By Nydia Ramos, News Editor
The island of Puerto Rico was devastated by Hurricane Maria, a category four storm, on Sept. 20, 2017. Left without power, clean water or a stable food supply, the citizens of Puerto Rico were thrown into a state of crisis.
Nearly half a year later, more than 15 percent of the island is still without properly functioning electricity. Clean water, gas and other supplies continue to be scarce.
As it turns out, Indian Trail High School & Academy has many connections to Puerto Rico. Students at Indian Trail High with Puerto Rican relatives worry for their families’ well-being and safety. Karlee De Jesus, a sophomore in the Kenosha Military Academy, has family who is still struggling to cope with damage left by the storm.
“My dad went down there for two weeks with food and supplies that were needed for our whole town… My grand-uncle lost all his crops so he might have to move since he won’t be making any money off of the land,” De Jesus said.
The family of Martin Ramos Vasquez, a now former resident of Puerto Rico, has recently moved into the cramped apartment of his brother in Northern Illinois. Vasquez, his wife and three children all left behind their home in search of a better life. Recovery has been especially impeded in remote and highland areas such as the village of Adjuntas, where the Vasquez family resided prior to the storm.
“The help that the government sends stays in the capital [San Juan]. It won’t get to the people that were really deep in the heart of the hurricane. People in poorer areas get almost no help,” said Vasquez.
Vasquez reflects on Puerto Rico’s current circumstances.
“The island is as bad as it was 30 years ago… terrible conditions with no power and rundown houses,” Vasquez said.
Funds to aid Puerto Rico in recovery are increasingly drying up and conditions still continue to be unlivable in many places. The storm tore up the territory’s entire infrastructure. Buildings were blown to the ground. Trees, telephone and light poles wrecked everything in their path as they were violently uprooted in the 155 mile-per-hour winds. Moody’s Analytics estimated that the hurricane would cost anywhere from $45 billion to $90 billion. With the island already being in recession, the economy continues its steady decline.
The failing economy and lack of adequate financial aid has prompted hundreds of thousands of residents to pack up what little they have left and move to the U.S. mainland. In the states, they struggle to support themselves with meager savings, no jobs, and no definite place to stay.
Citizens and their relatives alike stress that the island means a lot to them, hoping that life will be better in the future, however long it may take.
“Puerto Rico has its own history and its own story to tell,” said De Jesus.