IMAGINE building your life in the country of your birth, but having to leave everything behind including your job, your home, your car, all the friends you knew your entire life, to start all over again in another country.
Such is the life of Lisamarie Silva, a Venezuela-born mother of two, who lived her entire life in the neighbouring country before being forced to return to the border town of Lethem as economic hardship grips the Bolivarian Republic.

Silva, a former airline employee in the neighbouring country, is the daughter of Guyanese parents. Although she travelled back and forth across the border on holidays, she returned to these shores permanently some two years ago and her husband and their two children are now adjusting to life at Lethem.
Notwithstanding the language barrier, she said her daughter, the elder of her two children, made a quick adjustment although it was a tough feat. She said her first born is a current student of the St Ignatius Secondary School, while her son is gradually adjusting to primary school life at the border town.
“It’s very hard to move to a place [where] you don’t know anybody and start over, rebuild everything,” Silva said.

As she recounted life in the neighbouring country, she said she worked at an airline in the state of Ciudad Bolivar. She worked as an administrator with the company for six years. After the birth of her son, she continued working, this time as a pharmacist and was looking to elevate herself some more with the support of her family.

REFRIGERATION BUSINESS
The family decided to work on more independent ideas in order to make a living. Hence, they decided to start a refrigeration business, since her husband is skilled in this area.
But things changed drastically when the Bolivarian Republic fell into economic hardship around 2014; after making some hard decisions, she decided to relocate to Lethem with her children and husband three years later.
“We sold our car, we left the business behind, the house was left behind with everything in it,” she said.

When she moved to Lethem in 2017, where her parents lived prior to migrating to Venezuela several decades ago, Silva said it was always a tough task adjusting. But as they say, necessity being the mother of invention, the family had to make ends meet.
She said she and her husband built a snackette and the couple started selling burgers, a move which provided vital income. Then, the couple recognised that there was no established refrigeration repair business at Lethem, so they jumped at the opportunity.
“The business is growing, because there is no other skilled technician at Lethem,” Silva said.

MORE LUCK
Another vein of luck also came her way when she was told about a vacancy at the office of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GL&SC) at Lethem.
“They needed someone with knowledge in finance and computer, so I applied. I had what they wanted and I passed the interview,” Silva said with a smile. She has been working at that agency for some four months and she plans to enhance her qualifications in order to secure a bright future for her family.

She said her father, an elder sister and another younger sibling are still living in Venezuela, and according to her, the family will continue to pray that the situation improves there.
As regards the treatment she received since moving to Lethem, Silva said she has not encountered many problems since relocating to the border town.
“Guyanese have treated us well,” she said