(Lise alves) Over the past few years, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have fled their economically stricken and politically volatile country. Many have crossed over the border into Brazil and Colombia seeking a better life. “It wasn’t an easy decision. It is like throwing yourself in the ocean and hoping that you can survive by swimming away,” Dellana Maria Rodriguez, 43, told Catholic News Service with tears in her eyes. “I left my friends, my parents.” Rodriguez, 43, used to live on the Venezuelan border with Brazil. She would come to Brazil to purchase supplies; one day, she decided to stay. (...)
