Build Up To Protest Against PROMESA in Boriken

Preparations are being made for the protest of on the 31st of August in front of the The Condado Plaza Hilton owned by Hilton Worldwide. The event is being hosted by The Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce, Birling Capital Advisors, LLC , Select Global Advisory Group, Inc. and El Nuevo Día.

Birling Capital Advisors and Select Global Advisory Group are financial advisory firms recently established in Boriken, 2015 and 2014, respectively. EL Nuevo Dia is a major local newspaper that supports PROMESA.

The event will have guest experts from outside Boriken. One interesting guest is former International Monetary Fund (IMF) Chief Economist  Simon H. Johnson.

Interventions and educational events are already taking place leading up to the day of the event. There is a call of international support and attention to this two week process. Folks interested in supporting the protestors by flooding social media with articles about Puerto Rico, PROMESA, and messages of solidarity from organizations and individuals.

FOlks are welcomed to us the following hashtags:

#NoALaJunta

#LaGenteAntesQueLaDeuda

#QuePaguenLxsDeArriba

#Descolonización

#CampamentoContraLaJunta

#SHUTITDOWN

The main action is on Wednesday, August 31 at 7 AM - 5:30 PM local time.

For more details follow this blog or look up the facebook event.

If you enjoyed this article check out Through Our Own Eyes at KBOO 90.7 FM and get a post card from Puerto Rico when you make a donation to our project before the 1st of November 2016.

Are Federal Lights Affecting Wildlife In Puerto Rico?

Human activist in front of the United States District Courts may not be the only ones negatively affected by industrial tower lights aimed at protestors every evening.  The Greater Antillean grackle or Chango may become a casualty of the Federal government's tactic. New baby birds are found stranded on the ground around the camp daily. Artificial lighting can have a negative impact on the natural nocturnal cycle of birds and other fauna.

So is there a special relation between the fallen Changos and the intense lights from the feds or is this just a natural phenomenon.

No matter what, inhabitants of the Campamento Contra La Junta will continue to try and help and care for the baby birds.

Sit In Blocs UBS HQ in Puerto Rico

Today protestors at UBS headquarters blocked the entrance of the swiss bank’s local headquarters at 8am in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. 

UBS is one of a few financial institutions responsible for accelerating the financial crisis in Puerto Rico. The swiss bank had sold off many of the bond funds causing what is said to be 900 million in damages. Protesters aimed to bring attention to UBS and its practices in the island by disrupting access and operations while informing the public of said practices.

We interviewed Armado Lebron,a participant in today's action, here the interview at KBOO.FM

UBS has also been known for destroying records of orphaned assets of missing or deceased victims of the holocaust and is mentioned in the Panama Papers.

If you enjoyed this article check out Through Our Own Eyes at KBOO 90.7 FM and get a post card from Puerto Rico when you make a donation to our project before the 1st of November 2016.

Through Our Own Eyes Episode 5: Peoples Working Party and Prisons Part 1

In this episode we meet with Mariana Nogales Molinelli, Working People's Party (PPT) candidate for Resident Commissioner. In this two part interview we talk about the PPT and prisons in Puerto Rico. 

If you enjoyed this article check out Through Our Own Eyes at KBOO 90.7 FM and get a post card from Puerto Rico when you make a donation to our project before the 1st of November 2016.

Through Our Own Eyes Episode 4: Food Security

We meet with Tara RodriguezBesosa,Co-Founder of Departamento De La Comida. We talked about Monsanto, food security and the agricultural industry. Listen to this episode here.

If you enjoyed this article check out Through Our Own Eyes at KBOO 90.7 FM and get a post card from Puerto Rico when you make a donation to our project before the 1st of November 2016.

Borikuas March Against Naled

People gathered in Plaza Colon in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico on the 22nd of July 2016 to demand that the local and federal government not spray

Naled (Dibrom) over the population.

This is a response to the news of the CDC bringing the organophosphate insecticide to the island. Even at low levels it can be very toxic and is considered one of the most dangerous pesticides by the Pesticide Action Network.

This is not the first time toxic chemicals have been sprayed over the population of Boriken. Some may recall that Agent Orange, a product of Monsanto Corporation and Dow Chemical, was tested on the population and environment during the 50’s and early 60’s before being deployed in Vietnam.

The Mayor of San Juan Carmen Yulín Cruz has stated that the spraying of Naled on the population is an act of eco-terrorism. She has demanded that governor takes action and put a halt to the poisoning of the land and its people.

How is a relationship beneficial when you're partner keeps causing you physical harm and only gives you enough so you can stay alive and keep being used and exploited?

If you enjoyed this article check out Through Our Own Eyes at KBOO 90.7 FM and get a post card from Puerto Rico when you make a donation to our project before the 1st of November 2016.

Through Our Own Eyes Episode 3: Whiteness and Tourism

In this episode, we meet Neli Brul a student and queer activist and tells us about government incentives to whitewash the population and how the tourism industry is run by tourist in Boriken. 

Leisure Colonization

 

I cannot ever remember, in the five years I lived

in Oregon, hearing a person of color say that they were moving to Canada or some other country, just to get away from Amerikkkan conservatism or its ruined economy. I cannot recall hearing that from anyone but European folk. Maybe it’s because I live in Oregon and there are an abundance of white European settlers. Growing up, when people of color talked about moving they had their eyes on the United Snakes. Is this a coincidence?       

It was not uncommon to find many of the tourism jobs being owned or operated by European Americans or Europeans from the continent managing staff at chain hotels tour companies. You can see it from the Hilton in San Juan to the catamaran tours in on the west end. There is nothing wrong with people of any skin tone making a living. 

It is interesting that a person from a world power moves to a colony or a struggling nation and will get chosen for an entry level job over a local even without speaking the dominate language of the region. Tourism is a monolithic industry in Boriken with a preference for English speakers. Yet few of us are fully bilingual or comfortable operating in English. 

I was a bar back one summer in a west side town called Fajardo. There I was offered a job by one of the patrons to go work in Culebra as a grounds keeper. I explained to them I knew nothing about landscaping or even what to do with a trimmer. They made it very clear that they needed me because they  where a manger but they knew no Spanish. They wanted someone bilingual that they could trust. I cannot recall everything that was said but there was stress on the need for trust.

Working twelve hours a day, at $6.00 per hour and no overtime pay as a bar back, bouncer, stock boy, janitor at the same job then offered $8.00 an hour to work in Culebra, of course I took the job. Keep in mind Culebra is an island off the coast of Boriken and many of the business are owned by Europeans, from the US and from Europe, but staffed by locals that would not have the capital to own the businesses. The few Borikuas that own the business are from the mainland and are coming from economic privilege. 

After a week there it turned out that pool maintenance would be the best role for me because 1) I was the only groundskeeper that spoke English 3) I knew how to “behave” around guest and 2) I was not great at mowing huge lawns on a steep incline. When I was not caring for the pool or raking up leaves I was running back and forth between my manager interpreting instructions and responses. Mostly I was interpreting lies that I would be blamed for. 

Soon I was to assistant manager of grounds keeping but the pay did not change. The title should have been assistant to the manager of grounds keeping, I was put in charge of supervising, ordering (because I spoke Spanish and my boss still did not), inventory, pool maintenance, waiting on guest. 

It was a strange position to be in, I was not a boss but because I bilingual I had to float my boss and be the face of his reprimands and frustration. It was not fair to me and it certainly was not fair to my coworkers. I left that job promptly after I got wind that they were shutting down the resort after only eight months in operation. 

Some resorts are run by hotel management companies but the infrastructure is rented out to them. The property owner is a rich European man from Puerto Rico that had developed the property despite local opposition to is construction and devastation to the environment. He had not been a great landlord and the company owner, a German guy named Walter that once worked for Donald Trump, decided to pull out. I gave my notice and picked up another job, selling brightly colored garbage to tourist in a boutique for the same pay and less responsibility. The owner was also a European from the US but I hardly saw them and did not have nearly as much drama to deal with. 

I worked a few more tourist jobs on mainland Boriken before I moved to Oregon and the whole time, if I ever heard a person of color on the island talk about moving they meant to go to the US. Meanwhile, even homeless Europeans would find their way down to the island with less proficiency in Spanish than money. Here I was struggling working in restaurants but always hungry with no way of leaving for the US and no one in there that I knew. Vacation friends never rite back and if they do it’s remind you what a great time they had.  

Tourism does not bring island to the people, at best it creates demeaning low wage jobs for some locals that further the colonization process. Tourism in itself is not bad but it neither is a blade. A blade could be used to cut bonds or slit thoughts. ToTourist under capitalism and colonialism is a rapier that is used mortally wound minds and bodies. 

If you enjoyed this article check out Through Our Own Eyes at KBOO 90.7 FM and get a post card from Puerto Rico when you make a donation to our project before the 1st of November 2016.

Through Our Own Eyes Episode 2: Civil Disobedience at Federal Court House in Puerto Rico

Translation: The Government Hates You

On Wednesday 29th of June 2016, activist began to occupy the entrance to the United States District Court of Puerto Rico in response to the passing of PROMESA. PROMESA will establish an oversight board that would have power to control policy and the entire local government. 

The seven members of the board, only one of which has to be a resident but not necessarily a Boricua, would not be paid but could accept gifts during their time on the board.

How long the board will be in place is indefinite. The commitment of the Campamento Contra la Junta, a movement against the fiscal oversight board, intend to resist is equally unlimited.

This week we spoke with Victor Torres, a communications committee member for the camp, about their efforts to mobilize the masses against the implementation of PROMESA , and to demand the decolonization of Boriken.

Victor also told us how federal officers have used fumes from generators and bright work lights to smoke out activist from the encampment.  

Listen to the full interview here and every Monday on KBOO 90.7 FM on the evening news at 5pm. 

Through Your Own Eyes is made possible by contributors like yourself. 

Every contributor will receive a postcard from Boriken with our gratitude. If you enjoyed this program and would like to support it click here. Be sure to look us  up on KBOO 90.7 FM and Facebook. 

PALANTE!SIEMPRE PALANTE!

Luxury Poverty

If being poor is expensive then living under colonial rule is baller. Between an 11.5% and the Jones Act, goods in Puerto Rico are very expensive. With the passing of the PROMESA Act, Borikuas and other residence may face even greater economic challenges both as a nation and individually. 

At the time of writing this I have been living in Portland for five years and some of the comparisons I will be making will be with Oregon summer 2016 and Puerto Rico summer 2016. 

In Portland, Oregon you have the option of taking the bus, light rail, or streetcar. You can get a pass for 2.5 hours for $2.50 with unlimited transfers for that time window on to any of those vehicles. The system is reliable except in bad weather and bridge raisings. All vehicles in Portland’s public transportation fleet can transport bicycles. 

In the metropolitan area of Puerto Rico, the bus fare is $.75 no transfer. Their schedule is unpredictable and there is no reliable app to track the bus. They do not go very far so you have to walk or pay for another bus when you transfer. There is the Tren Urbano, 10.7 mile long train system that runs through part of the western part of the metro area. The fare for the train $1.50 and you get one transfer but you can only use it from the station. You need to buy a card included in the price of the fare and it has to go through a device on the bus that reads it. Often the card does not work so a rider will have to pay $.75 for the fare. Then there are Carros Públicos, a kind of shared or public taxi. The cost starting at $1.00, not the most reliable or comfortable but more abundant and available than the bus system is during the day. 

The entire system operates on both local and federal funds. With so many people relying on public transportation for employment and access to services, any tampering with the system by the board could be devastating on top of the already destructive effects PROMESA will have. 

The minim wage in Puerto Rico is currently $7.25 and few people work 40hrs a week. Studio apartments on average are $600 in the metro area. You would have to work 82.7 hours to make that, assuming you are not paying income taxes. 

Assuming you were working 40 hrs. and not paying taxes, that leaves you with $560 a month. Say you live on the other side of town from where you work. You would need to take probably a bus and the train. With the bus being so unreliable you have to set out early. So that could be an extra hour or two of your day along with the $.75 for the bus and the $1.50 for the train. You just spent 2.25 and you may, if you’re lucky only have to spend that same amount for the trip home. That would be $4.50 every day for six days a week assuming your 40 hours being made at the same job and you work 8 hours a day. With an average of 4.47 weeks in a month, one could spend $120.69 a month on public transportation between home and work. That leaves $439.31 a month. Does not sound too bad, but anyone making minim wage probably does not have these ideal conditions to work with. 

The PROMESA Act will lower the minim wage to $4.25 an hour for people under 25 in their first 3 months of employment at a new job. So instead of working 82 hours to make rent for the studio one would have to put in 141 hours and have only $39.21 at the end of the month, after transportation and before taxes. All this under the same ideal conditions that no one is actually living under on the island. This model is a best case scenario in a difficult living situation.

Food is another huge expense on the island, much of the produce needs to be imported and thanks the Jones Act the cost are much higher than they would need to be. Foreign goods with imports destined for Puerto Rico have to travel to Jacksonville, Florida and be unloaded then reloaded onto US ships with US crews. Then they must travel 1462nm and 6 days to Puerto Rico. 

Say that you were a box of plantains from the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic is only 254nm and 1 day away but you would travel 2816nm before making it to the supermarket in Rio Piedras, PR. 

All these steps cost money and distance will have an impact on cost. What is to keep the Fiscal Board from raising taxes on imports, similar to how the US had invaded the Dominican Republic to control their Customs authority?

Puerto Rico is considered a paradise by many tourist but it is a struggle for those that live and work on the island. Many people that provide the friendly tropical utopian facade may never have a vacation other than a few days off. Even in leisure the working poor of Boriken are struggling and working to make ends meet and to aces goods and services they need to be well enough to work. It is a luxury to live under capitalism and to struggle in a system that will exploit you and your body. With these wages and cost of living, surviving in Boriken with minim wage is the most baller thing someone can do.

PALANTE, SIEMPRE PALANTE

Through Our Own Eyes: What this project is all about.

When colonialism is spoken about in the USA it is often as a foreign practice of old empires.Through Our Own Eyes is a multimedia project illuminating the truth behind colonialism in Boriken. Boriken,known by its colonized name ,Puerto Rico, is a free associated state ( or colony), of the United States of America. Few residents of the American Empire know or understand the 118 year old relationship between the two nations. For instance, Boriken provides a steady supply of recruits for the US military, tax shelters for US businesses and cheap labor for pharmaceutical companies. Borikuas also pay medicare tax yet receive less benefits than residents of the US. Let us not forget that although Borikuas are subject to selective service and past drafts since WW1 they do not have the right to participate in presidential elections.

European-American settler folk are trying to understand their place in the world. This project's objective is to educate them and to create solidarity between Borikuas and other people suffering under colonialism. Follow us on Blogspot, Facebook, Youtube and KBOO 90.7 FM.  If you feel moved by this project and want to support it further please feel free to donate $here$. Do not forget to email stevie.elepan@gmail.com. All contributors will receive a postcard from Boriken.

Palante, Siempre Palante!

Stevie Elepan

Stevie Elepan

Through My Own Eye: Mission Update 5/6/2016-Gag Law and Zumba

Hey comrades,

This project is really moving along well. So many folks are coming together to help make this happen. The folks at KBOO 90.7 FM have lend their hand and knowledge to the project. If we can score an iphone 5 we can convert it into a fine camera and make this a multimedia project.

We have raised in $345 in the last 20 days thanks to folks like yourselves and will soon be able to purchase airfare. We still have a long way to go. Fortunately some folks have gone out of their way to help.

Amaru Equis is hosting a Zumba Fundraiser on June 17th at Laurelhurst Park from 6pm-730pm. Preferred donations $10 but we are socialist so no one will be turned away if they do not have money. It will be worth it to see me try to keep up.

Kelsey Schomberger will be contributing prints of Pedro Albizu Campos that she painted for this project. We chose Campos because he is an Afrikan from Puerto Rico and was a political prisoner for many years. In 1948, eight years after the passing of the Smith Law in the U.S., the Puerto Rico Senate passed a Law 53, or Gag Law. The Gag Law was intended to repress any subversive materials or speech that undermined the colonial government and the imperialist United Snakes of Amerikkka. It was even illegal to display the Puerto Rican flag. Campos had a voice that was threatening enough that he was imprisoned many times. It was not until his final imprisonment that he was tortured during radiation experiments.  This part of my International Coalition Building Mission will expose life under modern day colonial rule. Even to this day the colonial government under the command of Amerikkkan corporations still works to repress any resistance to the occupation.

Kelsey will be selling his prints soon and all the profit will go into this project.

Thank you everyone that has offered help and a big thanks to my Aunt and Grandmother that will give me a spot to make camp while I'm on mission in Puerto Rico. If you are moved by this or just have a desire to know more about colonial simand Puerto Rico please feel free to make a contribution to the fundraising  page Through My Own Eyes. Be sure to listen to KBOO 90.7 FM on your radio or online for more updates from July to November 2016. Track us on Facebook and follow me on Twitter @SteveElepan Thank you and remember…

PALANTE, SIEMPRE PALANTE!

International Coalition Building Mission: Starting From The Beginning

Imperialism, colonialism, and neo colonialism have been very popular words used in the Portland liberal left but few people really understand what these words mean unless they have lived with these afflictions. Some folks will speak of England and India when they speak of colonialism and not even realize that the United Snakes of Amerikkka has its own colonies like Guam, USVI, American Samoa, Mariana Islands, FS of Micronesia and my home Boriken (Puerto Rico). There is a need and a desire that people voting in the US and think they are doing something radical know about US citizens that do not have that right or any power other than the power of the masses. So I will start my mission where I came from.

After much discussion and advice from my comrades in AAPRP and PCHRP, I have been able to make a more solid plan for this project. I have decided to start by making a trip to Boriken and reconnect with old friends, family, new comrades and most importantly my grandmother. In cooperation with KBOO I will be writing on the capitalist colonial crisis on the island. I will be be writing about Afrikan and indigenous identity,racism,militarization of the police,cuts in government spending, the fiscal board, Amerikkkan occupation, gentrification, resistance and organizing. I will be talking with with the proletariat and local organizations. I will be traveling around the island getting people's view on the relationship with the United Snakes and how they see this coming election. I will start working on writing a personal but true story of our struggle.

The plan is to raise funds For the next few weeks through the GoFundMe website and with the help of comrade Amru who is hosting a Zumba in the Park Fundraiser on june 17th. KBOO has taken interest and will get me exposure while giving me a platform to share our story.

I would traveling on July 1st just in time for the Fourth of the Lie and seeing how my people celebrate or not celebrate this Amerikkkan holiday. I would be staying out there until November tenth so i can cover the Puerto Rico elections on the 8th of November 2016.
Between that time I will be moving around the island and the outer islands getting people's stories and views and reaching out to local organizations for interviews and perspective.

Feeling Burned: A brief criticism of Amerikkkan Presidential Elections

Bernie fans I encounter come off as very adamant about voting, but not listening. They will tell you the importance of having their voice heard in this election because Trump winning would be such a travesty.  The message I tend to receive form Bernie fans is,”I was never political before, but Bernie says things I like, he is going to help us take back this country. I need to vote so Trump does not win and my voice will be heard.” Then there is that part where they say, “I assume you support Sanders?”, then all hell breaks lose. Europeans especially seem to freak out internally when I tell them that I do not. This has happened so frequently I have learned it is best to not explain why unless they ask. I could be wrong or confused but no one has told me what  my error is. Here is a perspective for those that can not understand why a person of color from a colony would not support Bernie or any other candidate in the Amerikkkan elections. Keep in mind I do not represent or try to represent all people of color and survivors of colonialism.

1. Amerikkkan elections are rigged

It really seems pointless to vote in Presidential Elections in the United States of Amerikkka.  Although there are laws that protect voting rights of workers and the unemployed, some places do everything they can to make voting conflict with earning a miserable income. Take the catastrophe of Arizona for the 2016 primary. Voting stations were reduced from 200 to 60. Some voters had to wait for at least five hours. Was this an accident? Who would this affect most? Would voters dependent on public transportation be discouraged? Who would this hurt the most?

2. Not All Citizens Get to Vote

A significant number of citizens are denied the ability to participate in presidential elections every four years.There are 3.5million people in Puerto Rico will not have a choice in who leads the United States of Amerikkka. There are laws that forbid it and politicians that fight to keep it that way. Borikuas have have been exploited and repressed by Amerikkka since 1898. Police actions, weapons and medical testing on the population, political prisoners, embargos like the Jones Act, mass incarceration , mandatory military service and citizenship are the only privileges United States of Amerikkka has given Borikuas. The citizens of the Puerto Rico have served the United States Military and have provided cheap labor for corporations.They do not get a vote or a voice.Let us not forget the homeless population in the United States. I have the impression that they do not have an easy time getting registered depending where they are. The US seems to be famous for simply ignoring the homeless population unless it is to evict them or arrest them. Are the extreme poor and homeless ignored because they do not generate a significant income? Is it their lack of production that keeps them marginalized? Is there minimum tax bracket you must fit in to have a vote?

3. Hillary, Trump and Sanders are Imperialist

The two parties represent one system of racist and classist oppression. Both parties participate in invading countries, bombing cities, exploiting people of color and silencing critics of capitalism and imperialism. All three candidates support the drone program and bombing and occupying other countries. This is nothing new and as long as we depend on these figure heads no one will be free. Evan Sanders refuses to admit the US had any blame in the troubles of the colonies, specifically Puerto Rico but does blame corporations and hedge funds. His campaign team ignores the fact that the Jones Act is a shakedown and that Puerto Rico's government, unlike other states, is not permitted to claim bankruptcy. None of the candidates will even call Puerto Rico a colony or speak up on human right violations and political prisoners from the island. They are, very quick to criticize other nations but refuse to acknowledge US sponsorship of terrorism, genocide and exploitation of people overseas.

4. Voting validates an illegitimate regime

You keep hearing “ Make Amerikkka great again” and “Take back our country” but it always seems to be coming from European-Amerikkkans that seem to forget that they are on stolen land. 100 million indigenous people have been killed and are still being killed for this so called “great nation”. Afrikans made this regimes economy by being forced to work for rich white capitalist. Today,after the false abolition of slavery, Afrikans are imprisoned and forced into labor, kept sick so we can not generate capital, exploited for our culture and labor while also being dehumanised. So take this country back and make it great, but who benefits really? The system is not broken, it does what it was designed to do. Keep the lower classes divided through systematic racism and exploit the masses for their labor while keeping all the profits and controlling resources. Reform is not revolution, it is just the re-wording of policies to make sure they fit with popular culture. If we rely on electing another president, those of us who can, what do we actually change?

Maybe we need to stop depending on a system that has exploited the workers, the poor, the marginalized. Instead of trying to change the system, why not start organizing with each other and create some new systems? We live in a society that tells us we can all start a business and be successful but we fail to believe that we can create a new economic system. Why do we celebrate the entrepreneur but we do not support the radical organizers that put themselves on the line to fight for others? Why do we wait for an action to happen to mobilize instead of getting involved with organizing? Why are we expected to vote rather than revolt even though deep down inside we do not trust any of our candidates but are too scared of being critical or criticized?

Maybe make sure you are participating in a system that is fair serves not just to you but those different from you. Judge your society by how it treats those who are on the edge of it and have a quieter voice. Do not wait to be given rights and freedom, those things shared and worked for not distributed evenly by the elites. Again, this is just an opinion and I could be missing something.