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It was a privilege to sit down with my dear friend Jenn Villalobos to discuss a topic that's often overlooked: what it truly means to live in exile.

Jenn has been in exile from Venezuela for 27 years, part of the more than 9.5 million Venezuelans (30% of the population) forced to leave their homeland since the 90s. In this deeply personal conversation, she shares her journey from growing up between the US and Venezuela in the 1970s and 80s, to witnessing the dramatic transformation of her country, to making the impossible choice to never return.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What life was like in Venezuela before and after Hugo Chávez came to power
• The rapid descent from prosperity to crisis through corruption and oppression
• The personal cost of exile: losing friends, family separation, and raising children without their cultural roots
• The fear, grief, and survival mode that comes with watching your country collapse from afar
• The cautious hope emerging after Maduro's capture, and why change will take time
• What the rest of us can do: "Please don't look away. Don't forget."

This isn't just a political story, it's a deeply humanitarian and psychological crisis that has impacted millions of families for nearly three decades.

You can find Jenn’s blog post here https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/un-shielded-thirty-one-days-hope-after-twenty-seven-years-villalobos-ufrrc/

My ask: If you have Venezuelan friends or colleagues, listen to their stories. Validate their experiences. And please, don't look away.

About Jen Villalobos:
Jen is currently Deputy CEO of FasterGreener (https://www.linkedin.com/company/fastergreener/) , an AI company focused on solving traffic congestion. She spent nearly 30 years in corporate roles focused on digital transformation and technology. She's also a journalist, a mother, and a Venezuelan who dreams of the day her daughter can experience the Venezuela she once knew.

#Venezuela #Exile #HumanRights #LatinAmerica #UncommonCourage #VenezuelanCrisis #Diaspora #HumanitarianCrisis

You can find me Andrea T Edwards | The Digital Conversationalist and Welcome - Uncommon Courage - An Invitation.

My book Uncommon Courage, an invitation, is here https://mybook.to/UncommonCourage

My book 18 Steps to an All-Star LinkedIn Profile, is here https://mybook.to/18stepstoanallstar