The mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulín Cruz, said this about the state of Puerto Rico this Friday: “People are dying in this country. I am begging, begging anyone that can hear us, to save us from dying. If anybody out there is listening to us, we are dying, and you are killing us with the inefficiency and the bureaucracy.”
Puerto Rico needs help. We, and our current administration, should be doing everything we can to help our fellow U.S. citizens. You read that correctly, Puerto Rico is a U.S. municipality, and Puerto Ricans are granted citizenship to both countries. And yet, the disaster in Puerto Rico seems to be getting half the media attention and even less than half the help of those in Florida or Texas. I’m not saying they didn’t deserve the help, just that Puerto Ricans deserve just as much.
Puerto Rico was devastated by Hurricane Maria. People are thirsty and starving and without power. But still, Trump thinks they are asking for everything “to be done for them.” And, he went golfing this weekend. This flippant response to human lives being lost is disgusting and horrifying. I’m not sure Trump even realizes they are U.S. citizens.
I also feel that Puerto Rico being populated by people of color may have something to do with his apathy. And his desire to start fights with the mayor of San Juan, a woman who has been working her ass off in the floodwaters to help her people. She said she is “mad as hell,” and she has every right to be.
There is aid being sent to Puerto Rico, and according to an NBC report on Sept. 30, there is a three-star general working there, but he does not feel like he has enough tools and equipment.
It is unfair to taunt Puerto Ricans while denying them as much help as possible. Puerto Rico was already in the midst of a financial crisis when it was hit with multiple hurricanes. Now, they need help rebuilding their beautiful nation to what it once was.
One good way to help is share and to donate to www.unidosporpuertorico.com.
You can also find a guide that shows how to donate emergency supplies here.
It is incredibly important that we do what we can to help those in need. Do not sit and ignore a humanitarian crisis happening in your backyard. If you can’t give money or time, spread the word about how to donate to others who may be able to.
