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Villages in Puerto Rico are rebuilding slowly and in some cases still waiting to get electricity restored from the damage Hurricane Maria inflicted six months ago. The author of this article has her masters degree studies interrupted as her rural town proceeds with recovery efforts. 1,500 houses were destroyed and another 2,400 sustained significant damage in the town of Comerio alone. Donations and volunteers have helped, but the damage was extensive and Puerto Rico is still short of the resources they need.
Discussion Questions
1. Should the U.S. be providing more humanitarian aid to Puerto Rico?
2. What else can nations and NGOs do to help Puerto Rico's recovery efforts?
3. Does the Trump administration deserve blame for not prioritizing a response to this natural disaster?
6 comments:
I think the US have a lot to worry about already but we should still help out in any way we can. This disaster hurt a lot of people and families and we should all help if we can. I think this is about how much resources we have and the rest of the world has and how much we could share and help. I don't think this should be our #1 priority as there is so much happening in the US but I do think we should make it somewhat of a priority to help these people.
I agree the US already has a lot to deal with in our own country. Though we should still be able to give a hand to the people in Puerto Rico at the most send food and water to them. I don't know what to think about Trump administration to be honest.
Because Puerto Rico is our territory, it is the duty of the government to provide aid for them. I find it perplexing and frankly ostentatious that the United States barges into nations borders, impedes upon their sovereignty, and aids foreign nations with the malicious intent of helping them by reforming their political structures. We all know how that story ends. With that being said, I think that they should not neglect their territory, and if they are to, then they should let Puerto Rico be autonomous and not dependant on the United States. In order to help the economy thrive again, I think organizations and governments need to help rebuild the infrastructure so we can create job in Puerto Rico so they can be self sustainable in the future.
Before I begin, I don't see how American military adventurism against other countries is necessarily relevant to the discussion regarding the Puerto Rico relief effort. If someone could help me out with that, that would be great.
With that being said, I think I'm mostly in agreement with the fact that as Puerto Rico is American sovereign territory. I'd also like to note the difference in response between aid sent to Houston after Hurricane Harvey (extensive) and Florida after Hurricane Irma (extensive) and aid to Puerto Rico (limited, at best.) The only nuance I can make out is that Puerto Rico isn't one of the actual 50 states, and thus must become one of the 50 in order to receive a prompt relief response.
This brings me to my other point: would it be feasible to grant Puerto Rico statehood? In a referendum last year, Puerto Ricans voted 97% for statehood. Could Hurricane Maria be a turning point that could see Puerto Rico admitted as a state?
I found it surprising that the US did not deliver much aid to Puerto Rico after the hurricane. The image that first springs to mind is Carmen Cruz desperately begging somebody to send help as she spoke in front of a podium or something of that sort. She was clearly in shambles and extremely distraught. I personally felt for her. To see somebody crying out for help like that and for the US not to really do anything about it is... disappointing. I think the US could help as much as they can just by moral means, not by political means.
I think that what Shweta means is that if the United States wants to occupy territories and make them American land, they need to take responsibility for the damages that happen in the territories there. I definitely agree. I think that we're a powerful world leader, and part of that includes being a humanitarian to set a good example for other countries. If we can't even appropriately support our own country, how can we be expected to set an example for other countries. Furthermore, I think that the reasoning that "their" problems should take a backseat to "our" more important problems is flawed because "they" are part of "us." A lot of the "more important" problems aren't even being addressed because Congress makes no progress due to polarization (school safety and gun control?). A lot of other problems such as debt or tax reforms are more long term, and honestly I think that pushing plans back a month to deal with the more immediate problem will not make that big of a negative difference.
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