By AMEARA DITSCHE
Staff Writer
Too often we see issues outliving their coverage. According to Puerto Rico’s Governor Ricardo Rosselló, is still suffering from damage made by Hurricane Maria. Hurricane Maria was a category four storm and was one of the largest hurricanes in history, causing some of the worst damage ever seen. Hurricane Maria hit puerto Rico in September of 2017 and had a death toll of approximately 2,975.
Hurricane Maria caused the largest Blackout in U.S. history. Not only that but because of the U.S. not providing the same assistance they did to Texas and Florida, preventive measures weren’t taken and the blackouts lasted months.
Hurricane Maria spurred large amounts of migration to the U.S. due to people fleeing from the hurricane. Bobbi Le Rae Valentin, a student here at Saint Rose moved to Manhattan for her senior year of high school due to the damages to her school.
Valentin said “Moving to NYC was not a choice, but we didn’t have time for thoughts and feelings. It was about survival and taking action.”
No one deserves to have to suffer this. Our country is too developed to allow people to go without things as basic as food,water, or electricity. Valentin stated that her home back in Puerto Rico was without power until June of 2018, over seven months after the hurricane made landfall. No matter how far New York is from Puerto Rico miles wise, the island is American territory and this event should strike a chord with all of us.
On Sept. 20, the one year anniversary of the Hurricane first hitting the island, people all over the Island gathered to remember. Remember the lives lost and the damage done to their home.
We as United States citizens must stand together with them and do the same. We must not only remember but reflect. Reflect on how and why this Hurricane caused so much damage, and how we can fix it and prevent another incident like this from happening.
Recently President Trump said he loves Puerto Rico. Does he though? If so, why would he ever settle for this low quality aide towards Puerto Rico? Not only this but Trump does have a history of racism against Hispanics.
Evidence shows that Hurricane Maria could have been better if the government had provided more resources. The hurricane hit Puerto Rico during Trump’s presidency so why didn’t he do anything? He provided those resources to Florida and Texas. How can he claim to love Puerto Rico if he doesn’t even hold them as equals?
We aren’t done talking about Puerto Rico. The damages are still troubling the people so there still needs to be efforts in helping. Writing an article is only one small thing but every piece of action is important.
Don’t stop. Don’t stop sharing, talking or donating. The damages done to Puerto Rico are a result of corruption and favoritism in the United States government. We can not claim being “woke” if we ignore issues when they don’t seem prevalent to us.
