Join the Division of Diversity Equity and Inclusion and Morgantown Human Rights Commission for Preying on Puerto Rico film and discussion, Tuesday (Nov. 14) at 7 p.m. in White Hall-B51 (enter from the front of the building across from the Pi Beta Phi House).
Before Hurricane Maria hit, Puerto Rico was a beautiful island with many issues. Puerto Rico - a US commonwealth with over 3.5 million US citizens - has been battling a declining economy and rising debt for the last 10 years. Seeing an opportunity to turn a profit on Puerto Rico's decline, vulture hedge fund managers bought a huge portion of Puerto Rico's debt and are now forcing the island into severe austerity while they make a 245% profit on their investment.
As a result, the Puerto Rican government is being pushed to close hundreds of schools, shut down hospital wings, and lower the minimum wage for an already struggling population. What started off as an economic crisis is now rapidly advancing into a full-blown humanitarian crisis. Brave New Films has teamed up with Hedge-Clippers and several other community and labor partners to call out some of the worst hedge fund managers and them accountable for their role in forcing children out of schools and leaving the sick helpless in Puerto Rico. This powerful short film series, “Preying on Puerto Rico: The Forgotten Citizens of Hedge Fund Island,” is dedicated to making sure the people of Puerto Rico are heard and vulture hedge fund managers don’t get away with pushing Puerto Rico further into crisis.
For more information visit the event Facebook page.