Announcement
Refugees and asylees might leave everything behind, but passion isn’t something you need to pack. It doesn’t need to be folded up or lugged across continents. Besides hope, passion is the lightest essential. When Patricia and Fabian left Venezuela to seek asylum in the U.S., journalism followed like a featherweight suitcase.
Patricia and Fabian came to the United States a few years ago as asylum seekers with their young son, arriving in Utah during the winter.
Photo: Courtesy of Patricia and Fabian
The moniker for the digital newspaper Patricia and Fabian created once they arrived in Utah captures the connection between their two homes: Utahzolanos. Utah and Venezolanos. Two words say it all. In Venezuela, their journalistic efforts put them in the political eye and, like so many, they made the impossible decision—they left everything behind for the safety of their family.
Patricia and Fabian fled to Utah, where immediately their infant son needed a heart operation. In all the commotion of their lives being upturned and their son’s operation, one memory stood out to Patricia: the snow. They moved to Utah in the winter. She remembers leaving the house once, imagining that the sweaters they were wearing would be enough. “We only made it two blocks,” Nolan La Barge interpreted for her. “Now, we celebrate when it snows. Our son loves it.” Their son’s heart operation was a success. He just celebrated his fourth birthday. Despite being professional journalists, not even they can find the words to express their gratitude for the Utah medical professionals.
Why do they love journalism? “You never know what’s going to happen,” Patricia said. For her, this job exists as more than just an amplified voice, journalism allows them to be “intermediaries between the community and now the entire world,” she explained.
Patricia and Fabian started their newspaper, Utahzolanos, to support the Venezuelan community in Utah and across the U.S.
They’ve dedicated their work to supporting others. According to Patricia, when they first arrived in Utah “there wasn’t a guide and [they] made a lot of mistakes.” In her eyes, Utah adopted them, and now they want to help people in similar situations, to guide them through what they’ve already experienced after living here for three years.
Patricia and Fabian were recognized for their contributions to the field of journalism by the Utah Attorney General, receiving the Community Recognition in Journalism award.
Photo: Courtesy of Patricia and Fabian
Stories centered around peace resonate deeply with Patricia and Fabian. Their favorite memory of reporting in Venezuela happened in 2008 when musicians from Colombia and Venezuela met on the border where military tanks were supposed to have arrived instead. A tense event between governments ended in a resolution. A great relief to people in both countries, the conflict ended in a concert. This and so many of their journalistic efforts seem to revolve around hope. In Venezuela, Patricia and Fabian covered stories of peace arising out of tension and now, in the U.S., they write with the possibility of helping immigrants find their own peace.
They have conducted a multitude of interviews with Utahn doctors, business owners and many others to provide resources for Venezuelan community members. Their hopes extend beyond a resource list. Now, they’re working to go into print and even radio. Already they have received the Community Recognition in Journalism award from the office of the Utah Attorney General. They exude optimism as they work to achieve their goal of becoming the best source of information for the Venezuelan community in America.
You can support asylees, like Patricia and Fabian, and other refugees in our community, especially now in the face of the global pandemic, by contributing to our COVID-19 Emergency Fund. Donate today>