There’s a humanitarian crisis going on in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean Islands. 

Due to the category 4 storm, Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico’s residents are without electricity, fresh drinking water, adequate access to food or a means of communication with family members. San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz expressed in an interview that since Puerto Rico is an island, “it depends on everything from the outside.” 

Students, celebrities, and family members from all over are lending a hand to help the residents of Puerto Rico during their crisis. Streets are flooded with feces, gasoline and debris that residents have to walk in to get around. Puerto Rico’s infrastructure is in ruins and even their hospitals are damaged to the point where they’re unable to treat patients. 

The island could easily get relief from the U.S. But, since President Trump feels as though the damage is the island’s fault — whatever that means — the Puerto Rican were forced to sit and wait. It is a slap in the face because he is blatantly showing the world that the residents of Puerto Rico don’t matter even though they are American citizens. Florida and Texas received immediate relief when they were hit with catastrophic hurricanes, but why has Puerto Rico been denied that kind of timely response?

Since it is always about money when dealing with Trump, he has said Puerto Rico is expected to pay back billions and billions of dollars in debt to Wall Street in order to get the help they need. People are suffering and the president — who is supposed to take everyone’s best interest into consideration — chooses to play petty games and point fingers. This may be one of the most spiteful gestures I’ve ever witnessed a President commit during a crisis. Talk about a lack of character. 

The rest of the Caribbean has suffered a great deal due to Hurricane Maria, too. Like Puerto Rico, the hospitals throughout the Caribbean are destroyed and running out of supplies to the point the military had to step in and build tents so doctors can perform surgeries on patients. Many residents of the U.S. Virgin Islands are still searching for family members, while schools and churches are damaged on the island of St. John. 

Since the hurricane, there has been plenty instances of looting across Puerto Rico. Yulín Cruz has said, “You see the best in people and you see the worst in people” regarding how people act during a crisis. She couldn’t be anymore correct. Throughout this tragedy, there have been many people that have sent supplies over to Puerto Rico, which exemplifies the best you see in people. Some of the worst you see in people comes from those who don’t care at all, which includes — unfortunately yet not surprisingly — President Trump. 

It is an unfortunate situation for people whose paradise is now in shambles because of Hurricane Maria. What makes it worse is that residents of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean are being forced to shoulder much of the load picking up the pieces of their lives while simply trying to survive.

Even though the residents of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean are being overlooked, they are showing resilience to the world despite their setbacks. Hurricane Maria may have destroyed their infrastructure and may have wiped away their electricity and water supply, but one thing it didn’t break was their spirit.

Share