When asked about how the Trump administration has handled Hurricane Maria, Trump said this:
Don’t forget that their electric plant was dead before their hurricane. If you look back on your records you’ll see that that plant was dead, it was shut, it was bankrupt, it was out of business. The owed tremendous amounts of money, they had it closed up, and then when the hurricane came people said: “what are we gonna do about electricity?” That wasn’t really the hurricane—that was gone before the hurricane. But we’ve put a lot of money and a lot of effort into Puerto Rico. And I think most of the people in Puerto Rico really appreciate what we’ve done.
Trump said this just a day after Puerto Rico’s governor had raised the death toll from 64 to 2,975, due to Hurricane Maria. It’s insane to hear the president of the United States say that American citizens would “really appreciate” nearly 3,000 of their fellow citizens die a death that should have been prevented.
Food, water, and other supplies were found rotting in ten trailers in a San Juan parking lot. I’m sure Puerto Ricans appreciated Trump when they found much needed shit in a trailer. I’m sure Puerto Rican’s appreciated the administration had the National Guard no longer help distribute much needed goods, did not replace the National Guard with another agency, and it doesn’t help that we’ve been underfunding FEMA for some time.
Some Puerto Rican’s have sent letters into Splinter News, here are a few of them:
“We are not profitable to them”
I don’t know which part of all of this we don’t understand. The United States never ever really cared about us. We are not profitable to them, they cannot get something from us, they squeeze every single country in their path. It happened in the South, in Central America, they just left poverty. What a shame we let this happen.
“I can’t remember nothing like Maria”
My name is Norma Socorro Rosario. I live in the mountains of Puerto Rico. I was here for other hurricanes that touched us. But I can’t remember nothing like Maria. I had an organic farm. I planted botanical plants for many health conditions. When Maria came everything changed. The soil looked like it had been hit by an atomic bomb. After months I can’t recover my plants. I started again. But the surviving plants did not grow. They suffered to much. I had three neighbors that were in bed with bad diseases. They passed away after Maria. It was to much without energy. We had ten months without electricity and water. The wounds covered their backs, and they died.
“I asked FEMA but I got declined”
Thanks for your concern in Puerto Rico after María. My house suffered severe damages, some of them are fixed. The electric side was affected with water inside the wall and too much water. I love alone and have 67 years. I asked FEMA but i got it declined. The refrigerator was damaged and is not working.
“Call FEMA”
Two weeks after Hurricane Maria hit I was on the island with a group of nurses, doctors, plumbers, heavy machinery staff, and electricians. We noticed the lack of FEMA assistance. They were trying but did not have the amount of staff needed. People were lacking water, food, medical supplies, electrical power, and medications. We as healthcare workers knew many would die. FEMA was trying but due to the enormity they could not go home-to-home. They set up in areas but people were waiting in lines in the sun. No water. Some areas had signs—”Call FEMA”—but people had no phone system. Many had no pharmacies and were paying for their meds. No doctors to order or see them. The people received high carb and high sodium foods but they had diabetes and hypertension. Their numbers were high.
“I’m so tired of asking for help”
Hello, I live on the island of St Croix. Ever since the hurricane 10 months ago it is still hurting our children. They still aren’t doing a full day of education. I still don’t have a home phone line mostly for safety reasons with not having cell service, and our hospital need to be rebuilt. A lot of friends still have blue tarps that are blowing off and getting rained on. It shouldn’t be this bad!!! I’m so tired of asking for help.
This is what the journalist at Splinter who wrote the article presenting Puerto Rican letters, said of the situation:
This is sickening, maddening and crushingly sad. I have had the great fortune of visiting Puerto Rico and the USVI and it is incomprehensible that this further horror is being inflicted upon the people there. It is being inflicted. This is disaster capitalism at its peak. Trump and his mob want this and they are no help. Call and write your Congressional representatives and demand an accounting and redress for this terrorization of fellow citizens.
That’s how Puerto Rican’s are profitable. They do they suffering, so capitalists profit from that suffering. It’s hard trying to find a reason why Puerto Rican’s wouldn’t “appreciate” the great work Donald Trump has done.
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