Here’s a riddle. You live on a beautiful island and enjoy a rural setting, relatively little tourism, and low-impact ways to make a living. The most traditional jobs are related to the water (fishing) or the fields (raising livestock). Some get by providing services – food, transportation, entertainment – and some run guesthouses about nine months of the year. There’s an infrastructure of education, medical services, roads, and a municipal airport. You’ve got a government-run ferry system. The island has some of the prettiest beaches around. What’s wrong with this picture?
It comes with the same address as a U.S military camp that has used much of the island to practice war maneuvers since 1938. Over the years, that has meant coexisting with bombs being dropped, chemicals used experimentally, rockets fired. Errant ammo and live ordnance are unpredictable, jeopardizing civilians. Just breathing the air exposes one to contamination by toxins. The fish are living in poisoned waters. Napalm has been sprayed. Depleted uranium was used, admittedly by mistake, but is now irreversibly in the environment for hundreds of years. Is this paradise, or hell on earth?
This is Vieques, a small island off eastern Puerto Rico in the Caribbean, and part of the commonwealth, essentially a colony of the United States. When the U.S took Puerto Rico from Spain in 1898, it was seen as a key strategic location. It built the Navy’s largest base in the world there, across from Vieques, called Roosevelt Roads.
The current governor, Sila Calderon, won election in 2000; part of her platform was that the U.S pull out of Vieques. She cited health studies showing increased rates of cancer, asthma, heart problems, and skin and nervous disorders. The citizens of Vieques were given a plebiscite vote to indicate their preference. Despite a large monetary award the U.S government would have paid, they voted that the Navy cease and desist. While nothing has appeared in writing, officials have said they will pull out in May 2003. The land Vieques hoped to regain for public use will probably be assigned to the Department of the Interior because of the need to clean it up before allowing access. Residents worry this means it may not be cleaned up at all, simply put off limits.
Some ask if they will be any better off if and when the Navy leaves. The roads, electricity, security, airport and even the undeveloped beauty seem to be what they are thanks to the Navy’s presence. The consideration of long-term health issues, the pace of development and land use planning may seem to complicate the transition to a new economy and identity. Their discussion, however, seems to have no influence on their future. As a possession, they are ultimately powerless, their fate dependent on the interests of the United States. The cause – paz para Vieques (peace for Vieques) – enjoys widespread support with Puerto Ricans everywhere because, they know, the chance for citizens to set their own agenda would be empowering, a breakthrough. These islanders, like any of us, want to set their own priorities, make their own compromises and trade-offs and have the privilege and opportunity to make them work.
Tina Meade Cohen lives in Deerfield, Massachusetts. She is a summer resident of Vinalhaven.