TEMPORAL

By Ramón Serrano January 18, 2020 - Our second venture into the earthquake zone coincided with a health fair directed at those refuged outside of Yauco's baseball stadium. Once again, it was a displaced community of entire families housed under personal tents and tarps. It seemed that the inside of the stadium proper was reserved for a contingent of National Guard troops assigned to help with the logistics. The health fair itself, which had been well advertised, included all manner of medical expertise and professionals. It consisted of MDs specializing in everything from Gynecology to Internal Medicine. It also attempted to address the emotional scars caused by the stress and included Psychologists and Social Workers as well as other mental health professionals. The effort was augmented by the continuation of the support of the community at large who organize sessions of play therapy for the children, while also continuing to provide supplies of day-to-day necessities. Acupunc...

Julio Pabón, a community businessman, activist, former operative and candidate for US Congress from the 15th Congressional District in the South Bronx, who recently returned from Puerto Rico will attend today’s pres conference planned for 12noon today at City Hall to give a first hand analysis of the earthquake, having experienced it on the ground while on a family reunion in Puerto Rico. Mr. Pabón stated, “I’ve experienced many frightening events growing up in the South Bronx. I have personally experience running from gunshots myself and with my children. I have experienced running from burning buildings and running from police in many demonstration and riots, but none of that can compare to be awakened in the middle of the night because your bed and the entire house is shaking in an uncontrollable fashion with a loud roar emanating from the earth.” He continued, “if that was not enough, but to then have no electricity and to continue to experience smaller quakes and tremors, while ...

Updated 01182020

Updated July 16, 2020 By Ramón Serrano On my way to Guayanilla at 8 a.m. another tremor measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale shook the already traumatized inhabitants of La Isla del Encanto . Fortunately I did not feel it on the road. Since Dec. 28th when the first major one struck there have been at least 900 detectable episodes. Because the epicenter of the seismic shifts lies directly to the south of the Island, it is the southern towns where most of the structural damage has taken place and as a result where the physical, mental and emotional dislocation is most evident. Puerto Ricans are still recovering from the P.T.S.D. associated with Hurricane Maria two years ago, so that the fear and panic being experienced by an already fragile psyche is quite understandable. Part of the underlying insecurity lies in the distrust of a local government that failed them miserably during the last disaster and a Federal Government led by a narcissist who withholds badly needed aid while insu...

January 11, 2020 Tato Torres Sáez If you wish to help, first identify and connect with local community leadership and organizations on-the-ground. If the cost of your travel and personal expenses is even half of what you'r contributing simply because you "absolutely" have to be the one to deliver it... it's huge Ego-trip!!! 1st and foremost, place yourself in everyone's shoes and proceed according to how you would wish to be respected... ask yourself... why you are coming... and be true to that! If you are a "guest".., who's your "host"...? Are you coming on vacation, to visit someone or w a specific mission in mind and if so..., is your presence absolutely necessary to accomplish it? Voluntourism isn’t particularly helpful or benign and can be quite detrimental; slowing down positive cultural growth and perpetuating the highly problematic colonialist-missionary-styled “foreign/stranger-savior” and "victim" complexes that,...

January 10, 2020 Photos by Manuel Melendez Lavandero

January 11, 2020 Comité Noviembre, a New York City based non-profit that brings together the collective talents and resources of the oldest and most prestigious Puerto Rican organizations in the city, will announce that it will re-instate the Estoy Con Puerto Rico, (I am with Puerto Rico), Relief Effort. This efforts will raise funds to assist survivors of the earthquakes through non-profit organizations working directly with the community in the Southern region of Puerto Rico. Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York will serve as fiscal conduit for this effort. The recent earthquakes have weakened further the already fragile infrastructure of the island. There is great fear of more building collapses, personal and property safety, food and water insecurity and electrical outages throughout the island. Between September 2017 and September 2019, the Estoy Con Puerto Rico Effort raised over half a million dollars for the Hurricane Maria Relief Effort. It has provided m...