A rainy early morning and a 4-magnitude earthquake aftershock caused anguish among the 40 people camping at Plaza del Foro, behind Venezuela's National Library, in the early hours of Tuesday, August 18. Water reached the ankles of the refugees as tents collapsed and a nearby creek threatened to overflow. A small shelter at Esquina La Fe, in Altagracia parish, Libertador municipality, has been without electricity for four days.
At least 11 families have remained in the camp for 55 days, primarily people displaced from the OPPE 6 building of the Housing Mission, located a few blocks away, which was classified with a yellow tag following the earthquake. Those affected by the June 24 earthquake are refusing to return to their apartments without guarantees of professional and supervised repairs. According to residents, no government entity has addressed their requests to date.
The camp lacks drinking water. Adults must pay 500 bolívares for 10-litre bottles, which can total six dollars weekly per family at the Central Bank of Venezuela exchange rate, while the minimum wage remains at 130 bolívares per month. Residents wash in the bathrooms of an adjacent sports court using whatever water they can find.
Residents of the affected building report serious structural problems, including cracks between stairways and walls, unaddressed water leaks, and workers making repairs without adequate professional supervision. Earthquake fears keep the community on permanent alert, with several neighbours seeking shelter during the early hours of August 18 out of fear for their lives. They still do not know what they will do when the school year resumes in September.
At the end of July, the sectoral vice-president for Social and Territorial Socialism reported 107 temporary camps set up in Venezuela, with 41 located in Caracas. While some of those affected accept relocation to these sites, others refuse until repairs to their homes are completed to professional standards.
