Vieques, Puerto Rico’s Depleted uranium (DU) shells out last human existence.(DU) weaponry has been used against Iraq for the first time in the history of recent wars. The magnitude of the complications and damage of DU on the ecology of the human land/water mass not good. http://www.thegully.com/essays/puertorico/010212depleted_uranium.html

I can’t believe I haven’t heard more about this! Has it really been more than 60 years that this has been going on and nothing has been done? Why hasn’t the government done anything to help these people? It’s the Navy’s actions that have caused this crisis, they have a responsibility to help fix it.

Wow. This is really upsetting. I guess I’m glad Time did the story because clearly we need to be made aware of these injustices so they can be dealt with. But I also wish I didn’t find out this sort of thing goes on in my country. I can tell you that it’s pretty clear to me that this problem wouldn’t have gone on for so long if the inhabitants of Veiques were white and well-off instead of brown and poor. I sure hope Pres. Obama does something about this!

President W. Bush stopped the use of the island as a U.S. military weapons testing grouds around 2002, thanks to the efforts of the Eaves Law firm in Mississippi and some national exposure it got from celebrity visits. Once the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan started… who needs a testing ground? The politicians found it cheaper to use aircraft and tank simulatiors for firing practice. They decided to abandon the island rahter than clean it up. The sad part is the residents of the island faithfully served the United States for many years, with little pay and, as a patriotic duty to support the U.S. and other countries military testing exercises. They thought the United States government would provide a safe work environment. Never happened. The manual labor/work included preparing and cleaning the bombing range between strikes… with nothing but a hankerchief over their faces! They are all dying of one thing or another and Congress sits back and watches. Who wants to clean up an island for a few billion dollars when its just a few hundred peasants that wont live long enought to collect? If you don’t have to hear the bombs drop from your hospital bed; Congress feels that you can rest in peace.

The numbers this post opens with are shocking, and it is definitely important to understand just how bad things are for the people of Vieques. I hope everyone reads the TIME piece, and then tells their friends to read it. This is an issue that has gone unnoticed for too long and it’s time we start paying attention and taking action.

I seem to remember reading about this around 10-12 years ago. But it was the lefties who were pushing it, as you might expect, so it didn’t matter.
When similar things happen in St. Louis or elsewhere, especially with the military, the tendency is to bury it, deny it, ignore it. Puerto Rico is different only because important people don’t go there.

This is just horrible. Thanks for raising the issue. I had no idea. This is a cause our churches should be championing. Talk about a “whatever you do unto the least of these” moment!

Something needs to be done and Churches need to send missionaries…

Hold on a minute. Do not believe everything you read. I have been to this beautiful island, and things are not as grim as reported in the Time article. The statistics are skewed by agenda-driven people on both sides of this matter. A true independent and scientific study would show the facts for what they are; poor to non existent neo-natal care, terrible diet high in saturated fats, rampant alchohol use and abuse, high rate of smoking, obesity, lack of access to medical care, and as with any small island, many people are related which can lead to a magnification of genetic anomalies. The US Navy is responsible for the clean up of the island which they are doing. The Navy is not responsible for every problem in the lives of the Viequense. There has to be a modicum of personal responsiblity. The Viequense have been let down by their own politicians robbing them of opportunities for thirty pieces of silver, far worse than anything the US Navy did.
Virtually all of the food on the island is grown off island, and always has been. The water has been piped over from the big island, courtesy of the Navy, since the 1940′s; the Navy paved the roads, their money built the schools and playgrounds, and now that the inflow of cash is coming to an end, folks are looking for that last big payout.
The Navy paid above fair market value when they bought the land where there the bases were located. They paid hundreds of millions over the years to the local and commonwealth government. When they agreed to leave, the Navy turned over 4000 acres to the municipality to develop, the Navy is employing local people in the clean up of all of the are formerly used by them, not just the live action area.
The political people are upset that the Navy turned the land over to Fish and Wildlife and not the municipality, thus depriving them of the opportunity to extort money from developers. That is the way of life on the island. Those are the facts. Go there and see for yourself.

The studies mentioned weren’t performed by “agenda driven people,” but independent scientists at very reputable institutions including Yale, UGA, and San Juan College of Engineers. The island of Vieques is only 8 miles away from the main island of Puerto Rico and is demographically similar in nearly every way. Yet children on Vieques are 25% more likely to die than those 8 miles away on the main island. The contamination affected the island’s food, water, soil, and air. You can’t blame poisoning from heavy metals, agent orange, or napalm on diet and smoking! In the TIME article, the former mayor stated that at least 13 people in his family have cancer, that’s due to more than “genetic anomalies.” The only substantial difference between Vieques and the main island of Puerto Rico is that one had the Navy dropping bombs on it for more than 60 years while the other didn’t. Now the people of Vieques are at significantly higher risk for cancer, cirrhosis of the liver, hypertension, diabetes etc, than those on the main island. That’s not a coincidence. The Navy has a responsibility to help these people. Those are the real facts.

The original Time article says 30 TIMES higher cancer rate, while this beliefnet article says 30% higher. That’s a big difference. Which is it? I already wrote to Time, but didn’t hear back from them.

This article is appalling. These people are Americans, and they deserve to be treated just like every other citizen of this country! I would like to respond to the comment made earlier, because talking about “personal responsibility” is just naive … and frankly it shows a stark lack of compassion for our neighbors, our fellow Americans. I am disgusted to read that someone would take the attitude of “go and see for yourself” to distract from the real suffering of these people.
It takes someone who is completely detached from reality to act like this isn’t happening and simply excuse our government for this clear moral imperative. The Puerto Rico Senate and House both passed unanimous resolutions this summer urging President Obama to deal with this situation. The mayor of Vieques has demanded that action be taken. A state representative from Georgia has launched a national coalition of elected and appointed Puerto Rican officials to band together in the name of justice. That’s what this is: an issue of justice. Let’s acknowledge our sin here, and then most importantly of all, go and sin no more by acting immediately to right this wrong.

So do we just look at these people as casualties of war? Apparently we do. It amazing how often tragic things are allowed to happen to the people we are suppose to be protecting. Isn’t it a timeless mantra of the right wing evagelicals to “Protect the Innocent”…well the last time I checked the scriptures, being poor was not a moral sin.

Dear Jesus:
I have also been to this beautiful island – in fact, have lived here all my adult life (past 30 years), and I can assure you that things are much grimmer than reported in the Time article. The statistics are provided by the US Navy, the federal agency for toxic substances (ATSDR), the EPA, international and Puerto Rican scientists. And the statistics indicate the Navy dropped millions of pounds of explosives on Vieques during half century of bombing and other military practices; invited NATO and other allied militaries to bomb Vieques; allowed US arms manufacturers to experiment with new weapons systems on Vieques; brought radioactive contamination to be sunk in shallow waters off the coast of Vieques (USS Killen); dropped Napalm bombs and used Vieques to practice with radioactive uranium projectiles during decades.
Your comments related to diet, alcohol and genetic anomalies smack of racismo and deserve no further discussion.
Your are right to say the Navy is not responsible for every problem in the lives of Viequenses and certainly people here must take responsability for solving the pressing issues faced by the community, including the socio-economic and health crisis caused by and/or greatly exacerbated by the US Navy presence and activities on Vieques.
Water system on Vieques insalled by Puerto Rican Acqeducts Authority … with the help of Navy … in the 1960’s, not forties; Navy didn’t pave Vieques roads nor did their money build schools and playgrounds – i’d like to know where you got that false information.
The Navy took approximately 70% of Vieques’ lands through a process of expropriation – not purchase in any normal, free sense – mandated by Congressional Public Laws 13 (March 17, 1941) nd 247 (25 August, 1941) – with absolutely no participation by the people of Vieques or Puerto Rico.
You are also correct about people here being upset about transfer of lands from Navy to Fish and Wildlife. People on Vieques have struggle for decades to defend their right to life, liberty and the persuit of happiness against the horrific violations of these rights by the US Navy. With the support of the Puerto Rican nation in the Caribbean archipelago and in the diaspora, solidarity and active participation by the Bishops of all the churches in Puerto Rico and a unity in Puerto Rican society across class, race, age and ideological differences, Vieques defeated – without firing a single shot, the most powerful military force in the history of humanity: the US Navy.
However, the movement to stop the bombing and end military presence on Vieques did not respond to a theoretical, ideological interest against US militarism. The people of Vieques fought to get the Navy out because the Navy was destroying the islands environment, natural resources, economy and hopes for a positive future. The people of Vieques have a better plan for Vieques than the Navy: instead of bombing, let’s create a peacefull, healthy, democratic community. People are certainly upset because the struggle to regain control over their geographic patrimony has not concluded.
We will, i suggest, continue to work here for as long as it takes to get the Navy to perform a complete environmental clean up and restoration, make reparations for the enormous damage done and retake every inch of Vieques territory that belongs by natural right to this community and the next generations of Viequenses.
Robert Rabin
Director, Vieques Historic Archives
Robert.rabin@cprdv.org
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