have been forced to emigrate to different parts of the world will be able to provide a fundamental contribution to the nation — just as they do today by not forgetting Venezuela.

Juan Guaidó is president in charge of Venezuela and president of the country’s National Assembly.