Hurricane Fiona made landfall on Puerto Rico earlier this week and has been pounding the Caribbean for days, growing in strength to a Category 3 hurricane. The storm has been ripping through the Dominican Republic, knocking out power and running water for close to a million people. Fiona is expected to move westward close to Bermuda later this week, swelling into a category 3 or 4 hurricane. In her wake, Fiona leaves a trail of destruction like a vengeful bully, but the recovery efforts are hampered by a number of factors. Namely, much of Puerto Rico’s infrastructure still hasn’t recovered from Hurricane Maria in 2017, compounding the damage and destruction felt on the island.
Disasters like this can make us feel helpless, and I’ve asked myself what can I do to help? For one, educating ourselves on Puerto Rico’s history of being exploited and staying informed on what’s happening is always a good start. I’ve enjoyed reading and learning from Bianca Graulau, the independent journalist featured in Bad Bunny’s music video. Another avenue for support is organizations on the ground like Casa Pueblo, a community organization initially founded to fight mining operations that is now leading a local solar energy project. I don’t believe anyone reading this is a billionaire capable of undoing centuries of exploitation or drastically shifting geo-political power dynamics, but I know that whoever is reading this, we’re the only people that will save us.
Side Items
Free Serial! After 23 years wrongfully incarcerated, Adnan Syed walked out of prison yesterday as a free man. The subject of the “Serial” podcast was ordered to be released after the judge overturned his conviction, saying prosecutors had lost confidence in their original decision. For casual observers and podcast fans alike, this was a moment of catharsis and validation. For Adnan, it’s just the beginning of a long and very difficult re-introduction to modern society. People forget sometimes, as we drown in the deluge of “truecrime” content, that the subjects are real people with lives and families that we simply use as entertainment. I hope Adnan finds the support he’ll surely need in these coming weeks, months, and years
Lock him up! A sheriff in Texas said that his agency will open an investigation into the highly-publicized transportation of 48 Venezuelan migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard. He believes laws were not only broken in Bexar County by transporting nearly 50 migrants to Martha’s Vineyard but that parallel laws were also broken on the federal side. Personally, I doubt anything comes of this, but how funny would it be to see Ted Cruz taken down by the very people he tried to screw over
Cops don’t know how trains work? Officers in Colorado pulled a woman over for a road rage incident and, on suspicion of having a weapon, they put her in the police car, which is parked on train tracks for reasons that remain unknown. A train comes along and hits the police car as officers are searching her vehicle. The woman was hospitalized with a significant brain injury. Defund the police because their stupidity is often lethal