“They accuse me of treason because I left the National Guard and now I can’t enter my country” (Video)

Adrian Enrique Onate @adri_enrr A former Venezuelan national guard decides to move to Colombia in search of the peace that no longer exists in his country after he was indicted.Treason”.

“I wanted to get out of that slavery, that rule. I wanted to get out of that bad life at that time.“, he said @nandasalas On #IamVenezuelan

“I was a sergeant in the National Guard, Special Forces, and then I got out. I have an arrest warrant in Venezuela and I cannot enter the country“He says angrily. After leaving Venezuela, he went directly to his sister’s house in La Guajira, Riojacha, where he stayed for twelve months.

“Day job for a year, working, washing cars. I also went around many times, putting in resumes, but nothing was given to me. I decided to come to the city of Medellin and came here selling cheese arepas“.

Despite having the support of her Colombian sister, she says she has had a rough experience of racism.

“If we suddenly go to a country we do not know, it becomes very difficult for us, because there is a lot of xenophobia; However, they denigrate us, many immigrants come to do bad things, we come to do good things and pay those people.“.

Adaptation was not an easy task for Adrian, but with effort and without giving up, he achieved it. He started washing cars on the street to guarantee at least two meals a day and pay his household bills, always with a smile of hope on his face.

“Sometimes I don’t wash the car, I don’t wash anything, I wait all day for a car to come so I can wash it, I don’t do anything in a day. Sometimes from 6 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon, I walk without eating; For the simple fact that I had no breakfast, no lunch, no job search, no resume, no documents, they didn’t give me a job.“.

Until he decided to pack his bags and head to the city known as the City of Eternal Spring.

“Once I got here, I settled in Medellin and sold cheese arepas to someone who gave me a chance. We had a cab and he paid me for the day. There I was gathering for a private security course and I did it. After a few months, I started working as a security guard and later, I gained experience and moved to a top security company, which was great. Being an army officer, that experience also helped me here.“.

That’s when he had the chance to meet members of the United Colombia and Venezuela Foundation, a nonprofit group he says changed the story of his displacement in his sister country.

“My greatest joy is working in FUNCOLVEN, it gave me the knowledge of social work, it gave me that career to serve, to help many people, and truly, I feel so peaceful, the well-being I was. Can help many people. I was able to advise many people, and when I didn’t, it wasn’t my job in Venezuela” says proudly.

“Thanks to the foundation, many job doors have opened for me, I have met many people, I have met many international organizations like UNHCR, IOM, International Organization for Migration, I have met many organizations that reached out to me and suddenly, helped our people.“.

From Colombia he walked to the southern border between Mexico and the United States, and since December 2023 he has been living in the city of Chicago. Despite the traumatic nature of his exile, he says he looks forward to the moment when he can live freely in Venezuela.

“I really want the situation in our country to improve, for the government to leave and for every family to come and join their relatives. Everything left, our societies suddenly fight and start from scratch, but there is no evil that does not come from good“.

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