Ever since Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico Sept. 20, the island and its people have struggled to get by. It was the most powerful storm in about a century, and the island of about 3 million people was struck head on.
You may assume that in six months things have gotten back to normal, but some residents in Puerto Rico are still without water, shelter and power. In the town of Yabucoa, where 35,000 people sat through the eye of the storm, just 35 percent of the town is energized, according to Mother Jones. The town is providing water to its citizens by using 25 generators to power pumps. Significant damage can be seen throughout the town, including piles of debris near city hall.
According to The New York Times, the hurricane knocked out all electricity for nearly 70 percent of all households and destroyed towns with floods and mudslides. Six months later, 7 percent of the island’s population still has no power, according to the Los Angeles Times.
In November, the island officials estimated that after Hurricanes Irma and Maria, they would need nearly $95 billion to rebuild the island. But the money received hasn’t been enough. Puerto Rico officials have complained continuously that the federal government isn’t doing enough to help with recovery.
If Florida got hit as Puerto Rico did, we wouldn’t be writing this editorial. The Red Cross would have stepped in. The National Guard would be working to help people from their homes and distribute food and water. The government would have passed emergency funding to ensure available resources for power and restoration of available water. You saw this after Hurricane Irma as officials ordered evacuations to protect residents and make sure supplies were ready.
And while it’s more difficult to give emergency aid to an island than a part of the contiguous U.S., we need to do more. And we need to start with representation.
Out of the 540 people who represent the U.S. and its territories in Congress, only one person goes to the Capitol on behalf of Puerto Rico. Her name is Jenniffer González-Colón, and she has no vote.
And she’s not the only one. Representatives for Washington, D.C.; American Samoa, Guam; the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands also have no vote on legislation on the Congress floor.
And while these representatives can propose legislation political clout, this lack of power is reflective of how the U.S. views its territories: as second-class.
Don’t forget about Puerto Rico. But most importantly, don’t forget about the people.
While some are still on the island waiting patiently, thousands have left. The majority of the migrants have come to Florida, according to CNN. We must be conscientious of this. We must keep this in mind and try to help as much as possible.
In an op-ed column in The New York Times, Daiza Aponte Torres, who is living in a New York hotel with her two daughters, wrote, “We’re barely surviving … We were confined to our rooms all day. My limited English has made it difficult to find a job. I applied for welfare assistance so that I could feed my children, but the request was denied twice.”
It can be difficult to feel connected to the island when at the political level it faces an uphill battle for representation.
It’s on us to make sure they feel welcome and ask our legislators to represent the voice of Puerto Rico.
