Navy social impact on Vieques

[El_Jibaro]

Now, it is widely known that 30% of the Population of Vieques works directly for the U.S. Navy.

Usually, the workforce of a given Population is around 60%, that is, 6 out of every 10 persons in a community work, the others are children and their stay at home mothers, and the retired.

Therefore, if 3 out of every 10 persons in Vieques work for the U.S. Navy, then that is 50% of the WORKFORCE.

Now, lets say that the 50% find themselves jobless in two years, what impact would that have on Vieques?

Well, without a a replaceable job, 8 out of 10 persons in any given community in the USA will lose their home in six months from the point of unemployment, because they have both consumed all their savings as well as ran out of unemployment checks (unemployment usually lasts only up to 1/3 of a year).

In Vieques this issue of loosing a home will be worse, since Puerto Ricans usually save at rates much lower than for typical American households.

Also, since 50% of the job market in the region is at stake, this will have a domino effect on the rest of the jobs; let me explain:

Of the approximately 3,000 jobs Vieques Residents have with the Navy, only 5% of those are menial jobs that are easily replaceable, like that of JANITORS. The rest are very highly skilled jobs in Engineering, Technicians, Clerks, Steel Workers, Maintenance, and Port Service. All these jobs are at more than an hour commuting distance from the main Island of Puerto Rico. None of those jobs will be automatically replaced upon the Navy's departure.

Now comes the "jawbreaker": since the LOCAL ECONOMY is sustained mostly on the Navy's jobs, then all the restaurants (including fast food restaurants), pharmacies, supermarkets, automobile repair shops, clothing stores, schools, day care centers, medical facilities, law services, and even street vendors are going to be wiped out if the clientelle on which they are based finds itself without an income.

This PHENOMENON is one that has been documented for many industrial towns in Pennsylvania and Ohio, which used to make up the Steel Industry in the USA until their demise in the middle 1980's to the cheaper competitors in Japan and other countries in the Far East.

RESULTS:

Mass exodus of all highly skilled jobs, beginning from engineers, which for the Vieques Navy installations should add up to 500 of such jobs, and down the line with technicians, mechanical maintenance crews, clerical staffs, etc.

So, if the Navy leaves, Vieques will turn into a GHOST TOWN in less than five years, as it has happened many times in the good old USA. Were Puerto Rico to be as large as the USA the demise of one town would have no effect, but since Puerto Rico is as tiny as Connecticut, the demise of one town, Vieques, due to entirely political issues, will be a tragedy to Puerto Rico for many generations, at least for the 9,000 lives in Vieques who depend on the Navy directly for 50% of the jobs, and the other 45% of the jobs indirectly.

PS: As much as the Government of Puerto Rico may promise to provide the missing money from the departure of the No.#1 Jobs Market in Vieques, the sad reality is that the Commonwealth Government cannot replace 100% of the incomes for all the thousands of workers that will lose their jobs. It may do so for the first three months, but it will find itself harming the people being helped, as well as draining the State Resources in the long run, Resources which are already strained today due to the ongoing local and global recession, as well as jobs flight from closing companies that have been pushed out by the penalizing tax system in Puerto Rico as well as the uncertain political climate generated by the very nationalist governor.

[El_Jibaro]

You made my 45 minutes of inspiration worthwhile .

Posted by "Black-Rose-of-Death"
May 15, 2001
Copyright © 2001 Originally written by The Washington Post Company. All Rights Reserved.

Average number of days per year the Navy bombed Vieques before President Clinton's January 2000 decree that said the Navy would only use inert (nonexploding) bombs until 2003: 260

Number of people who marched in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to protest the decree: 45,000

Estimated loss of fishermen's income and property: $360,000

Approximate cost of this one-page ad in The New York Times calling for an end to the bombing (signed by actor Benicio del Toro, singers Ricky Martin, José Feliciano, and Marc Anthony, baseball player Roberto Alomar, and other celebrities): $113,274


May 19, 2001
Copyright © 2001 Originally written by EFE News Services (U.S.) Inc. All rights reserved.
Source: World Reporter (TM)

San Juan, May 18 (EFE).- The 35,400 square meters (8.74 acres) in western Vieques that the U.S. Navy returned to Puerto Rican authorities on May 1, in compensation for the bombing exercises it conducted on the island for 60 years, contain 17 toxic waste sites, according to the San Juan daily El Nuevo Dia.

Vieques Commissioner Juan R. Fernandez said that 13 of the 17 toxic dumps are located in the 17,700 square meters (4.37 acres), which the United States turned over to the municipality of Vieques , the daily reported.

The other 17,700 square meters (4.37 acres), where the other four toxic waste sites are located, were turned over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The municipality of Vieques plans to establish eco-tourism routes and "low-density" residences on some of the recently returned land, he added.

Fernandez said that the U.S. Navy has already initiated the clean-up process and has closed-off the toxic waste sites to prevent people from entering the dumps.}


The only Original part written by the "Balck-Rose-of-Death" himself, noticeable for its poor grammar: What I think about this is what if all this Vieques campotion never happened, how many years would of this have been passed. The Navy is cleaning it up now, but how many years did it take for these TOXIC wastes to accumilate and the Navy never said anyththing until it was to be eventually discovered once the lands are transferred.

[Hombre-cuidad]

May 15, 2001
Copyright © 2001 The Washington Post Company. All Rights Reserved.


The U.S. Navy claims the Puerto Rican Island of Vieques is the only place where its Atlantic fleet can hold simultaneous land, air, and sea exercises using live bombs. Thousands of Viequenses believe their land and livelihoods are being poisoned and destroyed as a result, and opposition to the Navy's presence has grown significantly stronger. In recent weeks, another bombing mission has prompted more demonstrations and a spate of high-profile arrests.

Here, a story told mostly in numbers.

Number of years Puerto Rico has been a U.S. territory: 101

Number of years the U.S. Navy has used the Puerto Rican island of Vieques as a practice bombing-range: 60

Percent of all bombs dropped by U.S. in military practice that land in Vieques, according to local residents: 90

Percent of Vieques land controlled by U.S. Navy: 70 (about 22,000 of 33,000 acres; Vieques is twice the size of Manhattan)

Population of Vieques: 9300

Population of Kahoolawe, Hawaii, practice bombing-range used by U.S. Navy until 1994: 0

Percentage of Viequenses who live below the poverty line: 72

Number of people from Vieques employed by the U.S. Navy: 30

Number of tourists who visit Vieques per year: 4000

Locations of conflicts that U.S. troops have trained for in Vieques: Cuba, Santo Domingo, Chile, Grenada, Vietnam, Iraq, and Kosovo

Pounds of live explosives, including napalm, dropped on Vieques in November 1994, when troops were preparing for war in Yugoslavia: 20,000

Number of radioactive depleted uranium shells (which are believed to contribute to development of cancer and leukemia, among other illnesses) that the U.S Navy admitted firing on Vieques in 1998: 273

Number of depleted uranium shells the Navy said were "accidentally" fired on Vieques in February 1999: 263

Number retrieved: 56

Estimated number of unexploded bombs in Vieques, according to local residents: "thousands and thousands"

Average number of days per year the Navy bombed Vieques before President Clinton's January 2000 decree that said the Navy would only use inert (nonexploding) bombs until 2003: 260

Average number of days the U.S fires nonexploding bombs (which are extremely noisy and stir up contaminated soil) on Vieques per year now: 90

Number of people who marched in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to protest the decree: 150,000

Number of "dummy" bombs fired from sea to land from April 27 to May 1, 2001, according to the commissioner of Vieques: 352

Number of missiles from air to land, during the same period: 168

Estimated number of protesters, including Vieques mayor Damaso Serrano, who were in the target range while Navy dropped bombs: 40 to 50

Number of fishing traps lost in those four days as a result of bombing: 600-700

Estimated loss of fishermen's income and property: $360,000

Estimated number of local fishermen affected: 52

Estimated amount paid by NATO allies to lease Vieques from the U.S. for target practice: $80 million per year

Amount offered Puerto Rico by President Clinton in January 2000 to continue the bombing for three more years: $40 million

Percentage above legal levels of environmental pollutants that the U.S. Navy has admitted to discharging: arsenic, 6.6; lead, 105; cadmium, 240

Diseases found to have higher rates in Vieques than on Puerto Rico's mainland: cancer, scleroderma, lupus, thyroid deficiencies, asthma

Odds that Viequenses will develop cancer as compared to other Puerto Ricans: 27 percent higher

Number of hospitals on Vieques: 0

Travel time to nearest hospital: one and a half hours by ferry

Number of hotels: 25

Number of civil disobedience camps that sprang up inside the target range after civilian David Sanes was killed by two 500-pound live bombs that missed their mark: 14

Number of months it took U.S. marshals to shut down the camps: 12

Total number of arrests since the bombing began: 1111

Number of arrests in the last two years, since the death of David Sanes: 500

Recent high-profile arrests: Reverend Al Sharpton, actor Edward James Olmos, environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr., New York labor leader Dennis Rivera, Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D-ILL), Vieques mayor Serrano

Approximate cost of the one-page ad in The New York Times calling for an end to the bombing (signed by actor Benicio del Toro, singers Ricky Martin, José Feliciano, and Marc Anthony, baseball player Roberto Alomar, and other celebrities): $113,274

Number of Puerto Rican activists who climbed the Statue of Liberty to protest in November 2000: 11

Population of Puerto Ricans in NYC in 1990: 897,000

Members of Congress from New York City who were among the 110 who signed a letter in March 2001 urging President Bush to permanently end the bombing in Vieques: José Serrano, Nydia Velázquez, Charles Rangel, Ed Towns, Major Owens, Elliot Engel, Nita Lowey, Anthony D. Weiner, Gregory Meeks, Carolyn McCarthy, Joseph Crowley, Carolyn Maloney, Charles Schumer, and Hillary Clinton

Options voters in Vieques will be given in a referendum on the bombing this November: allow the U.S. Navy to resume the use of exploding bombs, for which the people of Vieques will receive $50 million in aid; or permit the Navy to use nonexploding bombs until 2003, after which it will leave the island

Option not available on the referendum: immediate cessation of all bombing


For more information, go to http://www.puertorico-herald.org

May 19, 2001
Copyright © 2001 EFE News Services (U.S.) Inc. All rights reserved.
Source: World Reporter (TM)

San Juan, May 18 (EFE).- The 35,400 square meters (8.74 acres) in western Vieques that the U.S. Navy returned to Puerto Rican authorities on May 1, in compensation for the bombing exercises it conducted on the island for 60 years, contain 17 toxic waste sites, according to the San Juan daily El Nuevo Dia.

Vieques Commissioner Juan R. Fernandez said that 13 of the 17 toxic dumps are located in the 17,700 square meters (4.37 acres), which the United States turned over to the municipality of Vieques , the daily reported.

The other 17,700 square meters (4.37 acres), where the other four toxic waste sites are located, were turned over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The municipality of Vieques plans to establish eco-tourism routes and "low-density" residences on some of the recently returned land, he added.

Fernandez said that the U.S. Navy has already initiated the clean-up process and has closed-off the toxic waste sites to prevent people from entering the dumps.}


What I think about this is what if all this Vieques camotion never happened, how many years would of this have been passed? The Navy is cleaning it up now, but how many years did it take for these TOXIC wastes to accumilate and the Navy never said anything until it was eventually discovered after the lands had been transferred?

Go to http://www.geocities.com/wazzzzz_aaaaaap/vieques2.html

[Leticia_g]

Hombre,
Good statistics!

Keep up the good work!

[Nacionalista]

One thing no body has mention is that the USA government has plenty experience closing military bases.

As you now, in the last 11 years many military bases has been closed, so there are procedures already established and fully tested to take care of the Navy shutdown in Vieques.

These procedures main goal is the make the transition easy to the civilian population.

Even after the Navy left, there still work to do cleaning the Navy mess, which could take years.

Once those land are returned to the Vieques people, I am sure that many industries will build in there and provide jobs.

The doors will be open, so wide that 30% of the Vieques population would not be enough to handle the available work, and there is a posibility that many people from Puerto Rico will be needed to work in Vieques, and possibly move there.

We are trading one employer for many.

And last, I am sure that the government of Puerto Rico will assist Vieques people during the transition. And I am not talking about Wellfare or Food Stamps, even that those services can be use for temporary shortcomings.

[Leticia_g]

Nacionalista,
I am in total agreement with you. I made a comment in open boards concerning that.

People can always see the negatives however they have to retrain their minds to learn to work with the tools they have and be creative. That is the only way they will succeed.

I think we have been puppets long enough. It is time we have our strings cut.

[MinFaluMuhammad]

There are more Puerto Ricans living in the United States than in Puerto Rico. Our representation is growing rapidly in politics, business, entertainment, education, etc. There are enough resources amongst us, in the United States, to pool together to assist Puerto Rico. A Nation within a Nation, so to say. For those of you who still remain in contact with your family members in Puerto Rico, how many times have you sent them money, or arranged for them to move to the United States to find a better living. We need to pool our resources and assist Puerto Rico, just as the United States government aids poor countries with billions of dollars in aid, using our tax dollars. That will be the answer to all of Puerto Rico's economic problems, with Vieques or not. It is time for us to accept our own, and do for self.