Puerto Rico: (Un)Natural Disaster (Panel, 09/2022)
Open Letter Penned by Puerto Rican Faculty to the Gonzaga Community
Dear Gonzaga Community:
This past Sunday, September 20, Hurricane Fiona ended its three-day onslaught of Puerto Rico’s southwestern coast, leaving the US colony devastated. With dozens of highways, municipal roads and airport runways inundated; bridges in the mountain towns of Utuado and San Lorenzo having collapsed; many homes destroyed; several deaths; thousands of people trapped in their rural hamlets; and much of the main island without electricity and water, Puerto Rico is experiencing a crisis of epic proportions, a reality which reminds us all too much of the destruction left by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September of 2017.
Yet, unlike the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico five years ago, hurricane Fiona only managed to reach sustained winds of 85 miles an hour, meaning that its winds were much weaker. While it is probably true that 3 days of rain could leave even the most prepared of places with many problems, it is also true that much of the destruction could have been avoided with better planning.
Among the members of our Gonzaga community are a number of colleagues who have requested that we call attention to this emergency situation. In addition to keeping the people of Puerto Rico in your thoughts and prayers, please consider making a charitable contribution to one of the following organizations. We ask that you give particularly to these organizations because they service communities that are often neglected by US and local authorities alike when disaster recovery efforts ensue:
Fundación de Mujeres: A foundation that helps women farmers whose crops have been wiped out, mothers whose homes have been destroyed, families left without electricity or water, and women facing the exacerbated violence that invariably erupts when crises like these occur. Link: https://www.prwf.org/
Taller Salud: An independent, non-government based, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to reducing violence within the community and to encourage economic growth through education and activism. Link: https://www.english.tallersalud.com/
La Fondita de Jesús: A Non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the homeless and people living in vulnerable situations in Puerto Rico. Link: https://lafonditadejesus.org/donate
Brigada Solidaria del Oeste: A Non-profit organization working in some of the areas most affected by the hurricane. Paypal: brigadasolidariaoeste@gmail.com
Red por los Derechos de la Niñez y la Juventud: A Non-profit organization dedicated to transforming the living conditions of children and families, especially those in contexts of violence. Link: https://ninezpr.org/
Thank you for your charitable response and for living out Gonzaga's Jesuit mission of solidarity in important and meaningful ways.
Sincerely,
Jenaro Abraham, Ph.D.
Noralis Rodriguez Coss, Ph.D.
Kelvin Rivera Lopez, Ph.D.
Charles Athanasopoulos, Ph.D
