By Humberto Márquez
CARACAS, Dec 20 2002 (IPS)

Venezuela’s political turmoil and an ongoing three-week general strike eclipsed a tragedy that led to the deaths of 50 people and highlighted the problem of the sexual exploitation of minors and the lax enforcement of safety regulations in nighttime entertainment districts.

A fire raged on the night of Nov 30-Dec 1 through the La Goajira nightclub, located in the basement of a rundown hotel in downtown Caracas, where more than 200 customers were being served drinks by around 50 waitresses, a number of whom doubled as strippers and sex workers.

People who were near the entryway stairs made it out, but those who were closer to the dance floor in the back found the emergency doors locked. Most of the victims died of smoke inhalation.

The next day, on Dec 2, the general strike against President Hugo Chávez was called. In support of the opposition measure, most newspapers did not come out for two days, and barely mentioned the tragedy when they did begin to publish again on Dec 4.

Since the shutdown began, private television and radio stations, which are overwhelmingly anti-Chávez, have been giving heavy coverage to the walkout and the political turmoil.

”It is painful that this problem of public safety has been ignored as the country focuses exclusively on the political situation,” Nury Pernía, director of the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Ambar, which provides support to girls and women who are victims of sexual exploitation, told IPS.

According to the activist, ”what won out was the concept that this vulnerable and poor group doesn’t vote and doesn’t do anything for one’s public image,” and the calamity was largely ignored.

”The deaths, which were of course deplorable, of three opposition protesters killed by a gunman on Dec 6 in a Caracas square basically led to nationwide mourning. But society turned a blind eye to the tragedy of these 50 people who came from all around the country” and all walks of life, said Pernía.

”It is as if by talking so much about a possible civil war” in a country highly polarised between Chávez supporters and foes, ”we have been overtaken by a culture of death, in which only ‘my’ deaths matter, not the suffering of the ‘others’,” Fernando Pereira, the coordinator of another local NGO, Community Learning Centres, which provides assistance to children, commented to IPS.

Of the 50 victims of the blaze, 33 were men, and at least 17 were women employed by the nightclub with no fixed salary, who received a portion of what their clients spent on drinks and sexual services.

Some of the bodies have not yet been identified, but at least three of the victims were minors: Taydán Ruiz, 17, Yesenia Hernández, 14, and Carmen Méndez, 13.

”They had us put on schoolgirl clothes, and we stripped on the dance floor,” said Maoli, a 17-year-old survivor, who added that she did not know who the owners of the nightclub were, and was hired by a middleman.

Maoli was sleeping upstairs in the cheap hotel when the fire began, and was evacuated.

Carmen Méndez’s family did not know she had been working in the nightclub for four months. ”She told us she was working as a maid for a family, and was taking dance lessons because she wanted to be a dancer. We never imagined she was in a brothel,” her brother Carlos said in the morgue.

Raquel Hernández, Yesenia’s aunt, also said her family was unaware that her 14-year-old niece was working in La Goajira.

Part of Taydán Ruiz’s family did know she was working the bar in the nightclub, along with her older sister Yusmaira.

The owners and managers of La Goajira are nowhere to be found. The media have reported that they are ”travelling” or are ”in the United States”. No full names have been provided by the police investigating the incident, who have merely referred to men known as ”Tinoco”, ”Mario” or ”Freitas”.

”Who is going to indemnify the families of those who died? Who will pay damages for the burns and scars of the wounded? Who issued the health, labour and safety permits so the bar could operate? What health authorities and police inspected the place?” asked Pernía.

The nightclub ”violated nearly every existing safety regulation,” said Caracas fire chief Rodolfo Briceño.

”The bar had no alarms, fire extinguishers, or properly signalled exits and escape routes, and like a lot of similar places, there were more than 300 people that night packed into a place with a capacity for 100,” he pointed out.

The dozens of nightclubs doing business in the historical centre of Caracas are supposed to be inspected at least once a year by the fire brigade.

”I hope the authorities will now pay more attention to our recommendations for sanctions, by charging fines and closing places down,” said Briceño.

According to police reports, the fire may have been set by a drunken soldier out to avenge himself after he was stood up. Another hypothesis is that it was caused by a short-circuit.

The tragedy could have been even worse if the fire had reached gas cylinders that were on the roof of the hotel, said investigators.

The incident in La Goajira ”highlighted not only the sexual exploitation of minors, but the overall drama of poverty in Venezuela,” social psychologist Angel Oropeza remarked to IPS.

”Society lets so many girls lead such a tough life, and when tragedy occurs, it pulls a mantle of insensitivity over itself, and shrugs its shoulders,” he complained.

Pereira said he planned to propose that Nov 30 be declared a national day of struggle against child sex exploitation.

Excerpt:

By Humberto Márquez
CARACAS, Dec 20 2002 (IPS)

Venezuela’s political turmoil and an ongoing three-week general strike eclipsed a tragedy that led to the deaths of 50 people and highlighted the problem of the sexual exploitation of minors and the lax enforcement of safety regulations in nighttime entertainment districts.

A fire raged on the night of Nov 30-Dec 1 through the La Goajira nightclub, located in the basement of a rundown hotel in downtown Caracas, where more than 200 customers were being served drinks by around 50 waitresses, a number of whom doubled as strippers and sex workers.

People who were near the entryway stairs made it out, but those who were closer to the dance floor in the back found the emergency doors locked. Most of the victims died of smoke inhalation.

The next day, on Dec 2, the general strike against President Hugo Chávez was called. In support of the opposition measure, most newspapers did not come out for two days, and barely mentioned the tragedy when they did begin to publish again on Dec 4.

Since the shutdown began, private television and radio stations, which are overwhelmingly anti-Chávez, have been giving heavy coverage to the walkout and the political turmoil.

“It is painful that this problem of public safety has been ignored as the country focuses exclusively on the political situation,” Nury Pernía, director of the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Ambar, which provides support to girls and women who are victims of sexual exploitation, told IPS.

According to the activist, “what won out was the concept that this vulnerable and poor group doesn’t vote and doesn’t do anything for one’s public image,” and the calamity was largely ignored.

“The deaths, which were of course deplorable, of three opposition protesters killed by a gunman on Dec 6 in a Caracas square basically led to nationwide mourning. But society turned a blind eye to the tragedy of these 50 people who came from all around the country” and all walks of life, said Pernía.

“It is as if by talking so much about a possible civil war” in a country highly polarised between Chávez supporters and foes, “we have been overtaken by a culture of death, in which only ‘my’ deaths matter, not the suffering of the ‘others’,” Fernando Pereira, the coordinator of another local NGO, Community Learning Centres, which provides assistance to children, commented to IPS.

Of the 50 victims of the blaze, 33 were men, and at least 17 were women employed by the nightclub with no fixed salary, who received a portion of what their clients spent on drinks and sexual services.

Some of the bodies have not yet been identified, but at least three of the victims were minors: Taydán Ruiz, 17, Yesenia Hernández, 14, and Carmen Méndez, 13.

“They had us put on schoolgirl clothes, and we stripped on the dance floor,” said Maoli, a 17-year-old survivor, who added that she did not know who the owners of the nightclub were, and was hired by a middleman.

Maoli was sleeping upstairs in the cheap hotel when the fire began, and was evacuated.

Carmen Méndez’s family did not know she had been working in the nightclub for four months. “She told us she was working as a maid for a family, and was taking dance lessons because she wanted to be a dancer. We never imagined she was in a brothel,” her brother Carlos said in the morgue.

Raquel Hernández, Yesenia’s aunt, also said her family was unaware that her 14-year-old niece was working in La Goajira.

Part of Taydán Ruiz’s family did know she was working the bar in the nightclub, along with her older sister Yusmaira.

The owners and managers of La Goajira are nowhere to be found. The media have reported that they are “travelling” or are “in the United States”. No full names have been provided by the police investigating the incident, who have merely referred to men known as “Tinoco”, “Mario” or “Freitas”.

“Who is going to indemnify the families of those who died? Who will pay damages for the burns and scars of the wounded? Who issued the health, labour and safety permits so the bar could operate? What health authorities and police inspected the place?” asked Pernía.

The nightclub “violated nearly every existing safety regulation,” said Caracas fire chief Rodolfo Briceño.

“The bar had no alarms, fire extinguishers, or properly signalled exits and escape routes, and like a lot of similar places, there were more than 300 people that night packed into a place with a capacity for 100,” he pointed out.

The dozens of nightclubs doing business in the historical centre of Caracas are supposed to be inspected at least once a year by the fire brigade.

“I hope the authorities will now pay more attention to our recommendations for sanctions, by charging fines and closing places down,” said Briceño.

According to police reports, the fire may have been set by a drunken soldier out to avenge himself after he was stood up. Another hypothesis is that it was caused by a short-circuit.

The tragedy could have been even worse if the fire had reached gas cylinders that were on the roof of the hotel, said investigators.

The incident in La Goajira “highlighted not only the sexual exploitation of minors, but the overall drama of poverty in Venezuela,” social psychologist Angel Oropeza remarked to IPS.

“Society lets so many girls lead such a tough life, and when tragedy occurs, it pulls a mantle of insensitivity over itself, and shrugs its shoulders,” he complained.

Pereira said he planned to propose that Nov 30 be declared a national day of struggle against child sex exploitation.

Excerpt: