The United Nations鈥� will visit Puerto Rico today to survey the aftermath of Hurricane Maria and the structural issues it unveiled. The storm exposed the brutal and historic neglect of the island and its 3.5 million U.S. citizens.
The 老澳门开奖结果 and other organizations advocated for the U.N. to visit the island and urging them to do so back in early October. The U.N. poverty expert with communities, local groups, and government officials on the ground in Puerto Rico. He will report back his findings to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.
While Puerto Rico 鈥�belongs to but is not part of鈥� the world鈥檚 richest country, its poverty rate is of Mississippi鈥檚, the U.S.鈥檚 poorest state. Fifty-eight percent of the island鈥檚 children live in poverty. The unemployment rate is 10.1 percent, twice as high as the U.S. and more than any other state, and has continued to grow after the devastation. Since 2008, over 34,000 homes have been foreclosed on, and a record-breaking 5,424 families lost their homes in 2016.
Puerto Rico鈥檚 legal status is complicated, and it helps exacerbate circumstances that lead to poverty and civil rights issues. And these have only worsened since the hurricane. Since the Supreme Court in the determined that Congress owns Puerto Rico, the U.S. can rule over Americans living on the island without granting them the full constitutional rights enjoyed by those living in the states. This affects health care programs like Medicaid and Medicare, fair access to government resources that help vulnerable communities, and many other issues.
How and when Puerto Rico recovers from Hurricane Maria is important for these 3.5 million U.S. citizens鈥� civil and human rights. Without adequate assistance and support from the United States, the country that 鈥渙wns鈥� them, these American citizens won鈥檛 be able to fight to fully participate in our democracy.
In an effort to understand the importance of the U.N.鈥檚 visit and get a sense of what post-Maria life is like on the island, I interviewed William Ramirez, the executive director of the 老澳门开奖结果 of Puerto Rico.
This interview has been condensed and edited.
Why is the United Nations鈥� poverty expert visiting Puerto Rico?
Puerto Rico is generally invisible to the world. Most of the time it feels like we don鈥檛 exist in the collective consciousness. We鈥檙e not a part of the United States, and we鈥檙e not our own country. That puts us in a difficult position. You can see that in how the federal government and the Trump administration have responded to us after Hurricane Maria. We got such a cold response because we are not seen as part of the states even though we are U.S. citizens.
Being recognized by the U.N. for this visit is key to keeping up the public and media attention we need to bring forward action to help us recover as soon as possible. We鈥檙e going into 4 months now. There are many people that are sick and have died unnecessarily because of post-hurricane conditions.
I鈥檓 hopeful that the visit will highlight and put into perspective the fact that what Hurricane Maria really did was unveil the extreme poverty that has been growing in Puerto Rico due, in part, to austerity measures imposed by an and as a consequence of unequal treatment and attention from the federal government and Congress.
What is life like in Puerto Rico right now?
There鈥檚 a lot of sadness and trauma right now. Everyone has to get used to a new normal. Days are for preparing for the night, and nights are longer. You can make a list of all the things you want to do, but then there鈥檚 a massive power outage that will disrupt your plans. Every day is an improvisation. We don鈥檛 have the luxury of thinking about tomorrow.
Small things you take for granted have a big impact. Stoplights don鈥檛 work, and not all streets have cops directing traffic. There are longer traffic jams than normal. With so many folks and businesses without power, it gets very dark at night and it鈥檚 dangerous. You can鈥檛 even see people when you are walking, you bump into them.
You can鈥檛 trust all restaurants because how do you know that their food is fresh or that they didn鈥檛 lose power at some point? There are a lot of diseases going around. A lot of businesses are closed and will not open their doors again.
Can you see and feel the federal government鈥檚 presence on the ground? If so, how?
I don鈥檛 see them in the way you鈥檇 expect. For instance, I see the federal government in the militarization of the police. There are officers with military gear out in the streets. They鈥檙e not local police. You鈥檇 think that what happened here was not a catastrophe but an insurrection. They will stop you at traffic stops, and they are carrying automatic weapons and will search you or your car without warrants or cause.
The government imposed a mandatory and indefinite curfew that appeared to be targeted to certain segments of the population 鈥� especially the poor. People without power can鈥檛 cook at home, so they have to go out to get food after curfew. Who is most likely to be in this situation? Someone poor or with limited resources that cannot afford a power generator, for example.
The population of a federal prison here went without water for four days. Homelessness is becoming an even bigger problem. Some schools are still closed.
Health care was a mess before the hurricane. It鈥檚 even more of a mess now. Hospitals aren鈥檛 equipped to service patients and doctors are leaving. There鈥檚 an even greater exodus of doctors now.
These are just a few examples of the civil and human rights issues going on now on the island.
Is the federal government providing the help people need?
For some people they are. Some communities that are well off got food and supplies, but there are poor areas the government hasn鈥檛 visited. Our office was closed for a month, so we worked from my house and would go out to devastated communities and try to help get them what they need.
Is reporting about Hurricane-related deaths accurate? Has the government been transparent about this important figure?
The local government tries to play down how bad things were. They were not counting many deaths they should have. Some people died because hospitals had no electricity or didn鈥檛 serve patients well. Or they didn鈥檛 have medications available. The government reported them as deaths due to pre-existing conditions. It鈥檚 probably , and the number will keep growing.
President Trump also played it down. But one death is a tragedy. Thousands of people shouldn鈥檛 have to die to know that something is wrong and that things need to change. Trump didn鈥檛 see the real situation when he was here. He went from the airport to a church and to a press conference. The same goes for Vice President Pence and House Speaker Paul Ryan. They didn鈥檛 meet with the real people who were affected.
Where do we go from here? What does Puerto Rico鈥檚 future hold?
We could claw back to normal, but that wasn鈥檛 good to begin with. Puerto Rico is a love affair. You love it, and because you love it, you take it for better or worse. You love it for what it is. It鈥檚 hard to leave it behind.
What can people in the U.S. do to advocate for the 3.5 million U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico?
Contact and tell your representatives in the House and Senate to assist Puerto Rico in this time of need.
These U.S. citizens are having a really hard time. It鈥檚 a lot worse than people think. It鈥檚 not just the physical destruction, but the soul of Puerto Rico that has been hit hard. We can鈥檛 lose the spirit to fight, but it鈥檚 heartbreaking.
