Vieques is a small island off the eastern coast of Puerto Rico; the island was initiallyinhabited by Native Americans who came from South America. In 1811, the island of Vieques was taken over by the people of Puerto Rico. The island itself is divided into seven wards and has two major cities, Isabel Segunda on the Atlantic side and Esperanza on the Caribbean side. The island of Vieques is known for its two bioluminescent bays and incredible snorkeling. Something you may not know about Vieques is that in the 1940s the United States military purchased approximately sixty percent of the land on the island to use as a testing area for bombs, missiles, and other weapons. Because most of the land they purchased was made up of farms and sugar plantations, many people were left with no jobs and were forced to leave the island in order to find work. The military stayed on the island of Vieques testing bombs and other weapons for over sixty years. Those people who were able to stay on the island initially are now being forced to leave for another reason, because they are sick. Sixty years of bombing has increased the cancer rate in Vieques dramatically. Though the bombing finally stopped in 2003, the contamination left behind is still making the people of Vieques sick. I was able to speak with a woman who is originally from Vieques but is now living in New York because both of her daughters have cancer. They all want to go home to Vieques when they are well enough to go, but they are scared of getting sick again. This is their story.

Nanette Rosa lived on the island of Vieques, in the Barrio L’Esperanza, about a half a mile from the base where the military was practicing bombing. Ms. Rosa knows of over one hundred people who have been diagnosed with different kinds of cancer, such as leukemia, Ewing’s Sarcoma, and Neuroblastoma. In the 1970s when she was growing up, she remembers every time the Navy would practice bombing, her house would shiver and crack. The air would be so contaminated that many people would come down with respiratory illnesses and skin rashes.Now years later, the contamination is still causing people to get sick; but now it’s much more serious than colds and rashes ,now it’s cancer. Ms. Rosa has two daughters Coral Quinones who has had Neurobastoma since 1994, and Ainnanenuchka Mojica who has Ewing Sarcoma. More than anything Nanette Rosa wants to reunite her family in Vieques, she knows that other families have been  forced to separate to seek treatment in the US. Her daughters are scared of being sick again, but miss there family and their home, it is a difficult decision to make.

Coral Quiones has already gone through much more than many people go through in their entire lives. She has had Neuroblastoma since1994. She was forced to leave her friends, family and her home and come to a completely unfamiliar country to get treatment for a cancer she knows was caused by the contamination in Vieques created by the US Military. She lost all of her hair and now lives with a constant reminder of her struggle, a ten inch long scar across her stomach, from surgery that she had to treat her cancer. 

Ainnanenuchka Mojica , she is in the sixth grade, a time when you should be out making friends and enjoying your childhood, instead she has had to deal with many surgeries, including one  where they took a piece of bone  from her leg to repair her jaw bone. They had to do this because the kind of cancer she has, Ewings Sarcoma, attacked the bones in her face. This painful surgery was necessary so that she would be able to talk and eat normally. She knows that God was with her during her surgery and is happy she made it through. Her positive attitude helped to keep her alive, the only thing that would make her happier would be going home to Vieques.

Unfortunately, Nanette Rosa and her daughters were forced to suffer, and if nothing is done people will continue to suffer. The Navy is out of Vieques and they are cleaning up the contamination, but we have to be certain that something like this never has the chance to happen again. Because  next time it may not be in Vieques, next time it might be right here in the US, and next time it might be you. Now Nannette Risa and her daughters had move back to Vieques to reunite with her family and to live in pace. 

Article by: Jose Serrano the Host of "The Jose Show"

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