Mid-Trip Post

What have you learned about the people and policies during your service in Puerto Rico?
       As previously mentioned, I've visited Puerto Rico several times and am no stranger to the locals. Puerto Ricans are a friendly, down to earth, relaxed, easy going people, and who are known to take care/help each other in a way I've never seen in the United States. I have never seen such a sense of community anywhere else that I've traveled. I wish Americans particularly in the NY/NJ area could be more like this. NY/NJ is a region where stress, being in a rush and being rude is stereotyped/attributed to the people, we could learn a lot from Puerto Ricans in that sense. Locals/diaspora such as Nani, Sam, Fifi, Manuel, Rafeal and many others have provided indispensable insight on how they dealt with the hurricane and persevered. New information I did learn is the policy side of Puerto Rico. A mixture of blatant government corruption and extremely unfair economic policies the United States implemented on Puerto Rico such as the aforementioned Jones Act, the controversial council of seven and taxes that go directly to the United States government has caused widespread poverty on the island. As a result Puerto Rico has been unable to fund its schools, police force and infrastructure(damaged roads, public buildings and a lack of recycling) that still remains damaged from the hurricane. These factors have caused crime to skyrocket with more murders per capita than any US state for the past two years, it is also worth mentioning that despite 2019 starting a couple weeks ago, 25 people including an influential LGBTQ trap artist were murdered. Puerto Ricans and tourists are being advised by the government/police force not to leave their house/hotel/airBnB late at night. It pains me deeply to see an island that has played a large role in my life in such a desperate and dire situation. It should also be noted that Puerto Rico suffered six months to a year in some areas without electricity, making it the longest blackout in US history and second longest blackout in world history. When I was in Yabucoa for two different service days, I witnessed a broken water pipe that was leaking a large amount fresh water, our most precious/vital natural resource. This has been happening every single day for the past two years. This shows how neglected Puerto Rico is because I firmly believe that if it was a state, this wouldn't have happened and be tolerated. Puerto Rico either needs to choose statehood(to receive the same treatment as states) or independence(so that it has full control of its economic and social policies).