Boston Mayor Michelle Wu marked Venezuelan Independence Day on Tuesday with a ceremony that both celebrated the country and mourned the deaths of thousands after twin earthquakes killed thousands in Venezuela last month.
“We’re just grateful for all the support and all the love that we’re getting from the mayor, from the governor, from everyone in the commonwealth in support of the Venezuelan people who are suffering tremendously right now,” said Zamawa Arenas, co-chair of the Latino Equity Fund at the Boston Foundation, at the ceremony on City Hall Plaza.
On June 24, two earthquakes of magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5 hit the capital Caracas and the nearby northern coast within a minute of each other. The earthquakes left 3,535 dead as well as 16,740 injured and 18,000 homeless, Reuters reported Monday.
Arenas, who is a Venezuelan immigrant, helped raise $100,000 in aid for Venezuela through the Latino Equity Fund since the earthquakes struck her home city of Caracas.
Other members of the Venezuelan community ran 50 kilometers from Beverly to Fenway Park this past Sunday to help draw attention to the cause. Arenas said such events help with the grief that follows a disaster at home.
“When you’re an immigrant and you’re far from your homeland, you feel helpless because you can’t go there and hug your family. You can’t help remove rubble,” Arenas said. “That’s why raising money to be able to support organizations on the ground is my small contribution to this effort.”
Vicky Mollon Montagne, a Boston resident with family in Venezuela, said that being with her community at City Hall Plaza was a comfort amid the uncertainty.
“What resonated with me was today, the sense of recognition of the pain that we’re going through, even if we’re trying to continue living our lives here,” Montagne said. “It was an important moment of acknowledgement.”
Montagne hopes the city offers more than words to support the Venezuelan community.
“It’s an important gesture,” Mollon Montagne said. “I would love to see it followed up by a lot of resources, a lot of programming, and not just commemoration.”