My country is a war zone.
No. That is incorrect.
For a war zone, there needs to be two sides shooting at each other.
This is not a war zone.

There is a line that disappears once it is crossed.
A few nights ago, Venezuela reached the point of no return.
This is not a war zone.

February 19, 2014. The day an entire population stood up and said enough.
And the government turned around and said shut up.
My people went out with full hearts and empty hands.
They returned with beaten hearts and bloody hands.
And rose the next day to do it all over again.
Wake up, protest, sleep, repeat.
This is not a war zone.

I am not here for your comfort. This is not a history lesson. This is not a discussion.
You will not debate the rights of my people while they have to die for them.
This is not a war zone. It is a massacre.
And it stops here. It stops with me.

I am nobody. I am helpless. I have nothing but my words and my passion.
Alone, it’s not enough.
With you, we can move mountains.

Our freedom is the hope of a nation.
Our voices will unlock their chains.

I don’t sleep anymore. I hear the screams of terrified students in every silence. I see them falling when I close my eyes.
I smell the burning streets, the streets that should have been my childhood. I feel the heart-wrenching helplessness and hate myself for it. It is privileged pain.
I wish I was there. I wish they weren’t.

Please. Don’t you understand? When an entire country sends out an SOS distress signal, something is wrong.

The support that has been shown in the past week is nothing short of overwhelming.
But again, I beg the world on bended knees.
An entire nation is depending on you.
Please don’t abandon us.

We are silenced. We are silenced. We are silenced.
We are fighting. We are fighting. WE ARE FIGHTING!

People of the world – be our voice.

READ MORE:
6 key questions and answers – Mashable
CNN expulsion threat – Politico
19 February – “The night Venezuela finally imploded”
20 February – “The game has changed”
Video: Messages of support from around the world