"I don't want to die in a shelter," the uncertainty of earthquake victims in Venezuela

"I don't want to spend my remaining years in a shelter," laments Emilia Rada, a 73-year-old woman residing in a sports center in La Guaira. Hundreds of people are living in this makeshift refuge a week after a double earthquake devastated Venezuela, leaving their homes destroyed or severely damaged. They face profound uncertainty about when, or if, they will be able to return.

Rada spends her days sitting on a bunk bed in the shelter, set up by UN agencies in the José María Vargas Sports Center, located in the heart of the devastation from the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes last Wednesday. "The upstairs floor collapsed into my apartment. Thank God I wasn't there at the time. But when I arrived, I couldn't do anything, I couldn't save anything, not even my documents," she explained.

Having fled a public square where she had been sleeping, Rada recounted leaving "terrified because the smell of death was too strong." She now faces the grim prospect of living in a shelter indefinitely. "I'm not leaving here today or tomorrow," she said, contemplating moving abroad with relatives because "I don't want to spend my remaining years in a shelter."

The Venezuelan government has reported that 12,841 people have lost their homes. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez promised two days ago that new housing would be provided for those affected by the end of the year. Meanwhile, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) estimates that nearly 16,000 people have had to seek alternative accommodation, and many are still living on the streets.

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No voy a salir de aquí ni hoy ni mañana