Authorities Are ‘Whitewashing’ the Devastation and Death Toll in Puerto Rico
“For more than two weeks since the storm, Puerto Ricans have faced life-threatening shortages of food, water and fuel. More than 90% of homes are still without electricity, 60% without water, and 75% of telecommunications networks are still inoperable.”
While the people of Puerto Rico were working hard to rebuild, media outlets were reporting key statistics such as access to electricity and water, however other statistics that were reported, were said to have been ‘whitewashed’. The death toll on the island was reported to be a very low number despite the amount of devastation that occurred. Information that about the death toll that media sources were receiving was drastically different from what the U.S. government was releasing.
After the media drew attention to censorship, the data that went missing on FEMA’s website soon reappeared. While the debate of the accuracy of the reported information was going on, Illinois Congressman Luis Gutierrez, who is of Puerto Rican descent, decided to see for himself what was really happening on the island. What he saw was indeed not what was being portrayed in the U.S. Along with the censorship of the real crisis the people of Puerto Rico were facing, the president’s administration continued to control the narrative by only promoting and encouraging “good” news. Donald Trump went to Twitter several times to boast of “successful” relief efforts and lash out against the “fake news media”.
The purpose of reporting data on emergency management is critical to determine the amount of disaster relief a place needs. It helps determine how to understand and makes decisions about how to allocate resources when needed. When an area needs relief the way Puerto Rico does, a country that has had issues with infrastructure long before Hurricane Maria, it makes it more difficult to do this when government agencies in place to help can censor information needed to determine relief.
Today, Puerto Rico still doesn’t make breaking news headlines and hundreds of thousands of people are still left without power, according various news outlets that have reported on updates concerning the island. Only time will tell if Puerto Rico will get the attention and help they so desperately need.
Carrión, Ángel. “Authorities Are ‘Whitewashing’ the Devastation and Death Toll in Puerto Rico · Global Voices.” Global Voices, 11 Oct. 2017, globalvoices.org/2017/10/09/us-authorities-are-whitewashing-the-devastation-and-death-toll-in-puerto-rico/.