This is my entry (not valid for contest since I'll be helping select a the winners) to @beeber's #IYC Community Contest 4. I'd like to invite @felixgarciap, @owasco, and @fionasfavourites to join the contest.

When it comes to monuments of peace in Venezuela, I can't think of a single prominent one, except the multiple religious statues and buildings that people traditionally associate with peace and tolerance. When it comes to my city, Cumaná, I must admit I thought we had none. It so happens that we do have a new series of monuments that were supposed to be finished by the previous governor, but which (like most revolutionary construction projects) are still works-in-progress (sort of).

Peace in Venezuela is an Orwellian concept (See 1984 by George Orwell). The very same government who for over 20 years has created confrontations among brothers and sisters is capable of using the word shamelessly to allude whatever they find expedient for their ideological and political purposes. A case in point: Venezuela saw recently an escalation in urban and rural organized crime confrontations with police and military authorities. The result is always high casualties on the criminals’ side, an unknown number of "collateral damage," and deathly silence from government officials. The interesting thing is that these criminal bands operated in areas the government itself christened “zones of peace.” They operate with impunity (until they screw up with some big fish) and are provided with plenty of weapons and ammo (evidenced in their social media videos and photographs).

Thus, peace for the government is actually war for the people who have to deal with criminal bands that are supported by the government as long as they guarantee social control and don’t mess up.

_{On this board, in front of the local Army Headquarters you can read: "The traitor will be treated as enemy... Here we love chavez!". A frontal warning out in the open for anyone to see. Not about race, religion, or class. It demands nothing less than fealty to the state.}

That’s our current situation and it has been like that for almost 20 years, the last 10 being the worst. Amid this situation, we have state-sponsored terrorism that has kept any dissident voice silenced. Those who value their lives leave the country, align with the government, or face tragic repercussions.

_{"Peaceful" messages like this one can be still found on many walls, dating back a few years when protests were strong and government repression was stronger. It reads "We are going after you! Bolivarian wrath".}

Thank Goodness we have the Monuments

So, I started to walk around town looking for signs of some sort of meaningful structure devoted to commemorate peace. I found nothing around the places I usually visit. I did some research and learned from the previous governor's twitter account that a certain obelisk of peace a few miles from where I live had been inaugurated some time ago.

I walked with my wife, while we did some shoppings and got to the place. Ironically, there was a long line of cars for the gas station across the avenue where this obelisk sits.

Nothing more peaceful than a long line of angry drivers who have been waiting since the day before and had just been told there is not gasoline left for the day.

Some of them were doing what is now customary in this town.

It might be justified after a long night there, but for crying out loud, there is a river and a bridge next to you, idiot! Nothing better to promote peace than a bunch of imbeciles peeing in public when you walk with your wife.

_{The Manzanares River, facing South.}

_{The Manzanares River, facing North.}

Anyways, without further ado, the Obelisk of Peace according to the bolivarian revolution:

No plate or sign identifying what it is, who made it, or to what purpose

As I meantioned earlier, it is not finished and it will probably remain like that. It's an old MO.
It's a plane and simple concrete structure. No engravings. No images or words. There is not even a bench for people to sit and contemplate. No trees to provide some shade and, believe me, it is scorching hot all day long.

Anyway, this is what I can report from Cumaná, Venezuela when it comes to monuments of peace. I will keep searching. I promise an update if I find something else on the subject.

As a way of reflection, I'd like to say that I admire those countries that value peace, beauty, and aesthetically pleasing monuments. They make sure people remember the attrocities of war, but more than monuments, the world needs actions. The world needs people willing to do what is right. Respecting and valuing the lives of others is always the right thing to do. If everyone does their best to do to other only that which they would want for themselves then we would not need conflicts to mediate differences and we would not need monuments to remind us of our inability or unwillingness to behave as the alleged civilized and advanced species humans are.

War are possible only becasue there are people willing to fight for the stupidity of a few. The wars are possible only because there are soldiers willing to kill people who have done nothing to them and who would probably be good friends if they met them at a resort someplace warm and sunny. People should be able to say no when a government calls them to fight absurd wars that will leave nothing but devastation. The same politicians who caused the devastation will meet in fancy hotels and drink and eat a fancy feast while the soldiers who fought the war will be enemies for generations to come and harvest the hatred and trauma a few idiots planted.

I know as a fact that when the current Venezuelan regime talks about "peace" they mean exactly the opposite and they keep working to perpetuate the conditions that will foster continuous confrontations. 20 years of experience say so. I can't wait to see the end of that.

Thanks for stopping by