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Planning an escape from the cold with a beach vacation this winter? Why not try beautiful Vieques?
A small Island off the coast of Puerto Rico, Vieques is considered a hidden gem in the Carribbean with miles of underdeveloped and pristine beaches. This beauty however, comes at an incredibly heavy price. Until recently, Vieques had been used as training and testing ground for the US Navy for the better part of 60 years. A huge amount of munitions were tested and nearly 80 million pounds of ordnance were dropped on the island between 1984-1998 alone.
It wasn't until April 1999, when a bomb accidentally killed one civilian and wounded several others that the protests from the local community gained national attention. The wrangling and negotiations took years and it wasn't until 2003 when the Navy finally pulled out. However, for the nine thousand or so residents of Vieques, the nightmare wasn't over.
The legacy of the Navy's presence was miles of untouched beaches and a profusion of chemical pollution, the long term effects of which have been a devastated ecosystem and unprecedented levels of disease. In 2001, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Puerto Rico conducted a study which showed that over half of Viequens had unsafe levels of chemicals in their bodies such as Mercury, Arsenic, and Lead. The Puerto Rico Department of Health described Viequens as having significantly elevated risks of asthma, cancer, diabetes and heart disease when compared with mainland Puerto Ricans. Recently, around seven thousand Viequens filed a federal lawsuit seeking compensation for their illnesses. The Navy has continued to claim that there are 'no health risks' associated with the bombs that were detonated, some of which contained depleted uranium. The studies that they cite have been widely dismissed by academics and scientists in both Puerto Rico and the US.
However, there is some encouraging news. The Federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, recently announced that it would be overturning the 2003 research which stated that there were no health hazards directly linked to the prolonged bombing of the island. However this is only one small step toward the islanders receiving any sort of recompense for their suffering.
When the Navy left, the people of Vieques were able to escape the daily bombings and acrid air, but the specter of disease haunts them still. The Navy may have returned their land in 2003, but only with funds to pay for treatment will Viquens get back their lives.
Tonight, CNN ran a story on "Campbell Brown" on the plight of the people of Vieques. You can read more about it here: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US...
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