Target: Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State
Goal: Help Venezuelan people under massive strain from earthquake damage.
A pair of catastrophic earthquakes (each measuring over seven on the Richter Scale) rocked northern Venezuela. Nearly 70,000 people have been reported missing in the devastating aftermath, with roughly 1,700 confirmed fatalities. As communities have come together with rudimentary tools to literally dig their loved ones from the rubble, desperate citizens have called out the seeming lack of government response in many regions.
The first few days following a natural disaster of this scale are considered critical for rescue efforts. Enraged residents have even claimed workers have taken selfies at obliterated sites and then left while offering minimal to no assistance. Crucial infrastructure like hospitals has been destroyed, and millions could be displaced.
Sign the petition below to demand the United States, which has shouldered responsibility for the country whose leadership it overthrew just a few months prior, ramp up its international aid contributions.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Secretary Rubio,
As northern Venezuela reels from two devastating earthquakes that occurred less than a minute apart, the government that U.S. leadership helped to ascend has been accused of failing massively in its duty of care to its citizens. Reports of woefully unprepared emergency personnel services and lagging – and in some cases offensively indifferent – government response are rampant. Critical hours integral to survival prospects have been lost.
American leaders vowed to help Venezuela rebuild and prosper following the capture of Nicolas Maduro. Current relief and aid investments are a good start, but in order to truly move forward, Venezuela will require longer-term help and a stabilized, functioning, and effective government. Ensure that this country honors its word to an already-under-duress nation experiencing one of the most destabilizing periods of its existence.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Faruk Tokluoglu
