To the Reader’s Forum:

Three weeks after the hurricane devastated the island conditions there remain dire. Just 16 percent of islanders have electricity, more than one-third still need access to clean water, and only 400 miles of the island’s 5,000 miles of road are open to traffic. However, the scale of the food crisis dwarfs these more widely publicized challenges.

Maria, with winds topping 150 mph, wiped out about 80 percent of the Puerto Rico’s total crop value, according to Puerto Rico’s agriculture secretary Carlos Flores Ortega. The island imports most of its food, but the damage to ports, roads and stores is making what food arrives difficult to distribute. Officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) say that the government and its partners are only providing 200,000 meals a day to meet the needs of more than 2 million.

Oxfam, the international relief organization based in the UK issued a statement on October 2nd:

“Oxfam has monitored the response in Puerto Rico closely, and we are outraged at the slow and inadequate response the US Government has mounted in Puerto Rico. Clean water, food, fuel, electricity and health care are in desperately short supply and quickly dwindling, and we’re hearing excuses and criticism from the administration instead of a cohesive and compassionate response. The US has more than enough resources to mobilize an emergency response but has failed to do so in a swift and robust manner. Oxfam rarely responds to humanitarian emergencies in the US and other wealthy countries, but as the situation in Puerto Rico worsens and the federal government’s response continues to falter, Oxfam has decided to step in to lend our expertise in dealing with some of the world’s most catastrophic disasters.”

The American citizens of Puerto Rico deserve more than having paper towels thrown at them by a president who seems to care more about his image than their needs. You can help by donating to Oxfam or another reputable charity. An excellent source of information can be found at www.nbcnews.com/better/health/how-help-puerto-rico-right-now-ncna808331.

Tom Meara

Jamestown