Venezuela Is Preparing To Annex Guyana

venezuela is preparing to annex guyana

this is not my usual brand of post at all and i know that there are so many tragedies and conflicts going on in the world right now and i know that i am nothing but a silly fandom blog 

but i am guyanese. i havent seen anyone else talking about this online (in fact i don't think there are more than a handful of other guyanese people who actively use this website) and i am very, very afraid

a bit of history: the guyana-venezuela border conflict revolves around the essequibo region, an area of land rich in resources such as oil, gold, and diamond. venezuela wrongfully claims the essequibo region (two-thirds of our territory) arguing historical reasons dating back to colonial times. however, in 1899, an arbitration decision gave the land to British Guiana (now Guyana). essequibo is recognised internationally as belonging to guyana and the guyanese people. venezuela disputes this ruling and still claims sovereignty over the area. the border conflict has been going on long before any of us were born and yet venezuela is still fighting for land that is not theirs and not useful to them (they already have oil and other resources that they've been managing extremely poorly for decades. i dont know what they want us for).

on october 19th we recieved reports of increased military activity near the border. the venezuelan ambassador claimed that it was nothing we had to worry about, that they were simply cracking down on "illegal gold mining operations" on their side of the border.

this was proven to be a lie when we found out the venezuelan military were building an airstrip near our border. 

venezuela is now planning to go ahead with a referendum (a citizen vote) on december 3rd 2023 on whether or not to annex the essequibo region.

the current civilians of venezuela have grown up being taught that essequibo belongs to them. they feel strongly about our ownership of our land. the referendum will have a resounding agreement because the citizens of venezuela genuinely believe essequibo is theirs.

on november 14th 2023, guyana argued before the icj (international court of justice) that the referendum is intended to be used as a trigger for Venezuela to seize Guyana’s territory by military force and is calling for the icj to take emergency measures to stop the referendum from taking place. maduro, venezuela's president, has said that not only will Venezuela “never” recognise the court but that the referendum will take place "no matter what".

in the referendum the people of venezuela are being asked to agree with the forceful creation of a “Guayana Esequiba”, essentially the territory of guyana that venezuela claims, and grant venezuelan citizenship and ID cards to the people of essequibo (most of them indigenous who speak little english or spanish) and incorporate the territory on the map of venezuela. 

in person, no matter where i go i hear people talking of war. my classmates, parents, teachers, people i overhear in the street, the few guyanese i find on social media—everyone is speaking about venezuela. people are afraid. and yet online i see nothing. there is not even any news coverage except for small outlets in and around the caribbean region.

today in school my teachers hardly held classes. they were whispering to each other and answering phone calls constantly. my classmates joked about being drafted into the military. we joked about building pipe bombs with youtube tutorials and throwing firecrackers to fight back against venezuela's tanks and missiles and rockets. we joked about fleeing to other countries—suriname, the usa, brazil, europe. we told each other that at least if venezeula invades our exams will be postponed. ("if theres a war will we still have to write csec?" "do you think we'll still be alive by then?")

we joke because what else can we do? the alternative is to be afraid. none of us want to be afraid. we still are anyway. i know i am afraid and i could see it in my classmates' faces even as we laughed.

none of us are over the age of eighteen. 

our prime minister has released a statement less than 24 hours ago that guyana's military is keeping a close eye on all our borders, that they will be ready if any conflict is to arise.

we are preparing for war.

venezuela's military alone is nearly half of guyana's total population. (330,000 active personnel with 8,000 backup personnel vs 789,683 guyanese civilians, 41.45% of which are under the age of 18 and 7% over the age of 65.)

this is nothing on the level of what is happening in palestine, the congo, sudan, armenia, hawai'i, or yemen. it is not a genocide yet (though i am terrified for the nine indigenous tribes currently living in amd scattered throughout essequibo, one of which—the arawak people—i am descended from). the situation has not yet spiraled as far as the genocides and atrocities happening around the world right now. 

but it has the potential to. 

guyana is preparing for war and i am afraid.

Don't kill yourself, please.

If you’re suffering from depression and are looking for a sign to not go through with ending your life, this is it. This is the sign. We care.

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WARNING!!!!

People, please be careful. There are also people tracking children and people and putting bids on them based on their profile pictures on whatsapp, tracking and kidnapping them. Especially young children, so please be cautious, especially parents who have their children as their profile pictures.

Please pass this on to everyone so that they are aware of the danger. I don’t how it is all around the world but I know it can’t just be here so please please spread the word. Thank you.

LET GAZA LIVE, FREE THEM ALL, VIVA VIVA INTIFADA

we've been watching a horrific genocide for 4 months now, and your silence in complicity. ceasefire is the bare minimum, and just the beginning.

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