An investigation published by Harvard, in collaboration with Carlos Albizu University, on May 29, 2018, concluded that the deaths caused by hurricane Maria could reach the number of 4,645.
On June 1, 2018, hundreds of shoes were beginning to be lined up on the steps of the Capitol Building in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to honor the people who died because of the hurricane.
Many people took the number with outrage and sadness, especially after the government had announced during early December 2017 that the death toll was only at 64. And, even so, the official number remains at 64.
The investigators who ran the polls, interviewed about 3,300 people to recover their information. “We calculated excess deaths by comparing our estimated post-hurricane mortality rate with official rates for the same period in 2016,” Harvard explains in their investigation.
Hundreds of shoes placed in front of the Capitolio to symbolize and protest the #4645boricuas who lost their lives due to post-Maria shameful neglect, interruption and denial. A powerful public mourning, honoring and remembering of those who were never counted. pic.twitter.com/G16RBDKnfy
— Sarah Molinari (@SarahMolinari) June 1, 2018
It is not without reason or understanding to have Puerto Ricans calling outrage at the lack of sensitivity and care that the government has shown its people, especially during the aftermath of this disaster. It has been 9 months since hurricane Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico, with sustained winds of about 250 km per hour. And the rocking waves of fear, frustration, and sadness still hit the island every day.
The shoes represent all of the deaths that the hurricane caused, but also the indignation that the people of Puerto Rico feel after the government’s neglect in response to everything that has happened since that 20th of September. And this includes, not only Puerto Rico’s government, but also the Trump administration, especially after President Trump decided that throwing paper towels like they were basketballs at the crowd was okay, and when he expressed we should be proud that [back then] there were only sixteen deaths, versus the thousands that hurricane Katrina had caused.
Should we be proud of the 4,645 now, Mr. President?
More Americans dead than September 11th. Our president threw paper towels and moved on to the next outrage. #4645Boricuas https://t.co/oQgrMlsRDU
— ??Lin-Manuel Miranda ?️? (@Lin_Manuel) June 4, 2018
“The people need to know the truth,” Abadha Marta Lila Cintrón Benítez told El Nuevo Día in regards to the number of shoes placed.
That happens to be exactly the thing that the government has failed to provide. Sitting on the number 64, regarding the deaths after hurricane Maria, is disrespectful and offensive to all of the people who have lost their loved ones and all of the people who have lost their lives. Harvard describes their investigation as an “underscore of the inattention of the U.S. government to the frail infrastructure of Puerto Rico.”
My grandmother died during the hurricane and her house was badly damaged. She was 78 years old. My brother took his own life after being diagnosed with cancer in the hell of medical care in PR. He was 31 years old. My heart aches. #4645boricuas pic.twitter.com/QvuAa9ceVl
— Carlos Rodriguez (@mycoldskies) May 31, 2018