I am thinking how to escape from school to visit Yauyos with Mayra, when she calls me unexpectedly one Tuesday night.
” I have to go back to Caracas.”
We have a short tense conversation. The newspapers and TV here largely offer opinions rather than real news. Film footage – empty food markets, people marching, political speeches and handshakes – is rarely put in context. There are many journalists on twitter, appearing to offer first-hand information, but they too seem polarised, and shallow. Alla, I know, calls her family at least weekly. In the last few months, there has been some difficult news. But I have not asked about it. Not because I am not concerned, but because I know she is worried and distressed.
I realise that I have never really understood what she knows, what her family is experiencing, or how she feels about it. I told myself I was not asking, because it would upset her. Now I think it was easier for me to not get involved.