Puerto Rican women have always been at the forefront of activism around issues concerning their patria. Take Lolita Lebron, for example. And even though the U.S. Navy officially left the Puerto Rican island of Vieques in 2003, females there are still bearing the burden of the Navy bombing exercises and fighting to end that burden and get the U.S to take responsibility for its actions.

Milivy Adams Calderon, dead at age 5 of lymphoma.

Liza Torres, lost 17 to leukemia.

Hilda Diaz, 80, killed by kidney disease linked to diabetes.

“Every month, two or three more of us die,” says Navedo, one of 100 residents of Vieques, Puerto Rico, who are seeking compensation from the U.S. Navy for health problems they blame on its 60-year use of the island for bombing practice.

While I would be surprised if the U.S. government actually took responsibility for the health impact its bombing the island since 1948 has, the suit coupled by the continued activism of Rican women highlights the problematic (to say the least) relationship between the US and its colony, Puerto Rico.

Via / Women’s ENews