Dear Chicago

By Rousemary Vega

Dear Chicago♡

When the city closed my children's school, I realized they were taking so much more than just a building. They were taking a major part of our community; all so school privatizers could make money and have their piece of the pie. I learned more about Wall Street banks' predatory toxic swaps with the Chicago school district and saw how the banks see our schools and communities as just another way to make a profit.

And the exact same thing is happening in Puerto Rico. Schools' funding is being cut, schools are closing, people can't get good healthcare so hedge fund managers can make lots of money. Because of these hedge fund managers, our small mom and pop businesses in Puerto Rico our gone. The soul of Puerto Rico is gone. There is a saying that you can't get blood out of a stone, but that is exactly what these hedge fund managers are doing with Puerto Rico.

I want to know: When will my children's lives matter? And the lives of the Black and Brown children in Puerto Rico who look like them? Wall Street banks doing toxic swaps in Chicago and hedge fund managers refusing to let Puerto Rico access relief see us as the same. And they're stealing from us.

If I could talk to Mark Brodsky from Aurelius Capital or Andrew Feldstein from BlueMountain Capital, I would ask them, "Don't you have enough? Haven't you gotten rich enough?" It's one thing to be a business man. It's another to be a monster.

In Chicago and Puerto Rico, people are getting educated and rising up. If we don't fight today, we won't see a tomorrow. We have no choice but to fight;
P.S. STOP THE DISPLACEMENT OF MY ROOTS!