The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

FOR Abaco residents who are trying to regroup after Hurricane Dorian, many are questioning when their lives will return to normal.

Nearly six months after the Category Five storm hit the island, debris still extends for kilometres in some parts of the island while electricity and other basic necessities remain limited or entirely absent in other areas.

For many on the island, day-to-day living is a struggle. "It's a daily grind man. Every day, it's the same thing. I mean even with the house, you have to make sure you have to have fuel every night and you got to go the gas station (to keep your generator running). It's just a daily grind," said Roscoe Thompson, head of the Marsh Harbour/Spring City township in Abaco.

"I mean you cope, and you deal with what you can and you have your moments don't get me wrong, but you got to continue going or things won't get done (and) you have to motivate yourself to get out of the house to do something…"

The monster storm, which was the strongest hurricane to ever hit the Northern Bahamas, made landfall in Abaco and Grand Bahama in early September, destroying thousands of homes, businesses and major infrastructure on the islands.

Leaving a trail of destruction in its wake, Dorian has uprooted communities and displaced thousands, forcing many to start life anew elsewhere.

However, for many lifelong Abaco residents, the will to remain on the storm ravaged island still holds strong.

One of them is Mr Thompson. As one of the few persons on the island with their home still intact, Mr Thompson said he tries to live one day at a time. "My brother-in-law and father-in-law are living with me. My wife is in Texas and my son is in school. I have not had no issues in my area," he told The Tribune.

Mr Thompson said since the passage of Dorian, he has seen some progress made on the island.

"Most of the Mud and the Pigeon Peas (shanty towns) are cleaned up and so it's the central area, Dundas and Central Pines. An NGO core has moved into Marsh Harbour to start cleaning the neighbourhoods, so it's slowly starting to come around in regards to that," he said. "...I know that they've electrified some areas of Marsh Harbour that have their own transformers like Sunrise Bay."

Still, the Abaco resident said he feels more can be done to help speed the rebuilding and restoration process on the island.

"(The process) is going slow to a certain extent. There are some things government could speed up, don't get me wrong. I'm not going to argue with that. There's some things that they could do a lot better.

"One thing I do think is this red tape with all this, you know having to go to internal review and Inland Revenue and to (Department of) Customs and all that. Now, what happens in the next six months is anybody's guess."

Cay Mills, of Dundas Town, Abaco, also shared similar sentiments. He said a number of factors have hindered the island's rebuilding efforts.

Top of the list, Mr Mills said, is lack of support from the government. "We're here right now and can't get lumber. The only thing that's progressing and has been progressing is the removal of the Haitian community," he told The Tribune. "That is the only thing that the government is doing and the other thing that is progressing on is … those domes.

"But in essence, nothing has been done to calm the persons in Abaco and to show them that we have some sense of movement in the direction that we want….the FNM campaigning while the people is suffering."

Added to this, according to Mr Mills, is the red tape established by the government to access hurricane relief supplies.

"There's so much red tape, you take months to get your stuff from Florida because all the back up and when you get here, all the paperwork, it takes you three weeks to get it off the dock and that can't be right."

However, not all residents had harsh words for the government.

One Abaco resident, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: "I can't speak bad on the government. I've seen what foreigners are doing for Abaco when it comes to the clean-up process and it comes to helping people. It's been mostly Americans and they are the ones who've been helping the most.

"As is relates to the government… I know social services have been giving away maybe $150 to help with food. I think the government can do more when it comes to feeding people and giving out generators."

For his part, when asked whether he thinks Abaco will ever return to its former glory, Mr Thompson said: "Do I see Abaco being what it was eight months ago? No, I don't. I think it's going to be a totally different island."