Things
appear to be getting worse by the day in Puerto Rico.
Of
course, if you weren’t on the island you wouldn’t know that, given that the
media has pretty much forgotten about this massive humanitarian crisis.
Wednesday
marked 112 days since Hurricane Maria made landfall and, to date,
only 55 percent of the island has power restored.
Food,
gas and medical supplies remain scarce with no answers as to when full power
and services will be restored.
Then,
on Tuesday, a tsunami warning was
issued for Puerto Rico after a 7.6 magnitude earthquake hit the Caribbean
Sea. Thankfully, the warning was cancelled shortly thereafter but the island
remains in desperate need.
This
week, yet another blow was dealt the people of the island when the police
chief resigned amid
controversy and an increase in the murder rate.
Puerto
Rico's first female police chief resigned Monday amid a spike in killings while
thousands of officers continue to call in sick to protest the lack of overtime
pay.
The
island's governor said retired military officer Michelle Hernandez was stepping
down after one year of overseeing one of the largest police departments under
U.S. jurisdiction. [...]
Puerto
Rico had recorded 23 killings as of Sunday, compared with nine in the same
period last year, police spokesman Carlos Rivera told The Associated Press.
This year's killings have occurred across the U.S. territory and include a
triple homicide in recent days, he said.
This
is downright frightening.
For
almost four months, Puerto Ricans have been without stable sources of food,
electricity, water and medicine. Schools are operating without power.
There
is a mass exodus of people leaving the island.
We
still don’t know exactly how many people have died because of the storm and the
government says it’s 64, though other data suggests it’s over 1,000.
And
now police officers are not showing up to work because they aren’t being paid
and there is a spike in killings. This is the stuff of fictional dystopian
movies and books—except it’s real life and Puerto Ricans are suffering and
dying.
More
than 2,700 officers have been absent daily on average in recent weeks, compared
with the usual average of about 600 daily absences. It is unclear whether that
number has changed in recent days and whether any action has been taken against
officers who have called in sick. [...]
Officers
have been demanding millions of dollars owed for working overtime after
hurricanes Irma and Maria, with some working seven days a week, 12 to 15 hours
a day.
A
couple of weeks ago, Hernandez estimated the government owed officers an
additional $35 million in overtime pay, but said the department was still
tallying attendance sheets to determine the exact amount.
As
grave as this situation is, there still aren’t any straight answers. No one
knows what’s happening—from how much pay police officers are owed to whether or
not the police chief quit or was asked to resign.
What
will it take to ensure the safety and well-being of Puerto Ricans? Because at
this point, every single system and structure that should be ensuring public
safety and disaster recovery is failing them miserably.
They
are being left to die by negligent local and federal governments all while a
moronic and racist president and his administration stand by and watch.
This
should fill every American with shame and outrage but, mostly, we should
feel motivated to act. If the government won’t do anything to help, we
must.
Here’s
a list of organizations you can donate to:
