Venting in Public

Coming quick at you, all the help that had been sent to my Island, is apparently on hold. Also the U.S. won’t open the borders so other countries can send aid and Trump is tweeting about it’s our fault. Puerto Rico has been an U.S. territory since 1898 and to this day we have no control of what comes through our borders because of The Jones Act.

You wanna help Puerto Rico? Call your Representative and your Senators and tell them to waive/repeal/ban The Jones Act.

We need to reconstruct and rise up again, not to be dragged while we’re down. We don’t need to be reminded of the country’s debt when there are towns that can’t be reached almost 7 days after Hurricane Maria, when power is still out and there’s no running water and communications are down. We don’t fucking need some inept talking about our debt, instead of opening the borders so doctors and engineers come and help, so other countries nearby can come and bring provisions too. So roads can be open and people can be helped.

There are 3.5 million people in Puerto Rico (Americans, not that it matters) with limited or no access to potable water. And there’s a law called the Jones Act that is impeding supplies from getting through. 

The law says that ships going between US ports must be built in America, sailed by Americans, and fly the American flag. Problem is, only two percent of all the world’s cargo is carried by compliant ships. And most of those are off somewhere else. 

President Trump can waive the Act to allow foreign vessels to dock. He waived it after hurricanes Harvey and Irma. He needs to do it again.

Please call your representatives and have them demand a waiver for Puerto Rico. Here’s how:

1. Call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and follow the prompts to reach your Senator/Congress Member.

2. Read the script below, filling in the blanks with your information.

“Hi, my name is [NAME], I am a voting constituent living in [CITY/TOWN] and my zip code is [ZIP CODE].

I’m calling to urgently request that [YOUR SENATOR / CONGRESS MEMBER’S NAME] please call DHS to demand an immediate waiver of the Jones Act so that additional rescue and relief resources can get to Puerto Rico. 

The destruction caused in Puerto Rico by Hurricane Maria has been significant, comparable in scale to Katrina.  The federal government’s response needs to be increased immediately.  We cannot allow a Caribbean “Katrina” to unfold. The safety of 3.5 million U.S. citizens is at stake.   

Thank you so much for your time. ​

3. If you can, please consider a cash donation.

These are all good charities: 

United for Puerto Rico

UNICEF

Global Giving