This archive report was first published on 7 September 2019.
Christmas may seem far off, but for Frankeiber Hernandez, 18, it's a bittersweet time of year. His parents, who left for Peru in 2017, are expected to return in December, but Frankeiber's not sure if they'll make it.
His mother left when he was 16, and his father joined her the following year. Since then, birthdays and family occasions have often ended in tears.
"It's always very bad," Frankeiber says. "Sometimes, I get depressed, but I keep hoping that they come back."
"It's always very bad," says Frankeiber, now 18. "Sometimes, I get depressed, but I keep hoping that they come back."
According to the UN, 3.6 million Venezuelans have fled their country since 2016. Frankeiber is one of thousands of children left behind, growing up without their parents.
His grandmother, Estelita, 58, is raising Frankeiber and his brother, Fraiber, 8, in the rundown western Caracas suburb of Catia. They survive on the dollars sent back by Frankeiber's parents, who work in a restaurant in Peru.
Remittances from Venezuelans living abroad were worth around $3 billion over the past year, according to analysts Econanalitica. The dollar acts as a shield against crippling hyperinflation.
Estelita says she's thankful for the money, but wishes her daughter was there. "But I'd rather have her here because she keeps telling me 'I'm losing my son's love."
Children growing up without parents in the home experience irritability, depression, and anger, says Cecodap director Abel Saraiba. One in four Venezuelan migrants leave at least one child behind, amid acute shortages of basic foods and medicines.
Grandmother Carmen Lugo has taken care of her two grandsons and a cousin since her two daughters left for Madrid. She cooks, cleans, and takes them to school every morning. At night, they sleep in the same bed because there's no other space.
The brutal force of Venezuela's meltdown is creating "transnational families" whose only links are WhatsApp conversations and remittances, says sociologist Claudia Vargas.
Child psychologists warn parents to avoid traumatizing their children by promising them a hypothetical return that may never materialize.
