Puerto Rico No Se Vende, Se Defiende
By Angel Tobar
On the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria, evacuees and victims’ families marched from St. Bartholomew’s Church to Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, chanting, “Puerto Rico no se vende, se defiende.”
The evening began with a bilingual interfaith memorial service to remember those lost and to recommit to action. The alter was filled with 3000 candles to honor the lives lost during the hurricane.
Victims of the hurricane spoke about their experiences, the people they had lost, and their suffering. Participants said it was a day that is “forbidden to forget” due to the negligence residents encountered after the hurricane hit. It was a disaster that changed the lives of many Puerto Ricans completely.
“Personally, there’s a trauma of actually having lived in Puerto Rico, then going back and seeing the state is was in,” said George Torres, 47, a survivor and founder of Sofrito Media Group. The island was completely destroyed, left without power and clean water for months.
Although people’s hearts “were filled with sorrow,” said survivor Carlos Matos Canceo, he had a message for Puerto Ricans. “Boriqua, you have the right to live, to heal, to grow, and to establish roots,” he said. “I think the biggest struggle right now is the toll that the timeline has taken on people’s health, on their physical bodies and minds.”
The final words of the memorial service were from Jesus Gonzalez, 32, from the Center for Popular Democracy. “Let your actions be your prayer,” he said before people began walking up to the alter to grab a candle to march to Trump Tower.
The march was led by a man holding a huge Puerto Rican flag who started the chants as the group marched towards Trump Tower. There were dozens of people holding Puerto Rican flags and signs that read “Boriquas remember,” “Trump killed 2975 USA citizens” and “Puerto Rican Lives Matter.”
Just one block before Trump Tower, the crowd was barricaded into a small space by the police where the speakers took the mic one by one.
Peter B. Gudaitis, executive director and CEO at New York Disaster Interfaith Services, began chanting, “Estamos aquí,” while calling out the government for allowing 3000 Americans to suffer and die. He said, “Let’s be really clear, we need a government that works for all of us. We need a government that works for every single American, no matter what color, no matter who they sleep with, no matter who they’re married to.”
After the crowd dispersed, Canceo said the size of the march reflected the continuing impact on the community. “It showed how many people are still struggling, how people are still suffering, how little recognition we’re [Puerto Ricans] getting from the government, and simply, how much Puerto Rican people need to come together if we’re going to have any chance of building ourselves back up.”
The United States has tainted its relationship with Puerto Rico and its people, he said. “The treatment that we received in response to Hurricane Maria makes me feel like I’m not human enough. I don’t feel like I have the right to life, liberty or the pursuit of happiness.”