SAN JUAN — When Alexi Díaz León returned to Puerto Rico in the summer of 2017, he had just lost his job, was dealing with a crystal meth addiction, and hadn’t been on HIV treatment for a year. Afraid he was going to end up homeless in Miami, he enlisted a friend’s help to get back to the island where he was born.
“I don't like that word because that word to me is from an American experience,” he recently told BuzzFeed LGBTQ. “It’s not resilience; it’s just survival. We have learned to survive, so I don't like ‘resilience’ because it’s also making emphasis on our colonial status.” “We are seeing again the challenges of being a colony and not having independence to make certain decisions,” he said.An envelope and a look of pity from a lab employee were how Jorge Santiago, 43, said he found out he had HIV while living in Puerto Rico in 2006.
But even those who had more positive experiences seeking out HIV treatment on the island have fled the American colony for more robust healthcare. But people living with HIV have sought out better treatment on the mainland for decades. Moisés Agosto-Rosariosaid he was diagnosed with HIV in Puerto Rico in 1986 during the height of the HIV epidemic. On the island, he said there was “no conversation” about the virus and how to treat it. He too left the island for New York City in 1988 and was invited to a meeting of the then–recently founded HIV activist group ACT UP.
But in light of that “chronic underfunding” of Medicaid services on the island that the Commission described, consistent Ryan White money could still leave a funding gap. He said he was able to use connections in the government to get an appointment to renew his government insurance the following day. Oftentimes, those appointments can take a month or two, he said.
“All they’ve done is throw paper towels at us,” Maldonado said, referring to President Donald Trump’s infamous visit to the island after the 2017 storms.published in early July that Trump had also brought up selling the colony after the catastrophic storms in 2017. Duke said in the interview that the idea was never seriously considered after Trump had raised it.
Fonseca spoke of hourslong lines for gas and ATMs, $200 withdrawal limits, and empty grocery shelves. He said a generator, a hybrid car, and stockpiled cash and medication helped him weather the storm as best possible. He, like many, have had to rebuild after the disasters without any help from the government.“All they’ve done is throw paper towels at us."
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