Every time a disaster hits, we're reminded that cash is a better form of aid than unskilled people showing up. You say that Vieques needs help, but where is the list of charities taking donations?
I hope that when I next see this page, or another story about the damage in Vieques or the Virgin Islands, I will see these three little words, "How to Help."
Think you can do it, NYT?
I still hear talking heads on TV refer in one sentence to "Puerto Rico and the United States", as if the island were a foreign country. And that's when one hears about the place at all amid the media tsunami of Trumpism, "the holiday season", "improper touching", and the rest of what occupies what is insouciantly called "world news". Now, here in the NYT, we're told that it takes a long time to get utility poles to Puerto Rico "because it's an island"! Guadalcanal is an island; the Falklands are islands. We on the mainland have yet another reason to be ashamed of our government!
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Puerto Rico is smack down in the path of potential hurricanes.
What has Puerto Rico done in the last 50 years to prepare?
Why rebuild anything there, to be destroyed by future hurricanes?
Given the continued reported island devastation, coupled with US inability to make prompt repairs, and repair without US government corruption (a 3 man Montana electric company, friendly with US Secretary of the Interior), the best humanitarian alternative is evacuation and relocation of Puerto Rico's population to the U.S.-anywhere in the U.S. So far Florida, Texas and New York are popular. Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio's plans to help will work. Compensation to landowners who leave can be made either by the US or other states similar to NYS Hurricane Sandy payments to Staten Islanders, then the land parcels can be sold at auction. It's Overdue to make and recognize Puerto Rico as the 51st State of US for purposes of equality, legal rights, economic aid and development, since its population are US citizens.
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Just one man's view, but I believe the population of PR will continue to dwindle down to "a precious few" and quickly. With no jobs, no food, no energy, no water, people cannot exist there is very large numbers. I hope I am wrong.........
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I would love to volunteer. El Yunque, Vieques and Saint Croix are lovely places I have been lucky to have enjoyed. Unfortunately, what are needed most are electricity grid workers and a U.S. federal government that treats our Caribbean-based U.S. citizens like U.S. citizens. And that's not going to happen under our white supremacist president who is busy building walls, denying the fact of human-caused global warming, and threatening our friends as well as our enemies, while colluding with Russia to end democracy in the U.S. In fact, I read that Spanish-born U.S. citizen José Andrés, a well-known restaurateur, has served more free meals in Puerto Rico than has the American Red Cross. Thank goodness for immigrants!
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Our small group of friends go to Water Island, USVI every January and stay at a small campground. We already "rough it" so it's not a big inconvenience for us as long as we can get there and get some supplies (rum and beer . . . just saying.)
We're going back this coming January not just because it's the place we always go, but to do some bit to help the people there get back on there feet. Some rum, some helping with cleanup, and doing some good is going to be a different kind of vacation, but so be it this year (and maybe next year too.)
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It must be really nice to have the time and money to be a 'Volun-tourist'.
Most of us never even get a paid or unpaid vacation week, once a year.
And if we did, I doubt many would be interested in planting crops on mountain tops or rebuilding someone's house. Maybe some would but most unlikely.
I, like a majority of Americans, don't go far or anywhere anymore.
Who can afford it?
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Actually, MOST of us do get a paid vacation.
And actually, the majority of Americans are wealthier than ever and can afford it.
But it would be nice if more people could afford time off.
Unfortunately those of us who work will have our taxes raised in order to pay for Trump's trillion dollar tax cut for the rich.
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Jay, you must be misinformed .. MOST folks under 40 do not have
paid vacation since they are lucky to have the minimum wage jobs
they have which never are more than 30 hours a week ... so they do
not get benefits like health insurance OR paid vacation ...
this is part of the crisis that effects this country .. the billionaire owners,
(especial Amazon which everyone seems to love) of many companies work their low wage workers hard ... pay them nada, give them no sick days , and fire them at will or the whiff of a union.. ...
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As one whom was born and raised in a British colony, I understand how seemingly caring people feel about our quaint tropical islands. The tireless bodies transported across the Middle Passage centuries ago continue to serve a purpose. The West African blackness is now a range of skin hues but the treatment has changed little. Labour under the whip and rape by massa have been replaced. Rape remains endemic and underpaid labour is still the basis of an economy. Tourism flourishes as do other businesses that take advantage of archaic laws favoring the new massa and those who replenish his/her trough. Puerto Ricans are figuratively treading water filled with bodies and waste two months after a hurricane. The empathy expressed by this eighty plus year old white woman is multiples of any similar feeling that may have oozed from the carcass of Puerto Rica's ruler. The racist doctrines of the US has continued crossing the "big water" to that island.
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The second class treatment of Puerto Rico by Trump underscores the facts of Puerto Rico's history that it is nothing more than a colony of the USA - cut off from free access to its neighboring countries, most of them also colonies or struggling former colonies, punished for having dared to assert rights to self-determination. How much better the Caribbean region would fare if the island countries there were united and prepared to help one another when the inevitable natural disaster occurs? Instead Puerto Rico is completely dependent upon its colonial overseer the USA.
I hope that Puerto Rico takes the time it needs and has the resources to rebuild in a manner that is more sustainable - with structures made of stone and concrete, with solar energy as its mainstay. If that support comes from the US government it will have colonial strings attached that enrich corporate entities who love Puerto Rico but could care less about Puerto Ricans.
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"Colonial overseer"? Lose the bogus political manta and learn what's really happening. The independent nations of Haiti, Dominica & Granada all required substantial foreign help after natural disasters; Antigua is devastated with little recovery completed and Barbuda is depopulated. So being independent isn't helping their recovery, and probably hindering it. Meanwhile St. Croix in the US Virgins is now open to cruise ships. We have received over 300,000 displaced Puerto Ricans in our area, and thousands arrive daily courtesy of FEMA, without needing visas or other formalities. Their young people are enrolling in local schools & colleges, and refugees can get jobs and public services BECAUSE they are US citizens. Conditions in PR are awful, and the people there need more recovery efforts, but I doubt they would be better off separated from the US
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“It was very scary the first days,” Ms. Westerman, 85, said of trying to find out what was going on from afar. “We also have family in Florida and we were going berserk with the hurricanes.”
It was scary not knowing what condition your winter home was in without anybody there? You went berserk about your family in Florida?
Talk about way too emotional people who get riled up over things that are almost nothing. I have family in Florida, I checked before the hurricanes that they were ready, and after that they were fine. They were.
Hoopdedoo to you and your fortunate family. Other families were not as fortunate. A little compassion for people outside your family, please.
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St croix remains largely without power as well. The trees and flowers of El Yunque and St John will regrow. Smashed houses will eventually be bulldozed into the growing debris pile and carted off to a dump and shelter rebuilt. Some restaurants are reopening on truncated hours. We are all grateful to have a generator to run for a few hours of 'normal' a day. What remains, painfully, is the dismissive response from Mr Trump to the real woes of real people that are just regular Americans. The not-rich. The not-powerful. The folks without resources. Just imagine him or any member of his family, ducking under fallen poles and wires, cooking by lantern light, or forgoing evenings with friends for six-yes six! Weeks! Curfew. Dark streets. Hauling cans of gasoline home every two days. It is a very good thing people of the Caribbean are resilient. We'll appreciate every tourist that steps onto our shores. Come on down! We're managing and we'd love to see you again.
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It's a situation that is extremely frustrating to those of us who love the islands and want to help. I just recently cancelled our flights to Vieques for Thanksgiving as I was hoping we would still be able to go and help. However my husband is insulin dependent and there being no power or water makes the situation impossible at this time. Instead of turkey sandwiches on the beach our friends will be here eating turkey gumbo. Once it is safe to do so we will return and pay it forward for those that helped us.
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Go and help how? Do you know how to repair the grid? Run equipment? Stay home you as with most journalists would be a burden not a resource.
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Thank you for providing this report. And please continue to provide information on the various ways that we can help people PR and the USVI.
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The link to Adopt a Family is superb service!
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Mireya: Thank you for writing this article. In addition to everything else, you describe the traffic situation and the telecommunications situation perfectly. Like you, I am a Puerto Rican in the diaspora and have also cried over the phone with my family. Puerto Rico, even 45 days after the hurricane, is still suffering. We all need to keep bringing attention back to it. The Federal government's response has not been sufficient, and articles like this make it obvious. Thank you again for writing this.
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And they will be suffering for quite some time. Folks in say Texas are also suffering, not as much as those in PR or VI. Disasters are called that because well they cause massive damage that can't be fixed quickly and they cause death, destruction, and suffering. I bet the grid won't be mostly fixed before next Christmas, other infrastructure might never be the same again.
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Vulcanalex: Your responses are simply heartless. They lack empathy and compassion. They remind me of Trump's tweets regarding Hurricane Maria. If folks in Texas and Florida are still suffering, it simply speaks to the inadequacy of the present administration. Bottom line when it comes to Puerto Rico: no matter how you slice it, the Federal response has been inadequate, even if you compare it to Bush's response to Katrina (which was considered inadequate anyway). I refuse to believe that the most powerful nation in the world cannot help its citizens and restore a grid in an island that is 100 miles by 35 miles. The situation is shameful and unacceptable. PERIOD.
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Why do volunteers to do simple things as carrying stuff have to come in from outside? They also have to be fed and housed. Why not use Puerto Rican volunteers in the ground? There must be lots of people in P.R. willing to help but needing logistics coordination. What is this vacation community concept? Unless they are paying well to vacation doing volunteer community work to help the "natives," I do not see why Puertorricans are not being tapped for this kind of work--feed them and perhaps pay them a per diem (as you would have to the outsiders), put them to work in their own country.
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Dear Ms. Navarro:
We’re also going to Puerto Rico in December to support our family and friends, and keep up with our holiday tradition. Thank you for providing information on other ways of helping out with the reconstruction of our beautiful islands and people.
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This article is a great insight for any tourists planning on visiting. The facts are very accurate as to the state of the island as of very early November, but I would like to clarify a couple of issues. First, the percentage of power being reported is the power being generated, not necessarily distributed, which is a lower percentage. Second, the water in the pipes is NOT apt for consumption, so visitors need to very careful about that. One drastic change in the tourism industry which warrants further investigation is the change in airfares after the storm. It seems as if airlift supply has gone down significantly and fares have gone up. How is this happening when there is so much demand? Are the airlines taking advantage of Puerto Rico price-gouging us? It would be interesting to analyze prices and supply before and after the storm. Gracias Mireya.
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Thank you for this exhaustive article about conditions in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. I am wondering why St. Croix was so absent from this article and was disappointed to not see it even pinned on the map with the other US Virgin Isands. It is the largest of them. We were severely damaged by Hurricane Maria but are well on our way to recovery and looking forward to seeing our friends and family back in 2018!
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Thank you for your courage and advice. There are so many ways to help, and I am glad that volunteer tourists can help. We are donating books to the schools that are accepting children from Puerto Rico who will spend the school year in Massachusetts. We look forward to bringing our tourist dollars, and gifts in the near future. God bless you all.
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