Hurricane Maria, regarded by CNN, is the “deadliest natural disaster to hit Puerto Rico.” This is also being noted as the third costliest Atlantic hurricane totaling a massive $91.6 billion in damage.
President Trump had a stark contradiction when he commented that only 16 people had died; that this was not a real catastrophe. The worst thing for a president to say to his people who just underwent a tragedy is that it was not tragic enough for us to care.
As a country we showed little reverence for Puerto Rico.
Fox News reported the death toll as being “more than 4,600 people,” yet it is not a catastrophe by the president’s standards. These statements prove that Donald Trump is either an incompetent, pathological liar or a combination of both.
Either way, this is exactly how the U.S. treated their territory of Puerto Rico, which is only roughly three hours away from Florida. Puerto Rico deserves our aid and help.
Puerto Rico was clearly devastated, yet did not receive much aid. Puerto Ricans, being U.S. citizens did not get much of the compassion nor aid that other us citizens received, and they certainly did not receive it promptly. They did not get the help they deserve. This needs to be a reminder to Americans that Puerto Ricans are Americans as well.
When Hurricane Harvey hit Texas, FEMA had supplies and meals before the storm even hit the ground. When Hurricane Irma hit Florida, 40,000 federal troops were in place and were delivering relief aid. Both disasters were handled promptly, and the survivors were treated with dignity. Puerto Ricans deserve that same assistance.
According to NPR, Puerto Rico went six months without electricity in their homes. Trump thought it necessary to mention how old their city grid was and attributed the outdated hardware as the main reason the entire territory was without power. Trump also mentioned that Texas and Florida were doing great with their recovery. Trump mishandled a lot during the Puerto Rican crisis and comes off as a “rube.”
Furthermore, the American citizens donated more than $5 million while private businesses donated more than $157 million to Texas alone.Chicago Tribune reports that the U.S. government gave both states more than $36.5 billion. No one is against helping our fellow citizens, yet Puerto Ricans are fellow citizens aid was not distributed efficiently. Americans do not understand that Puerto Rico is not a foreign country; however, they are fellow American citizens.
13 days after the hurricane hit Puerto Rico President Trump decided to meander around to the people that he is supposed to be leading. When he arrived there, he spent four hours in the country while shooting supplies at the survivors like merchandise at a concert.
It has been one year after the fact and Puerto Rico is only receiving a fraction of what they need to rebuild. PBS reports that 40,000 students were forced to drop out or relocate. The people of Puerto Rico have been abandoned. The only modicum of hope they had was being annexed as a state. The Puerto Rican people deserve just as much from us, if not more than Floridians and Texans. We are all American citizens.
