The Escape: Losing the fight

This was supposed to be a completely different post, both in content and in tone, had things gone differently. I wish I had better news to share, but this is how things have been going.

Apologies beforehand if any of this sounds melodramatic or anything of the sorts.

For those that know me or have been following me ever since I stopped being a social media lurker, they know that for the past three and a half years I’ve been fighting tooth and nail to find a way to obtain a visa that’d allow me to legally migrate out of this country while taking my brother with me. This is a deeply personal matter to me, as I promised my mother on her deathbed that I’d not just take care of my brother, but that I would get him out of here and give him a good future.

That promise has been my driving force ever since, a fight I’ve been fighting since April of 2018. I even paused most of my admittedly limited life in order to achieve this goal — yet, as much as I’ve tried and done everything right, it’s always ended in failure. From Latin America, to Australia, Canada, Europe, and a handful more countries in between, it’s so far ended the same for me due to one reason or another. It’s a fight I haven’t been able to win, plain and simple.

I’ve always been completely aware that my chances at any country/job have always been low. I am, after all, a barely educated person (that’s something I have no one to blame for but myself), and I’m fully aware that a barely educated person taking care of his disabled younger brother in a moral sense (but not in any legal manner of speaking whatsoever) does not have much chances up at getting hired, let alone obtaining the corresponding visa stamps. Then there’s also the eternal issue of getting paperwork done in Venezuela even though I don’t have much to show for myself beyond my personal identification documents.

All attempts to obtain an Italian passport, which both my brother and I are entitled to by right of jus sanguinis, have also ended in bureaucratic failure. This is something I tried to obtain, not because of ‘muh evropean heritage’ but because it would allow me to get my brother outta here. We never got it in when we were kids because the truth is that my dad’s family never liked my mom nor us, it’s a long story, and the main reason we moved away from them in 1996.

To make matters worse, my dad never registered his marriage nor our births to the corresponding Italian authorities. This particular lack of due diligence 30 years ago snowballed into a bureaucratic nightmare that I don’t have the full cooperation of my father to solve. So it is what it is, a shame that I spent too much time and money getting the paperwork on my side for nothing.

I lost a potential job offer in London because the COVID-19 Lockdowns started literally days after I got the initial message. I also lost a potential job offer in Canada because at the time there was no way for me to be physically present at a Canadian embassy outside of Venezuela due to the still ongoing travel restrictions imposed by the Venezuelan regime (the one here is still closed).

Since 2020 I had been working on a new way to achieve a visa, fully aware that COVID-19 would not only make travel extremely hard, but I kept going nonetheless. These efforts continued well into most of 2021, and it really filled me with hope and optimism because that would’ve been the start of something great. Unfortunately, it did not materialize and I may very well have played my last hand.

In light of this, arrangements were made for another consultation with an immigration attorney earlier this week to evaluate what options I have at this point, if at all. Long story short, other than illegally crossing the US border (which has never been my intention) There are only 2 possible scenarios in which I may still get a visa, one of which is one hell of a longshot. Right now I find myself waiting for a response regarding either — after that I’m out of moves, and nearly out of time.

Both my brother and my passport’s final six months begin in July of 2022, that means I have about eight months left to solve my life or else we lose these passports and I have to start the lengthy $400 process to obtain a brand new one all over again.

As it stands, the Venezuelan regime only allows flights out to Turkey, Panama, The Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Russia, and Mexico. Furthermore, the Colombian border is being reopened as well after the Venezuelan government shut it down in 2019, so that’s another possibility.

Mexico has become the main way out for Venezuelans because it’s one of the few countries that does not ask for a visa to enter as a tourist. Both the Mexican and American government are aware of this, which is why they’re in talks to impose strict controls so as to curb the migration of Venezuelans because you know, we’re not the right kind of migrants/voters/however you want to call it.

That’s where things stand at the moment. I am extremely demoralized right now, disheartened, and I don’t know what else to do. I intended to make this post earlier this week but I caught a fever and have some stomach woes — whether this is because of bottled stress busting out or I just got a stomach virus is something I’m still unsure of.

What I’m trying to say here is that if there’s anything I may have missed all this time, or if you have any potential ideas as to how can I finally achieve this goal of mine before July 2022 then by all means, do not hesitate to contact me — I just want to be able to work and provide for my brother, that’s all. On the other hand, if there is any way to just get my brother outta here then please, let me know as well, as the promise I made to my mother involves getting my brother outta here, I never mentioned myself.

I’m very open to any and all suggestions, because I just don’t know what to do anymore, I feel like I lost a long battle even though I did everything right, and may very well completely lose unless a miracle or something shows up soon. Had things gone in my favor this year then I wouldn’t even be here posting this right now.

As for my fiction novel series, the goal has always been to get outta here first, get a job, and then eventually self-fund its publication. I’ve abstained from crowdfunding it because if it comes to a point where I have to ask for monetary help to get outta here then that’s the priority first and foremost. In any case, I’ll make a separate post to garner suggestions as to what I can do about it.

If I may be honest with all of you, after three and a half years of failing I feel burnt and exhausted, I just want to move on and finally begin to heal after all I’ve been through. In the meantime I’ll keep praying because faith is one of the last things I have left, I’ll try to get my health back up, and I’ll continue working on my passion project while providing content, because like I said, I don’t know what else to do.

I still have a long debt to repay to everyone and to the world, to pay forward for all the help and support I’ve received over the past years. This is another priority of mine, something that I hope I’ll be in a position to start doing once I get Sword, Sins, and Soul of the nation (working titles) off the ground and published.

Thanks for reading this long ramble, and apologies for it. I’ll get back on track soon enough, it’s just that this week was a tough reality crushing one. Please, any possible ideas, suggestions or anything — don’t hesitate to contact me at any moment.

Stay safe, I love you all.

-Kal