Christians in Venezuela Ask for Prayers As Political, Economic Crises Worsen
The people of Venezuela are hanging on for dear life and asking fellow Christians overseas to pray for them as they try to survive a crippling economic crisis amid the ongoing political tumult.
"The Christians in Venezuela are asking us, in North America, to pray for them, to pray for a solution to the situation," said Steve Shantz, the international vice president of Trans World Radio (TWR) for Latin America and the Caribbean, according to Mission Network News. TWR is a Christian media outreach ministry that reaches out to followers of Christ worldwide.
Shantz said the situation has become "very dire" with the inflation rate currently at a whopping 679 percent, which is predicted to rise up to 2,000 percent by next year if the crisis is not resolved.
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He said the economic crisis has become so bad that "people are actually starving" amid a continuing upsurge of violent crimes.
The people have been left to fend for themselves as the country's political leaders continue to vie for power.
Attempts by President Nicolás Maduro to ease the economic crunch by way of food distribution have not helped as the military officials tasked to carry out the program have reportedly turned them into their own source of racket by operating illegal markets with prices of goods up to 100 times higher than the government's recommended price, the Associated Press reported last year. "As a result, food is not reaching those who most need it," it said.
The economic crisis, triggered by the devastating combination of dropping oil prices and a grossly mismanaged economy, has led to food riots and starvation. "Practically the entire nation is too broke to eat," according to Quartz.
The crisis has reached a point where some parents are giving away their children since they can no longer afford to feed or care for them properly, Reuters reported.
People are also killing pink flamingos and other protected animals just to stave off hunger, according to the Miami Herald.
Remains of everything from dogs and cats to donkeys and even giant anteaters have also been found in garbage bags at city dumps around the country, their meat apparently consumed by starving residents.
Shantz said churches have become the only place of refuge for the desperate people of Venezuela. He said one church is feeding up to 120 children every week.
He called on Christians to pray for an end to Venezuela's political and economic crises.
"As believers here in North America, we can pray that somehow the political situation in Venezuela comes to a reconciliation so that the country can start meeting the needs of the people, of the poor," he said. "And we could pray that somehow Venezuela will get the currency they need to purchase food and drugs."
