Stand with us for justice, lives lost in Puerto Rico
A year after Hurricane Maria devastated our island of Puerto Rico, there is near-consensus that the thousands of deaths that followed were the result of neglect in the face of a crisis.
Under the current administration’s governance, FEMA failed to adequately respond to the plight of 3.1 million American citizens who endured the longest blackout in U.S. history. Without food, electricity or clean water, estimates suggest nearly 4,645 needless deaths occurred.
Adding insult to injury, President Trump has denied the hurricane caused those deaths and the enduring crisis. Most Puerto Ricans have an aunt, uncle, cousin or grandparent who has been affected, died, or was uprooted and displaced.
The president and his followers’ demeaning comments and lack of empathy are personal to us and show a lack of moral values.
The denial and neglect are consistent with the administration’s malicious agenda for Latin and Caribbean communities in this country. It is the same approach toward a wider existential crisis — climate change. As a result of this denial, disadvantaged communities will be affected first and foremost, in ways they do not deserve.
It’s no coincidence that those claiming President Trump did a “fantastic job” dealing with Hurricane Maria — and who are trying to confuse the public about the crisis that festered in the aftermath — are the same people working to undermine the EPA and gut the Clean Power Plan, which would protect our air and reduce carbon pollution.
They are the same people who deny the existence of the crises caused by man-made climate change. It follows their decades of covering up for big oil companies, whose executives have known since 1968 that their product was helping to cause climate change.
For these reasons, we ask you to stand with us as we honor the loss of those who died in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. On Saturday, at Mar-a-Lago, please join Alianza for Progress, Power 4 Puerto Rico and more than 20 Florida organizations who will come together to honor those who have passed, while calling attention to the Trump administration’s callous indifference to Puerto Rican suffering.
We will call for greater accountability in the island’s recovery. We will urge survivors, the Puerto Rican diaspora and our allies to remember that climate change is real and that denying science will only cause more damage and suffering — like the Carolinas are suffering now.
A clean energy future is possible, and in many parts of the world it’s already here. Clean, self-sufficient, reliable and renewable energy is growing more affordable every day. It makes us safe. And it’s critical we join those making the transition now.
Climate justice and social justice are one and the same. We will not stop until we secure justice for Puerto Rico. The thousands of lives senselessly lost after Hurricane Maria were not lost in vain.
Marcos Vilar is executive director of Alianza for Progress — an alliance focused on uniting Florida’s Puerto Rican and Hispanic populations in support of progressive policies.
Yoca Arditi-Rocha is co-executive director of the CLEO Institute — a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to climate change education, engagement and advocacy, with an emphasis on serving vulnerable communities.