The Slow Recovery in Puerto Rico

… ‘ after almost one year after the hurricane, Puerto Ricans feel not only devastated but abandoned.’
Wake up Puerto Ricans … there’s not help coming!! Rise up and be counted!! Neighbor helping neighbor!! Boricuas … Puerto Rico se levanta! Be proud … the “Master’ doesn’t care!!

Repeating Islands

Erika P. Rodríguez (Smithsonian Magazine) writes about her connections to and observations of Puerto Rica, especially, after Hurricane María. She writes that, one year after the hurricane, Puerto Ricans feel not only devastated but abandoned. Here are just a few excerpts; read the full article and see Rodríguez’s poignant series of photos at Smithsonian Magazine.

[. . .] So we exist in a confusing, kind of gray realm. We use U.S. dollars and U.S. postage stamps. We serve in the U.S. military and our borders are monitored by U.S. Customs. In my California student days, I’d give my phone number to friends and they would ask if it was an international call. I had to check with my telephone company to find out (it isn’t). That’s Puerto Rico.

I’ve been documenting this ambiguity for the past six years, starting with an internship at a Puerto Rican newspaper…

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