Overseas Americans, Military and Civilian, PLEASE VOTE

[Lanny]

If you are or know someone who is an Overseas American (Deployed Military or Civilian) PLEASE VOTE in the November 6, 2018 election!   My Absentee Ballot was delivered by USPS in Texas this morning. Here's the link:   https://www.fvap.gov/

Edited October 22, 2018 by Lanny

[Amira]

And when you do, you can get a personalized voting sticker.  https://www.fvaptraining.com/FVAPIVoted/

[Lanny]

Thank you.   I will try to get my Sticker and deploy it, now.

 

[Lanny]

@Amira in your sig file you refer to helping refugees.  Here in Colombia, a 3rd world country, we are overwhelmed by an influx of approximately one million Venezuelans who have fled their country. Colombia is trying to do everything it can for them, but the resources are very limited and from other countries, I think there is a lot of talk, but no money or other help.   Sad...

[Amira]

9 minutes ago, Lanny said:

@Amira in your sig file you refer to helping refugees.  Here in Colombia, a 3rd world country, we are overwhelmed by an influx of approximately one million Venezuelans who have fled their country. Colombia is trying to do everything it can for them, but the resources are very limited and from other countries, I think there is a lot of talk, but no money or other help.   Sad...

Yes, I’ve been reading about that.  I’m so glad Colombia has kept its borders open and allowed so many Venezuelans to enter, but it’s sad how little support Colombia is getting, and only a small percentage of Venezuelans are legally registered as refugees so they don’t get as much UN help either. It seems that some countries like to talk about supporting refugees where they currently are living, but it doesn’t happen. And it’s especially important in countries like Colombia that already have millions of internally displaced people from recent crises. I hope Colombia gets the support it needs.

[Tree Frog]

58 minutes ago, Lanny said:

@Amira in your sig file you refer to helping refugees.  Here in Colombia, a 3rd world country, we are overwhelmed by an influx of approximately one million Venezuelans who have fled their country. Colombia is trying to do everything it can for them, but the resources are very limited and from other countries, I think there is a lot of talk, but no money or other help.   Sad...

Lanny, do you know of an organization that supports the Venezuelan refugees? Do you have additional information or links about it? I remember there was a thread maybe a couple of years ago about the dire straits most Venezuelans were in, but haven't really seen much more since then.

[Lanny]

1 hour ago, Amira said:

Yes, I’ve been reading about that.  I’m so glad Colombia has kept its borders open and allowed so many Venezuelans to enter, but it’s sad how little support Colombia is getting, and only a small percentage of Venezuelans are legally registered as refugees so they don’t get as much UN help either. It seems that some countries like to talk about supporting refugees where they currently are living, but it doesn’t happen. And it’s especially important in countries like Colombia that already have millions of internally displaced people from recent crises. I hope Colombia gets the support it needs.

 

Thank you!   From what I know Colombia has been very humane about this. The Venezuelans are getting temporary ID and permission to work, go to school, etc. That puts a huge strain on our already strained medical system and schools and has increased the unemployment rate and crime rate.  From other countries, I think we are getting very little $ and a lot of "keep up the good work".  Even where we live (Cali, in S.W. Colombia, a long way from the Venezuelan border) you can go to the main bus terminal as I type this and there are a lot of Venezuelans living nearby, in tents.  Very sad...    For years, there were many Colombians living in Venezuela, but this has been  sudden and the videos I have watched and news stories I have read about how they get to Colombia (walking in many cases) are really sad.   And, the Venezuelan government (Communist) says that the refugee crisis does not exist and that this is lies told by the U.S. and Colombian governments.

[Lanny]

1 hour ago, wilrunner said:

Lanny, do you know of an organization that supports the Venezuelan refugees? Do you have additional information or links about it? I remember there was a thread maybe a couple of years ago about the dire straits most Venezuelans were in, but haven't really seen much more since then.

 

Thank you for wanting to help!      No I don't have the name of an organization like that. About 2 months ago, there were videos and stories on the web site of "SEMANA" magazine, a Colombian magazine (I think weekly) that embedded  (is that the word?) one or more journalists and photographers with a bunch of Venezuelans who had entered Colombia and were walking to the next town.   One of the stoies mentioned some people who I suspect were themselves very poor, but trying to help by providing some food and a place to sleep and maybe take a shower and had information about how to help the helpers, financially, so they could provide more help.

Nikki Haley was here, on the border with Venezuela, approximately 6 or 8 weeks ago, but I am not sure if that was for the U.N.  where she is U.S. Ambassador or for the U.S.  Probably, if I assume, it was for the U.S.

I cannot begin to fathom, from what I have seen about the lack of food in the stores and medicines in the drugstores in Venezuela, what they must feel like, when they cross the border into Colombia and see the abundance of goods available for purchase here.