Police confront students in a protest on the Capitlol steps in Puerto Rico. Photo: tecnofilms
On my first night in Puerto Rico, I ran across the street to the grocery store.
I stood in the check-out line and thumbed through El Nuevo Dia to occupy myself as one customer realized he’d forgotten something, another argued over the shelf price versus the register price, and the cashier wandered off to get some change.
The news in Puerto Rico is rarely good.
I remember the menacing “5″ that took up the entire front page of the newspaper once, “5″ being Puerto Rico’s ranking, at the time, in the list of the world’s most violent countries (per capita).
I remember the national outrage that was sparked in late 2007–just before I moved off the island–when the municipal animal control agency in the town of Barceloneta was accused of throwing more than 80 dogs and cats off a bridge (the last survivor of that event died last week, according to another article I read, this time while waiting for coffee).
Last summer, while I was in Puerto Rico working on a travel guide book, three people were killed while drinking on the patio of El Taquito. A waitress was shot in the hand.
I have friends on the island who have been affected directly by violence: one friend shot in the head (he survived) and another whose ear was grazed by an errant bullet during a New Year’s celebration (it’s common to fire guns into the air on New Year’s… so common–and so dangerous– in fact, that the police sponsor an annual campaign: “No mas balas perdidas” (literally translated: “No more lost bullets.”)
Ultimately, one of the reasons why I left the island was because of this violence, which works its way subtly into many aspects of daily life: casual conversations, driving, trying to resolve a legitimate concern about a service you’re paying for. The violence is verbal. Psychological.
“You don’t teach respect for the law through violence. You don’t teach love through abuse.”
And it is most definitely physical.
Unfortunately, the violence seems to be more prominent and more disturbing than ever. The week prior to my arrival, three men had killed their wives. All three were police officers. And to bookend the trip, as I packed my bag last night and prepared to fly back to New York, I heard the news about the teargassing of protesting students by police in front of the Capitolio. I’d driven past the protest just an hour before the shit hit the fan. In the hours since this encounter, as the public has called for the Superintendent of Police to justify the use of such extreme force, local politicians have come out in support of the violence. “Se tiene que respetar,” said the Superintendent. “They’ve got to respect [the law].”
You don’t teach respect for the law through violence. You don’t teach love through abuse.
It’s important to point out that violence in Puerto Rico rarely affects travelers. So why bring this up at all? Because a country that’s 100 miles by 39 miles shouldn’t be among the world’s most violent nations. Because the mainstream media in the US (Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States, after all) and abroad pay little attention to the island and someone needs to do so. Because the situation in Puerto Rico provides us the impetus to examine our own acts of violence. How do we wound others with our words and actions?
If you’re interested in participating in any of the protests that are being organized in response to the police action against the protesting students, there is a protest today, July 2, at 4 PM at 135 West 50th Street (between 6th and 7th Aves.) in New York City. A National Day of Protest has been scheduled for July 18 in Puerto Rico.
Community Connection:
To learn more about other aspects of Puerto Rico’s history and culture, visit our Puerto Rico Focus Page.
Julie Schwietert
Julie Schwietert Collazo is a writer, editor, researcher, and translator currently in New York, formerly of Mexico City and San Juan. She is Matador's managing editor and is the lead faculty member of MatadorU's travel writing program.
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