It's been an interesting past week here in Mérida. Last Thursday, March 17, I was made aware of the recent outbreak of the H1N1 Flu in Venezuela and its continuous spread throughout the country. Unfortunately, the first reported case was early last week here in Mérida, and since then it has traveled to several other states. News sources are reporting up to 85 cases in the country and climbing, and only 1 death, but I was told today that there have been up to 4 deaths, 2 of which were here in the state of Mérida.
Luckily I was vaccinated in the US prior to my arrival here, especially because it seems they don't have the vaccination for H1N1. My family went yesterday (Sunday) to stand in line for 3 hours in the burning sun to get "vaccinated." Today, in La Frontera (a local newspaper) I read a quote from the Minister of Health that said the vaccinations are not specifically made to prevent H1N1, but they decrease the risk of seasonal flu. Seems like an attempt to ease and appease the fear of the people. Regardless, the government is taking many actions that may be doing the opposite. All classes in Mérida are canceled this week in every school besides ours- the US students are the only ones attending class here this week. My mamá made a funny comment- she says they must think the North American students are not prone to the flu, as if we are "invincible" or something. Many public places around town are closed such as the bars, markets, movie theaters, and even some restaurants. People wear physicians masks everywhere. And furthermore, the city has been quarantined until the end of the week.
At first I wasn't sure how to take all of the news- it seems like a big overreaction and it's being blown out of proportion, but the increasing stories of those infected on the news makes the situation a bit more real and therefore seemingly dangerous. I've been watching the news- El Presidente Chávez is delivering daily speeches telling everyone to remain calm and obey the governor and health minister's orders.
On that note, the news here shows a very interesting perspective. It is difficult to find an unbiased news source pretty much anywhere, but I would say Venezuela is a whole new level. During my first week here in Mérida, my hermano José Alejandro shared his opinions with me on Venezuelan politics, and taught me about how I should interpret the news sources here. He said there are two main news channels that people watch. One is a "chavista" (meaning follower/admirer of Hugo Chávez) channel. José said that this channel shows Venezuela as a "fantasy world" or the world as everyone would like it to be. On the other hand, the other primary news source shows the "real world", only a much more violent and dangerous version. The "fantasy" channel covers stories on things like local community heroes, successes of government institutions, and so on. Furthermore, Chávez is constantly on the screen, speaking out about "El Imperio Yanqui" (the "Yankee Empire") which he uses to refer to the US. Lately the commentary has been on the country's involvement in Libya and the US's plan to "sabotage" his possible reelection in 2012. Click here for a story from the Wall Street Journal, and here for a briefer, yet more entertaining story from El Universal. On the "real world" channel, it seems like the world is going to end tomorrow. International news is more popular and national news is all about death, violence, and poverty.
Just thought I would share a bit about the current events here in Venezuela and more specifically, in Mérida. Hopefully the H1N1 scare won't last much longer and we can go back to life as usual. Thanks for tuning in everyone.
Saludos,
Travis
Here's an article from the Star Tribune on March 22 with some more info: http://www.startribune.com/local/118475194.html
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