Dear Puerto Rico

Dear Puerto Rico,

Due to it being midterms week, participating in multiple organizations, and just being a regular old college student, I haven’t been paying attention to current events with as much detail as I should. The present state of our country seems to get more embarrassing with every waking moment. Everyday my phone buzzes with notifications of article after article saying that we’re one tweet away from getting blown up by North Korea, or how the old, wrinkly hot cheetos bag in the oval office (who is not my president I might add; that spot is occupied by Princess Nokia) has made a fool of us all by spouting some ludicrous statement at a major event. However, due to the slew of natural disasters that have plagued the Eastern Hemisphere in the past few weeks have thrown us all off our game which is putting it extremely lightly. I, a 20 year old Morehouse student can offer little to no help to those who are in need due to my current predicament. I’ve actually been running away from taking an in depth look at those who were affected by the recent hurricanes in the Caribbean because I am Caribbean as well. Although my ties with my island are nowhere as strong as I’d want them to be, it would be selfish of me not to speak on it in some sort of a fashion. So with that being said, this article will serve as an apology to the island that has been hit the heaviest and has received the most help: Puerto Rico.

I’m sorry for the words and the tweets of the fragment of a man that is stuck in the White House as of now. That is not what America is, yet at the same time, it is. It’s a very confusing duality that we are forced to deal with as it has been dormant for quite some time but has been brought front and center for the whole world to see 24/7. I’m sorry that you have been stripped of your connection to the outside world. For you are a strong, resilient people. You will get through this horrible tragedy no matter how long it takes you. I’ll donate when I can to assist you. I’m sorry that you haven’t received the help that you deserved from the country that you belong to and that the bulk of the support that you have been getting has been coming from American celebrities instead of the American government. To the mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulín Cruz, I’m sorry that you were personally insulted by what is supposed to be the leader of the free world. The photo of you waist deep in the black flood water with the bullhorn looking for people that were desperate for help showed me your character in its most wholesome form. Being a woman of color in a position of power gave you the three strikes necessary to be attacked by Donald Trump. Kicked while you and your people were down for no reason while they were dying and struggling to make it through is such an egregious act. To the family members I found out I had a day after the hurricane hit the island, I hope you all are still safe because I know that you’ll make it through this devastation. I’m here with you every step of the way. In the words of my Titi Dede, bendiciones, dios te bendiga y te favorezca. I love you.

Yours truly, 

Sandy 

• puerto rico