Thank you for submitting your Hurricane Maria story for Mayani Farms to publish. All of us on Puerto Rico have endured a tremendous amount since the hurricane. We each have an individual story to share but we also have something in common: because Puerto Rico is a colony, our stories are compounded by the fact that while part of the United States, it’s clear we’re only part of it in name only.
Much of what we’ve had to deal with has happened because we’ve been ignored and forgotten about by the U.S. government.
Fortunately those who are reading these personal essays haven’t ignored us and they definitely haven’t forgotten about us. Your story is both interesting and relevant.
When using the submit form, while it’s important to do the best you can to write knowing that others will read it, don’t feel your English has to be perfect. We’ll do our best to keep your voice authentic but if we see a typo or grammatical error, we’ll fix it.
Lastly, keep in mind your essay will be read both by people living in Puerto Rico but also people living outside, so if you use an expression or point of reference (the town you live in, for example), and it’s one most outside of Puerto Rico may not be familiar with, indicate the next closest well-known city. So if you live in Caguas, while it’s a well-known town by residents on the island, unless a reader worked for a pharmaceutical company, they may not have heard of it, so state that you live in Caguas, which is about 15 miles from San Juan.
Oh one last point, please write as much or as little as you want people to know. Remember, people are reading these because they’re genuinely interested in knowing you and your story.
Thank you again!
Paul and Sarah Ratliff
Owners, Mayani Farms