As a Puertorican, it’s hard for me to put into words all of the thoughts and feelings I have towards the devastating situation Puerto Rico is going through. As we all may know, on the morning of September 20th the island was hit by Hurricane Maria, a category 4 hurricane with winds up to 155 mph. It entered from the town of Yabucoa and made its way all through the island. Puerto Rico currently has no power and has more than 30 inches of rain in some parts of the island. Many families lost their homes and according to the Governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rosello, the death toll has risen up to 13 people.
Hurricane Maria left the island of Puerto Rico unrecognizable.
Toa Alta, PR
Photo by: https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2017/09/photos-of-puerto-rico-after-hurricane-maria/540786/
Beach Bohio, Humacao, PR
Photo by: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10159367846640181&set=pcb.10159367877410181&type=3&theater
La Perla, San Juan, PR
Cataño, PR
It’s extremely difficult to see places from your childhood destroyed, only leaving you with the memories you once had there. It makes me wonder what I will be going back to. One thing is seeing the damages on social media and another things is actually seeing it in real life.
One of the hardest parts for someone who has family in Puerto Rico is not being able to communicate with them. There are only some places around the island that have signal and people are lining up their cars on the streets trying to find it. After the hurricane, I went 3 days without hearing anything from my family. The feeling of not knowing if they are okay is always the worst part because you create so many scenarios in your head. Luckily, I woke up to a call from my brother telling me they were all ok.
As you can see, Puerto Rico has a long road to recovery and it needs a lot of help from the outside. Fortunately, people from all over the world are coming together to help aid the island by donating money and supplies.
Celebrities have made it their mission to not only spread awareness but also to donate some money themselves. Jimmy Fallon contributed by donating $20,000 to a campaign known as “Students for Puerto Rico” made by puertoricans who are studying in the United States. Our very own Mr. 305, Pitbull, lent one of his private jets to transfer cancer patients from Puerto Rico to the U.S. so that they may continue their chemo treatment.
Just because you’re not the host of your on talk show or you don’t own a private jet it doesn’t mean you can’t help the cause. Many people are coming together in their own community and donating anything the island is lacking. Miami, having a large group of Puertoricans, has been helping collect and send supplies to the island. FlU has also made it a priority to help the families of the students who where affected by Maria. The Student Government Association, College of Engineering & Computing and Muslim Student Association has provided the FIU community with information on what items to bring and where to drop them off on campus.
Even though my home and the home to many others is going through a very difficult time, seeing everyone come together for one cause gives hope that everything is going to get better. It will take some time, but eventually Puerto Rico will once again be the beautiful island we have come to known as the “Isla del Encanto” (enchanted island).
Want to donate money? Awesome! Go to any of these links:
http://unidosporpuertorico.com/en/
https://www.gofundme.com/studentswithpr
Want to donate supplies on campus? Go to:
– MMC: SGA office, GC 230
-MMC Serenity ROOM, GC 343
– EC: Mechanical Engineering Dept
– EC: Dean’s Office, Julie Vallejos