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[October 2017] The perfect storm: Why the time for Puerto Rican statehood is now

Charlie Colasurdo ’18

When I used to see posters of “Puerto Rico,” my mind ran to images of tropical vacations, complete with white-sand beaches, all-inclusive resorts and lazy days spent lounging by the pool.

To me, those images, however generic and simplified, were shattered following the landfall of Hurricane Maria on Sept. 20, as footage of a scarred landscape were replayed incessantly on the nightly news. Maria, the third storm in a trio of devastating hurricanes that rampaged through the Caribbean, put Puerto Rico at the forefront of national attention and made me take notice of an American territory that has remained in the shadows for way too long. As an American, I was shocked and appalled at the events that followed, particularly our President’s seemingly inhumane reaction to a commonwealth that is part of the United States. This appalling behavior on behalf of our nation’s Commander in Chief has given me further reason to believe that Puerto Rico must be recognized as a state.

In comparison, the government’s (and the President’s) responses to the recent hurricanes in Florida and Texas were proactive, widespread and without reservation. I know this because my extended family in West Palm Beach, Florida, faced only a few days without power, as their electrical grid was quickly brought back to life. Similarly, friends in Houston, Texas were back to school within less than a week, no doubt helped by a swift and steady stream of Federal assistance. So why is it that Americans living in Puerto Rico, albeit 1,150 miles off of our coast, are still struggling to obtain clean drinking water, let alone a resumption in public school?

Let’s be clear: The island of Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States, governed by the same three branches of government that govern the rest of our country. However, American people born in Puerto Rico lack legislative representation, as well as the ability to vote in federal elections. To me, this is the definition of hypocrisy.

In a June 11 referendum, a vast majority of the island’s inhabitants voted for statehood, a vote that fell on deaf ears stateside. This was the culmination of several votes in favor of statehood, all to no avail. But now, for the first time in American history, Puerto Rico is “making waves” in the mainland as it faces innumerable challenges on the path to rebuilding, a movement I wholeheartedly support, as Puerto Ricans must fight and claw for their very rights to survive.

As an American, I feel that it is unjust for an American population of 3.4 million, larger than 21 of our 50 states, to remain without the most basic of public utilities. Facing a desperate humanitarian crisis of unprecedented scale, island representatives put out a call to the mainland—a call that the American President seemed reluctant to heed. Almost two weeks passed before Federal aid began to arrive, leaving the 3,515 square mile territory to effectively fend for itself.

As an American living in the Northeast, it has been hard to imagine that our own government would leave its own citizens with suffering so needlessly, leaving the Mayor to plead for deliveries of supplies and water. And, finally, when some aid supplies did reach the island, I watched as volunteers grappled with finding a way to move them inland to the people that needed them, hampered by a lack of transportation infrastructure and federal oversight. I was happy to see that some mainland legislative leaders, including Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and John McCain (R-AZ), decried the federal government’s response, taking to social media in response to insults levied at Puerto Rico by President Donald Trump.

I sense that the staunch resistance to providing support stems from an underlying belief that Puerto Rican citizens are somehow “lesser” than Americans from the 50 states. Echoing back to our days as a colonizing power in the Caribbean, much of America, and by extension, its citizens, have never fully accepted or realized that Puerto Ricans are entitled to the same rights and freedoms that their mainland siblings are. To me, this is unjust and un-American to the core. This prejudice has allowed many of us to stand idly by as our fellow citizens suffer.

For now, the increased media attention brought on by the bold actions of Puerto Rican politicians have shined the national spotlight on the plight of our Puerto Rican brothers and sisters. Aid is finally beginning to arrive at the borders, and public services, along with tourism, are very slowly reviving. As I see it, for Puerto Rico to weather both the physical and political storms of the future, the American People must begin to view Puerto Rico’s statehood as a vital and necessary process. If we take anything positive from this unfortunate turn of events, I hope it will be for all Americans to embrace Puerto Rico once and for all as the wholly American entity that it is.

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