密歇根新闻广播 密歇根社区团结起来帮助波多黎各人民

 

It has been four months since Hurricanes Irma and then Maria slammed into Puerto Rico. The death toll¹ and damage to the island is unprecedented²: Power grid³ and water infrastructure⁴ have been torn apart, triggering a health crisis. Best estimates say around half the nation is without power, and some experts say some areas may not get power back until this spring.

Although she now lives in Livonia, Marta Smith Cruz grew up in Puerto Rico and helped formed the Comité Cultural Boricua de Detroit, which is working on providing relief to the island.

Cruz joined Stateside to discuss the relief effort for Puerto Rico she's been leading since September, focusing on her hometown of Seva.

Listen to the full conversation above or read highlights below.

On the hurricane's disruption to daily life

"Losing power and losing electricity is not uncommon⁵ on the island. There are times where you lose power for some unknown reason and then it comes back or the water goes because they're doing some work. But having no power, no water, and no communication on top of that, I think all of those combined is really what makes it more difficult.”

What we should know about the people of Puerto Rico

"I want people to understand that we are their fellow citizens. I want people to know that the people of Puerto Rico are resilient; they've gone through many obstacles and many hardships just based on the economic status of the island over the past several years. And I want people to know that they do need help because they are just like you and I -- they're people and they do need help."

On how Michiganders can help

"We actually came together to form Comité Cultural Boricua de Detroit. We've been maximizing all of our efforts to bring resources together including monetary⁶ donations and we're all working together through a group called Grace in Action, which is located in Detroit."

1 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

2 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

3 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

4 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

5 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

6 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。