In Pictures

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In Pictures: Hungry and thirsty in Venezuela

In the Guarataro neighbourhood of Caracas, both food and water are in short supply.

Food and Water Crisis in Venezuela. [Douglas Hook/Al Jazeera]
Residents carry water from the local hospital up tall flights of steps in the Guarataro neighbourhood. [Douglas Hook/Al Jazeera]
By Douglas Hook
Published On 14 Feb 2019

Venezuela is in crisis, many of its people taking to the streets to protest against President Nicolas Maduro and his government, which they see as criminally negligent.

Hyperinflation is so extreme that Venezuelans cannot buy enough food and many of them are losing on average 11kg in body weight a year. This phenomenon has been ironically dubbed the “Maduro Diet”. 

Many poorer Venezuelans were previously Maduro supporters, but as conditions worsened, their loyalty has shifted to the opposition, which is spearheading the calls for him to leave. 

Maduro is refusing to give up power and opposition leader Juan Guaido has declared himself the interim president, splitting international opinion and setting the stage for a power struggle.

‘Nothing ever changes’

Aura Sarmiento told Al Jazeera about her small house in Guarataro, a lower-income neighbourhood in the capital Caracas. Anger is palpable in her voice.

“I’ve not had water for the past two years in my home…the closest [running water] is two miles away at the hospital… almost 500 people use one faucet,” she said.

Aura vents her anger at opposition rallies; she, like many other residents of Garataro, is disillusioned with the Chavismo government she once supported.

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To draw attention to the lack of water in Guarataro, she picketed the Hidrocapital water company along with opposition politician Jesus Armas.

“We were even able to sit down with the director but nothing ever changes. They say they will fix the problem but they never do,” she said.

Aura had running water for just four days in 2018.

Not all impoverished Venezuelans are politically active; many are too focused on securing their families’ livelihoods. 

“I don’t give it much thought,” said Alvaro, a resident of the Caracol neighbourhood of Caracas.

“My major worry is where the money for my family is coming from,” adds the 45-year-old father of eight, four from his first marriage and four with his current wife, Maria.

‘What I do to survive’

The minimum monthly salary in Venezuela is 18,000 bolivars ($5.47).

A bag of flour costs 2,600 bolivars ($0.79), a bag of rice 2,900 bolivars ($0.88) and a pound of potatoes 6,000 bolivars ($1.80). Buying those staples amounts to more than half a month’s wages.

Anderson, a 23-year-old blacksmith and father to a six month-year-old daughter, has lost his job and cannot buy any food. He has to dig through rubbish for scraps of food.

“I do this because I have to… some days I go back empty-handed and we go hungry. It’s either this or stealing, and I’m not a bad person. So this is what I do to survive,” Anderson said.

Food and Water Crisis in Venezuela. [Douglas Hook/Al Jazeera]
A ration book is used due to the shortage of food, specifically flour, which is the most popular product in the store. [Douglas Hook/Al Jazeera]
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Food and Water Crisis in Venezuela. [Douglas Hook/Al Jazeera]
Locals come to the store to get their groceries. The cash they use to buy food is worth less day after day. [Douglas Hook/Al Jazeera]
Food and Water Crisis in Venezuela. [Douglas Hook/Al Jazeera]
The government distributes CLAP (Comité Local de Abastecimento y Producción) boxes filled with food to low-income households. A group of journalists investigated the nutritional information on the box and found it was misleading, and that the food in the box afforded very little nutrition. Many Venezuelans are developing escabiosis (scabies) due to malnourishment. [Douglas Hook/Al Jazeera]
Food and Water Crisis in Venezuela. [Douglas Hook/Al Jazeera]
Aura Sarmiento stores water in old milk containers and bottles due to not having access to running water in over two years. She had water for only four days in 2018. [Douglas Hook/Al Jazeera]
Food and Water Crisis in Venezuela. [Douglas Hook/Al Jazeera]
Aura lives with her husband and youngest son. Her eldest lives in Peru and sends money back to the family, their main source of income. Since 2016, hyperinflation has left many with little food and water. [Douglas Hook/Al Jazeera]
Food and Water Crisis in Venezuela. [Douglas Hook/Al Jazeera]
Up to 500 residents use the same single tap in the Guarataro neighbourhood of Caracas. [Douglas Hook/Al Jazeera]
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Food and Water Crisis in Venezuela. [Douglas Hook/Al Jazeera]
Anderson picks out a bunch of old oranges from the back of a garbage truck. 'If I don't do this my family will starve,' he said. He scavenges for food for his wife and young child from 8am to 5pm, but some days he comes home with nothing. He worked as a blacksmith but the work dried up in 2016. [Douglas Hook/Al Jazeera]
Food and Water Crisis in Venezuela. [Douglas Hook/Al Jazeera]
Aura (right), along with opposition politician Jesus Armas (blue shirt), went to picket the Hidrocapital water company responsible for the water shortage in the Guarataro. 'They say they will fix the problem but they never do'. [Douglas Hook/Al Jazeera]
Food and Water Crisis in Venezuela. [Douglas Hook/Al Jazeera]
Alvaro hasn’t been able to work as much as he used to, since an accident at work left him blind in one eye. He supports his family by farming and doing casual labour for three days once every two weeks. [Douglas Hook/Al Jazeera]
Food and Water Crisis in Venezuela. [Douglas Hook/Al Jazeera]
Maria and her husband Alvaro sleep with four of children in one bed. There is no running water and she says things are getting harder as the price of food rises. [Douglas Hook/Al Jazeera]
Food and Water Crisis in Venezuela. [Douglas Hook/Al Jazeera]
Samantha watches TV in the bedroom of two of the eight children living in the two-room house. Maria is finding it harder to support the family. They have to rely on charity and the food the Catholic mission distributes. [Douglas Hook/Al Jazeera]
Food and Water Crisis in Venezuela. [Douglas Hook/Al Jazeera]
One of Marias children is bedridden with kidney pain. The family cannot afford to take her to a doctor so they aren't sure what to do. She has been in bed for the past 24 hours. [Douglas Hook/Al Jazeera]
Food and Water Crisis in Venezuela. [Douglas Hook/Al Jazeera]
With no running water in Caracol, Alvaro and Maria's family have to use a bucket to wash and use as a toilet. The toilets are about ten meters from the main house. [Douglas Hook/Al Jazeera]
Food and Water Crisis in Venezuela. [Douglas Hook/Al Jazeera]
Many areas in Caracas have been left in disrepair because of the lack of money for infrastructure. 90 percent of Venezuelans live below the poverty line. [Douglas Hook/Al Jazeera]