A Venezuelan woman has had the unique experience of witnessing a pivotal moment in her country’s history from her new home on the other side of the world.
Kath Halkett, a GP from Barquisimeto, was 10 years old when the Chavismo movement was established in Venezuela, in 1999.
While studying medicine she met her future husband online, a New Zealander studying at the University of Otago.
After a long distance relationship, he joined Mrs Halkett in Venezuela where they were married before the pair made a permanent move to New Zealand in 2014, to escape the country’s growing chaos.
Initially the couple lived in St Andrews before moving to Dunedin and then to Timaru in 2019 to have children, where they have remained since.
On January 3, the United States carried out an unprecedented strike on the South America country, capturing Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, the mentee of late Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, whom he replaced in 2013.
While living in Venezuela Mrs Halkett said she had been tear-gassed, forced to treat injured protesters in places like apartment complexes so they would not be taken from hospital and put in prison and much more.
When the news of Maduro’s capture was reported, she said it was on par with the happiest day of her life.
‘‘That day that they took Maduro, I was so happy. I have two children and I think that was the best time of my life.
‘‘[The situation in Venezuela] has been going on for a long, long time. Imagine the impact, I still think about it and I feel so good, it was amazing and a lot of people in Venezuela share that.
‘‘But they can not celebrate like I can, there is a paramilitary group called Colectivo and they’re out and they’re checking phones and if they find anything pro-America or pro that they have taken Maduro, they just take you, nobody knows where, they’ve disappeared.’’
She said it had been interesting to see the global reaction to the news.
‘‘It’s funny that people, from the comfort of their houses and all their human rights, are like, ‘oh, no, America is so bad’ it’s not that simple. People that worry so much about the oil, the oil hasn’t been ours for a long, long time.
‘‘Nobody can see Venezuelans celebrating in Venezuela because they will be killed. We Venezuelans are happy about what’s happening.
‘‘I’m not pro-Trump, a lot of us are not pro-Trump, we don’t like the guy, but thank God he’s crazy enough to do this. Nobody else would have done it, nobody else would have been crazy enough to do it.’’
Mrs Halkett said she felt a bit guilty being able to speak freely about the situation.
‘‘I’m not scared of talking because I can. I’m a New Zealand citizen, but I cannot say the same for my sister, she is here but not a citizen, so she’s still a little bit scared and my parents are still in Venezuela.
‘‘I feel good that I can talk about what’s going on but at the same time, I feel guilty that I can do it and they can’t. It’s a mix of emotions, it’s really hard.’’
She said while there was a lot of uncertainty about what would come next, she was hopeful for the future.
‘‘I’m hopeful that things will change for the good. We’re still not safe from this regime, but I think Trump wants to go ‘I freed Venezuela’.
‘‘I can’t see him not wanting to finish the job.’’
She loved being able to call Timaru home.
‘‘I do miss Dunedin, it being a bit bigger and busier but in Timaru we have family, so it’s nice to have support here and I actually do like the quiet.
‘‘I have PTSD and things like the army, planes and helicopters scare me a lot and we don’t get a lot of that in Timaru which is great for my mental health.
‘‘I really enjoy Timaru and I’m very grateful to live in this country. I don’t think I will ever go back to Venezuela, even if things get better, I have my life here, my children are here.
‘‘We probably will go if things get better and visit but New Zealand is my home now and if things don’t get better, I’m never, ever, ever going anywhere near Venezuela.’’
