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Editor's Note: Cristian Arroyo-Santiago is an independent Puerto Rican journalist and student at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of the City University of New York. He has been a producer and reporter for CNN and NBC News. The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author.
(CNN) - When Hurricane Dorian was hovering over Puerto Rico, President Donald Trump complained on Tuesday that "another big storm" was heading to US territory, and highlighted all the money Congress had allocated to the island to recover of the impacts of hurricanes Irma and María in 2017.
Trump's tweet was read as if the Puerto Ricans were to blame. He hinted that they could control the storms and that the territory attracts these phenomena to obtain money from the Government. The president then tweeted Wednesday that he is "the best thing that has happened to Puerto Rico."
It goes without saying that Trump is not the best thing that has happened to Puerto Rico. A statement that is an insult to the brave and Puerto Rican workers on the island and to the diaspora. It also undermines the challenges that people faced on the island for up to a year: no electricity, no communications, no running water and lack of supplies. The arrogant comments disrespect the memory of the approximately 3,000 people who died after the passage of Hurricane Maria, partly because of the failed response of the federal and local governments.
In the past two years, the president has used disaster, pain and, more recently, the political chaos of the island, which led to the unprecedented resignation of a governor, as political weapons. He brandished them in search of undeserved applause and of damaging his political rivals, such as the mayor of San Juan Carmen Yulín Cruz, whom Trump attacked in a tweet Wednesday morning.
This behavior should not surprise us. Dismissing the devastation and reconstruction effort faced by Puerto Rico, Trump tweeted in July that Congress "stupidly" gave Puerto Rico US $ 92,000 million "which was largely wasted." His tweet is another attack on the political leaders of the island and the resilience of the people, not only by hurricanes Irma and María but since 2006, when the economic recession of the island began.
The truth is that more than half of the US $ 92,000 million mentioned by Trump is based on estimates for possible expenses of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the coming years. Congress allocated US $ 42.7 billion to Puerto Rico, of which US $ 20,800 must be used by the federal government. The amount actually spent is US $ 13.8 billion, according to the federal government's disaster assistance website.
A complete recovery of Irma and María would cost US $ 139,000 million according to estimates from the Government of Puerto Rico. This enormous mission implies a continuous collaboration of federal agencies, including FEMA.
The enormous recovery effort that disaster demands is something that the US I should understand. Since 2017, 12 years after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, USA. continued to spend disaster relief funds in the recovery effort. Many of the 7,000 federal workers deployed during the disaster were still there.
However, not even a month after the devastation of Hurricane Maria in 2017, Trump tweeted that the US government could not keep “the staff of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, military personnel and emergency services in Puerto Rico forever".
A few days before that, on his visit to the island, Trump said that the sequel to Hurricane Maria was not "a real catastrophe like Katrina."
President Trump does not understand - or does not want to understand - that Puerto Rico is an American territory, with a population of about 3.5 million people and millions more residing in the United States. The provision of help and assistance is not an option but its task. His comments are the last insult to the long colonial history of the island.
READ : Trump hits Puerto Rico as Dorian intensifies
The president hopes that people will thank him and his Government for doing what they should do in times of crisis. However, he is reluctant to fulfill his responsibilities.
Donald Trump's reaction to Hurricane Dorian, which was felt in eastern Puerto Rico and is now heading toward Florida, shows that he learned nothing from disasters in 2017. These tragedies require a leader to lend a hand to his people without hesitation, without humiliating, without revictimizing them and without blaming them. This is not - and never will be - the time to seek recognition or to assume the leading role at the expense of those who are suffering.
One thing is certain: if it depended on Puerto Ricans, no hurricane would ever hit the island. But when they do, we should have a president who cares.
(Translation of Mariana Campos)
Hurricane Dorian
