On Wednesday September 20th, Hurricane Maria wreaked havoc on Puerto Rico. The eye of the storm ripped straight through the middle of the island, leaving it in what some have called “apocalyptic” ruin. Winds of over 150 mph tore down power lines and homes across Puerto Rico. Despite the hurricane having been over a week ago, the island is still without power and communication. The hurricane victims are currently in desperate need of food, clothing, medicine, and other supplies. Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory and therefore the United States will be sending aid to the island in the wake of the aftermath of the hurricane destruction. Despite the urgency of action that is required in a situation such as Puerto Rico, it took President Trump six days to speak publicly about the actions he plans to take. Perhaps he was occupied with his feud with the NFL. According to the New York Times, over the weekend Trump tweeted 17 times criticizing the athletes and teams that knelt or did not go out for the National Anthem (sad).
Finally, on Monday September 25th President Trump logged onto his favorite social media site and let his millions of followers what was really going on in that brain of his. In a series of three tweets he said, “Texas & Florida are doing great but Puerto Rico, which was already suffering from broken infrastructure & massive debt, is in deep trouble…..It’s old electrical grid, which was in terrible shape, was devastated. Much of the Island was destroyed, with billions of dollars…….It’s old electrical grid, which was in terrible shape, was devastated. Much of the Island was destroyed, with billions of dollars……owed to Wall Street and the banks which, sadly, must be dealt with. Food, water and medical are top priorities – and doing well. #FEMA.” (Twitter). There are not many people who would call Trump and eloquent tweeter, however, a simple “Puerto Rico is not doing well but we are doing all that we can” would have been better than what he said. Many people on Twitter responded to the President’s comments in outrage. As we have seen in the past, such as with the bombings in London, our President likes to use devastating events as platforms for his political commentary. Commenting on Puerto Rico’s debt to Wall Street and poor infrastructure was anything but appropriate. This is a time where we should be focusing on the rebuilding of Puerto Rico, and helping its inhabitants with all of the aid that we can muster.Â
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Puerto Rico is on the verge of what CNN calls a “humanitarian crisis”. Multiple political leaders have criticized the slow responsiveness that the U.S. has had in providing aid. Puerto Rico’s debts and bankruptcy is not relevant to their needing of the government’s aid. Debt or no debt, Hurricane Maria was going to destroy the island. This was not the context in which Trump should have been highlighting the island’s shortcomings. We should be looking towards the future with plans of how we as a country can come together and do our part to help our citizens in need. With Trump’s history of prejudice, it is hard to tell if the financial troubles are the only reason he is being unsympathetic. We can however, feel some sense of relief in light of Trump’s decision to waive the Jones Act, “a century-old shipping law for Puerto Rico that officials there said was hindering disaster relief efforts after Hurricane Maria”. With the act lifted, delivery of necessary food, medicine, clothes, and other supplies is being facilitated. Puerto Rico is in need of great help, the pressure for Trump make more efforts similar to the one he made Thursday remains. In order to do your part in helping Puerto Rico, please donate to one of the many organizations that is sending them aid (links below).
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Organizations accepting aid for Puerto Rico:
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Sources:
http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/26/opinions/trumps-lack-of-empathy-about-puer…
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/28/us/jones-act-waived.html?mcubz=1&_r=0
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/26/us/politics/trump-puerto-rico-hurrica…
https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/9/21/16345176/hurricane-mari…
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