When we arrived Abaco to assess a restoration project and take a much needed island vacation from island living, the hurricane damage from Dorian (September 2019) was still horrifying.
Rebuilding has been very slow. And many families have left the region because the cost of a hurricane is too high a price to pay.
A few years ago, I raided an ant hill so my ducks could enjoy fresh ants. After 5 or so raids, they moved from the pasture and never returned.
It’s a mechanism of survival.
There are mostly people from other countries working and living here, sending their wages home to places like the DR and Guyana.
I am residing in a community that was once vibrant. Now, a tattered sign blows at the entry to our village, “A doctor visits 1x monthly. Please email if you need an appointment.”
I am more cautious playing on the reefs than I have ever been.
Can you imagine what it would have been to experience a Cat 5 hurricane for 48 hours take your neighbors, your home, their homes, your animals, your electricity and water, your doctors and grocers, and your jobs too — only to experience the Covid lockdown 5 months later?
The winds today aren’t hurricane winds by any means but we feel the vulnerability.
This holiday, see the gifts you can’t wrap under the tree. Your home. Your job. Clean drinking water. Gas or electricity. Your wellness. Your ability to seek medical care. Your community. Your friends and family writing and calling to remind you that you matter, or better yet, loved ones you will spend your holidays with. Because, really, what more could you want under the tree than these?
