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A Border in Peril
notes from the Venezuelan border during an epidemic
Cucuta, Colombia- I’m the last foreign journalist in Cucuta. All the sensible freelancers took flights home days ago when Colombia started shutting down. As I sit inside under police imposed curfew, all I can think about is how the Venezuelan border today is a lot darker than the one I remember from when I lived here a year ago.
The unannounced closure of the border on March 14th was chaos, as thousands of Venezuelans and Colombians woke up to find themselves trapped on either side of a suddenly impenetrable invisible wall. The loud panic from that first day has since faded to a more ominous and silent fear. And though the rules keep changing by the hour, that fear expresses itself as a deep resignation.
Darkness is not new to this border, whichever side people live on, but a year ago the chaos was merely a white-noise background to a vibrant and bustling life. The border violence or passing political crisis could previously be banished with jokes, or a few beers with the neighbors and some dancing. But now there is fear of a new foe, one not so easily banished. An enemy currently shared by the world. An epidemic has arrived.
In some ways, this common enemy has also brought reconciliation. The government of Maduro in Venezuela and the Colombian…
