David Vargas (R), 12, cries as he sits next to his aunt after saying goodbye to relatives while he waits to board a bus to travel from Caracas to Guayaquil, at the Rutas de America's bus station in Caracas, Venezuela, November 7, 2017. The moment before getting on the bus was very sad, filled with silence, tension, hugs and tears. Carlos Garcia Rawlins: "It was very hard to see the disconsolate way David was crying, once he said goodbye to his loved ones and realized that he was about to start the journey to Chile". REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
Reuters: A photographer's journey out of Venezuela
CARACAS (Reuters) - The bus station was like a funeral home. Families were weeping and hugging, saying their goodbyes. Everybody was sad and scared - the ones leaving because they were facing an uncertain future, and the ones staying behind because they were facing muggings, shortages of food and an even more uncertain future.
Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans migrated elsewhere in South America last year. Reporter Alexandra Ulmer and I wanted to give names and faces to at least a few of them, so we decided to join them in a nearly 5,000-mile bus journey south to Chile.
I hoped that by sharing this journey with my fellow Venezuelans, I could help show the rest of the world what most of us are facing every day.
I am no stranger to this daily reality: Friends and family members are leaving; some have been robbed of their few remaining belongings and of their hopes; others have lost their jobs and income. I try to take care of the people closest to me - otherwise, some of them might not eat.
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Update: SPECIAL REPORT-A journey on a caravan of misery (Reuters)
WNU Editor: An on the ground report on what is happening in Venezuela. These Venezuelans are the lucky ones.
