Death Toll Following Hurricane Maria Raised to 3,000 in Puerto Rico
Following the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, a gargantuan storm which ripped through the islands of the Lower Antilles before striking hard on the east coast of Pueryo Rico at speeds of up to 150 mph, the official death toll was stuck at roughly 64 for months on end. The Trump administration was then criticized for their lack of proper response to the tragedy. Many months after the hurricane, studies began being conducted to see how many people truly died from the storm and its immediate aftermath. After numbers varying between 4,000 and 1,000, the Puerto Rican government finally settled on the official death count of 2,975.
I believe with all the difficulties that Puerto Rico faced following the storm, from the lack of proper federal response to the disaster, to the privatization of the crucial services on the island, this is a victory, however morbid it may be. With a proper death toll, we can now acknowledge how much preparation is needed before an event of this magnitude and take the proper steps to repair the island and help those affected.
Furthermore, I see a definite connection between this cover up of the magnitude of this event and it’s lack of a prompt and proper response, and the large scale devastation of the natives. The people of Puerto Rico have been undeniably devastated by this event, however the Trump administration has tried to cover up the true atrocity of this disaster by great underplaying the devastation to the island, much like how the Europeans denied the plight of the Natives following their destruction by disease. There can also be a parallel drawn between how some members of the public deny the importance of the recuperation of the natives by claiming that they are not true Americans, and with Puerto Rico having no autonomy to fix their situation, being left to the mercy of a country who has better things to worry about. This is much like how the Natives were essentially given a kick to the stomach and then having all their rights stripped away, similarly leaving them to the same fate. Finally, there can be a parallel drawn to show how with the mass migration of Puerto Ricans to the mainland and a vacuum that will likely be filled by wealthy Americans. This is extremely similar to how with the natives dying or moving away from the Europeans, the Europeans had free reign to just move into their space, gradually splitting the natives into tiny pockets throughout the modern day USA.
I love the way you approached your opinion and referenced it to some pre-existing and even historical issues that directly correlated with the response. I was given some really thorough insight on the event.This blog was really well written, I was more drawn to it than the article itself, honestly.
ReplyDeleteI agree tremendously with yours views on the lack of aid and response given to such a large disaster. I wonder, "where was the disconnect, how come help wasn't pouring in as soon as the disaster hit?" Anyways, this was a great blog, and I liked how your opinion was direct and sophisticated. - Joey German
ReplyDeleteI really agree with the connections you made between Trump (and many others') downplaying the effects of the hurricane & Europeans not acknowledging the devastation they caused in the Americas. It's truly awful how people disregard tragedy when it happens to people they view as "others", but are full of outrage & empathy as soon as it happens to "one of them". One thing I'd like to know is how to make disconnected, comfortable Americans relate to and care about the many victims in Puerto Rico.
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