This week will mark the three month anniversary of Hurricane Irma hitting Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017, knocking out power for over a million people. Not far behind Irma came Hurricane Maria, which made landfall on Wednesday, Sept. 20 — wreaking devastation in both places, which is still an ongoing crisis. There are well over a million fellow citizens on the islands who still do not have electricity or water that does not have to be boiled. Many have not had power or potable water since Irma.
How in the hell are we allowing this to happen?
We are all well aware of the criticism and blame for this debacle, laid at the feet of Donald Trump, his federal agency appointees, the military he commands, and the continuing failure of the Republican controlled Congress to act effectively to end the suffering. I think it is also time to look back over the last three months to assess media coverage, and issue a report card. The media, in its role of providing news, information and public education on issues and events, had and has a key role to play in this debacle. We should also see where we, as people who utilize social media platforms, can make a difference going forward, since this disaster is nowhere near its end.
Thanks to a few intrepid journalists, an outspoken mayor, a celebrity chef, and a Broadway composer-lyricist, some mainlanders who knew next to nothing about our island compatriots are learning about place names and the plight of people in Puerto Rican municipalities like Orocovis, Utuado, Humacao and Loiza. Sadly I have seen almost nothing on the USVI and areas in the USVI like Coral Bay in St. John. Puerto Rico is not San Juan, and Charlotte Amalie is not the USVI — both are simply the capital cities of these U.S. territories. Far too many politicians have made photo op trips to the capitals—including talkin’ out the side of his neck Paul Ryan (who is busy hitting the island with a disastrous tax bill) and not enough in-depth coverage has been done in the hardest hit areas. The social, political, historical and cultural context has actually been better reported far too often by comedic hosts like John Oliver and Samantha Bee.