You know that the water in your home is bad when a car manufacturer (I’m looking at you, GM) decides not to use the same water in their plants, because it was causing their car parts to corrode. Parts made of metal alloys. So what happens to people, who’re made of flesh and bone, who are exposed to this water? No, they don’t become super mutants. (We can’t rule out the possibility, though.) It is truly sad to see that the residents of Flint, Michigan, are reduced to such a sorry state, with their main source of water so heavily tainted. A population of over 100,000 people subjected to such desperate means is by no means humane. This crisis has been an issue since April 2014. Here we are in Feb. 2016, with the water still undrinkable. No, wait, scratch that. It’s untouchable.
Being an international student, I was genuinely surprised, or rather shocked, to learn about this unfathomable disaster. Surely Flint, Michigan, was, by some freak coincidence, a city in a poor third-world country, instead of the U.S. The visibly tainted water, almost brown, lurks throughout the water supply infrastructure of Genesee County (in Detroit, mind you). It has so far claimed 10 lives and has cursed 6,000-12,000 children with lead poisoning. 6,000 to 12,000 children. I’ll let that sink in. And on top of that, the residents of Flint are still being charged for the water, which, if they do not pay, leads to the cutting of their water supply, which makes their homes not suitable to live in, which eventually leads to Child Protective Services taking their children into custody. Totally fair, isn’t it?
The American Red Cross has had to set up shop in Flint, handing out filters and bottled water, while the Michigan Army National Guard was deployed to help out Red Cross. Such dire states, and the filters make the water just about drinkable. But you can’t live for 15 years on filters and bottled water, which is the approximate time it will take to fix Flint’s water infrastructure. Well, that, and a small loan of $60 million. Governor of Michigan Rick Snyder’s apologies won’t fix the water crisis, certainly not when four families have already filed federal class action lawsuits against him for recklessness and negligence.
I think I speak for all, when I say that our thoughts and prayers are with you, citizens of Flint. Stay strong, for this too, hopefully, will pass. Let’s just hope it’s soon.
