Puerto Rico Gets Slammed Again

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

I have had the good fortune to visit the US Territory of Puerto Rico on multiple occasions and have enjoyed the island's entertainments, scenic attractions, beaches, Old San Juan, and especially the lush rainforest, El Yunque.  It is a beautiful Caribbean destination, one that is rich in history, culture, daytime adventures, and colorful nightlife.  And by being a US Territory dollars are the accepted form of currency and no extra paperwork is needed by American citizens who wish to travel to the island.

The more than three million residents of Puerto Rico are themselves US citizens and subject to federal laws, although they have no representation in Congress and cannot vote in US presidential elections.  Puerto Rico has held plebiscites going back to 1998 to try to determine what the island's residents wish for their political future, but so far there are no clear results.   The most recent vote in 2017 offered a choice between maintaining the same relationship with the United States, independence from the United States, or joining the United States as a state.  A controversy regarding ballot wording led to the parties who favored no change and independence boycotting the vote, and the pro-statehood option won with a total of 97% of the vote.  Now another plebiscite focused on the same options is being planned for next year.

So Puerto Rico remains a bastard child of the United States, one that lacks the full political power and clout of a state - and that lack of power makes it particularly vulnerable to natural disasters.

Five years ago this month Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico and literally devastated the island.  The United States responded with money and support, though many felt the response was too little, too late.  Donald Trump, the US President at the time, displayed personal animosity toward the mayor of San Juan, Carmen Cruz, whom he referred to as "crazed and incompetent."  When Trump finally did make a visit to storm-ravaged Puerto Rico, he demonstrated US indifference to the island and its residents by throwing rolls of paper towels to those present at his speech.

It has also been recently revealed that at some point during his presidency Trump entertained the idea of trying to trade Puerto Rico for Greenland.

Plans were made after Hurricane Maria to "harden" the island's infrastructure and make it to where the next major storm would not be able to inflict the same level of damage that Maria had wreaked, but significant portions of the recovery effort following Hurricane Maria were mismanaged and the residents seemed to expect that the next major hurricane would also be devastating.

And it was.

Hurricane Fiona, which struck Puerto Rico last week, was less powerful than Maria, but the storm system brought enormous amounts of rain to the island, dumping as much as thirty inches in some areas and causing massive mudslides.  Much of Puerto Rico is without power today and as many as a third of the island's residents lack safe drinking water.  For the most part the recovery efforts which were  being pursued after Hurricane Maria have been wiped from existence and the residents are now faced with the daunting task of starting over, yet again.

It is time for the US President and members of our government to once again head to Puerto Rico and to bring serious aid and assistance to our fellow citizens who live there.  They need power restored, safe drinking water, food, shelter from the wind and rain, medical supplies and attention, and reasons to believe that they are a true part of the United States, a nation that has claimed legal dominion over them and their island for almost a century-and-a quarter.

They could probably use paper towels, too - but delivered in a respectful manner.

And then, when some semblance of normality has been achieved, the residents of Puerto Rico need to decide the future that they want for their island and themselves, and their fellow citizens who live in the fifty states of the United States, need to support them in their quest for a stable and prosperous future.