Ni allá ni acá – a short story about the Venezuela diaspora and the perennial border crossings

The United Nations Refugee Agency estimates that approximately 4.5 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants have crossed the borders into across the world (2019). Venezuelan asylum-seekers amount to 650,000 worldwide and over 2 million are living under other legal forms in the Americas (2019). The extended humanitarian crisis in Venezuela has mobilised a nation not used to emigrating. As a Venezuelan migrant and writer, I explore what it means to constantly cross borders for Venezuelans in Ni Allá Ni Acá, a short story. In this piece, I examine the meaning of borders for Venezuelan migrants and refugees through a myriad of experiences and voices. As a blend of fiction and nonfiction, personal and impersonal, this storytelling exercise understands the relationship between borders and diaspora as an expansion of the physical, reaching out to the ideological, emotional and narrative borders that enact this massive movement of Venezuelans and impregnate their refugees’ and migrants’ welcome in the host countries. I use creative writing and the short story form as my form of protest and as an attempt to highlight the cultural, familial and emotional erosion of a nation beyond click-bait headlines and soundbites of detached politicians. What is the story behind the fluctuating media interest? What motivates Venezuelans to leave? What happens to those who stay? Who are the people navigating these border crossings? What are those borders and how do they cross them? I aim to read the short story in this presentation and let it stand on its own without further explanation – creative practice: an attempt to hold all. Keywords: Venezuela, Venezuelan Diaspora, Venezuelan Refugees, Venezuelan Migration, Border Crossings, Short Story, Creative Writing, Creative Practice Accepted proposal for a 20 mins creative piece presentation. References: Response for Venezuelans Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela (2019). Latin America and the Caribbean: Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants in the Region. The United Nations Refugee Agency