Ultimatum the government for a Safe Puerto Rico
#6monthsMaria
We women demand from the government of Puerto Rico the creation and publication of detailed plans to face another crisis in the supply of water, food, medicine, and medical services in the event of suffering another hurricane that threatens the lives of the citizens.
Tania Rosario Méndez, executive director of Taller Salud, denounced the inexistence of specific plans by the government for the distribution of water and food during a disaster, as well as the lack of protocols to meet the needs of patients with chronic conditions and bedridden. This, he explained, adds undeserved anguish to the town and to the women who are often the ones who care for the sick, the elderly and children. The deadline given to the government to publish action plans to follow expires on June 1, when the next hurricane season begins.
“To fill the immense void left by the governments in Puerto Rico during and after the Hurricane Maria disaster, it was mostly us women who live in Puerto Rico who stood up for our people and organized our families and neighbors. We women, heads of our families and communities, have to make ourselves heard even more and demand that our lives come first. We cannot promote or allow another sequel to tragedies as happened in Maria. Our people do not have to endure any more pain,” said Tania Rosario Méndez.
“It's been six months now, and judging by the lack of government planning, it's as if we haven't learned anything. We women are going to make ourselves feel because the lack of planning at all levels imposes an immense burden on us, which we have been bearing after hurricanes Irma and María and that we should not continue to suffer after what we have already learned in the past six months”, detailed Rosario Mendez.
“We believe it is fair to demand that the plans aimed at guaranteeing the protection of our people be disclosed on or before June 1st. First of all, we want to know the national plan for the distribution of water and food. Likewise, the new protocol for the appropriate registration of deaths associated with the emergency. Secondly, we need to know the location of direct service centers for citizens in the different regions of Puerto Rico,” he said. The populations to which said plans and service centers should give priority are:
1. Chronic disease patients
2. Cancer patients
3. Pregnant women in their third trimester of pregnancy (delivery)
4. Pregnant women up to the second trimester of pregnancy (prenatal care)
5. Families with newborn babies
6. Mental health patients
7. People with functional diversity who receive therapy or assistance
8. People with active protection orders
9. Victims of domestic violence who are sheltered
“Likewise, it is essential to have a shelter management protocol that guarantees safe, hygienic spaces with a minimum of privacy for families. In addition, a specific security plan is urgently needed for sheltered children and for handling situations of domestic violence and sexual violence”, added Rosario Méndez.
“The non-delegable function of governments is to guarantee the protection of their citizens. Mr. Governor, we demand guarantees and time is pressing," he concluded.
(English Version)
Ultimatum to the government for a safe Puerto Rico
“Nobody loves their country because it is great, but because it is theirs.” -Seneca
One thing has become crystal clear after September 20th., 2017: the love for one's country is real, concrete and tangible. Meanness and incompetence, also are.
To trust in the voluntary reflection of the government is a risky task when we are talking about a country that lives its vulnerability in precariousness. The accumulation of aggressions of which all of Puerto Rico has been the object during the past five months, does not accept tolerance or submissiveness. Let's remember that it was in the midst of stunned looks and tight chests that we came to discover the non-existence of protocols for rapid response to provide aid to our sick people after Hurricane Maria. It hit us hard to confirm that the police did not have working radios to communicate among each other in the middle of such much insecurity. All of us were witnesses of the irresponsibility in handling the death toll attributed to the hurricane.
Therefore, this year the women on our “International Women's Day” do not want flowers or congratulations, we want guarantees.
Today, we have a country with more murders, more suicides, more burglaries. A country with a higher unemployment rate, more migration and more poverty. Thousands of families still have a blue tarp as a roof, with a fragile survival. It is overwhelming to coexist like this.
As we face colossal aggressions against our people, we cannot remain quiet for one more day. What is left for us to do, is to point out what we need to avoid this chaos from repeating. That is why, today on International Women's Day, we dedicate the Women's Strike to those who stood up for their people and organized their neighbors, thus filling the immense void that the governments left during Maria's disaster. We women, heads of our families and our communities, take a step forward to demand the minimal action that we expect from the government, right before the new hurricane season starts.
For such reason, and on behalf of all those who suffer the pain of being neglected by the governments after the hurricane, we are giving an ultimatum to the government. We believe that it is fair to demand from the government that on or before June 1st. they disclose the plans to guarantee the protection of our people during the next hurricane season. There is a period of 12 weeks.
First of all, we want to learn about the National plan for distribution of water and food. As well, about the new protocol for record keeping of death toll associated to the emergency.
Second, it is evident that the lack of centers for direct services to the people in different parts of Puerto Rico was the cause of undeserved distress to our population. Consequently, we demand the creation and publication of a protocol indicating the location of health clinics where services and medications will be provided for:
1. Patients with chronic diseases
2. Cancer patients
3. Pregnant women on the third trimester of pregnancy (delivery)
4. Pregnant women up to the second trimester of pregnancy (prenatal care)
5. Families with newborn babies
6. Mental health patients
7. Persons with functional diversity who receive therapy or assistance
8. Persons with active restraining orders
9. Victims of domestic violence who are living in safe houses
Likewise, it is essential to have a protocol for shelter management that would guarantee safe, sanitary spaces and with a minimum of privacy for the families. In addition, it is urgent to have a specific security plan for boys and girls housed in the shelters and for the management of domestic and sexual violence situations.
The non-transferable duty of the governments is to guarantee the protection of its citizens. Mr. Governor, we demand guarantees and the time is running out.