Guyanese in New York hard-hit by Hurricane Sandy last week are struggling to return to normalcy.
Sherry Khan is trying to rebuild her life after her Far Rockaway, New York apartment, she shared with her husband and daughter was flooded and she lost all of her personal belongings.
She was among several Guyanese who suffered losses to household articles or sections of their homes to Hurricane Sandy which swept through the Caribbean and parts of the United States.
Some persons who this newspaper contacted via social media said that the experience of the storm was “frightening” and that they are badly shaken by it. But they thanked God that their losses were not as severe as persons whose entire houses were destroyed.
Sherry lived close to the sea and although she was overcome with fear from the strong, powerful winds that howled outside, she prayed for safety from the wrath of Sandy. Her husband, in the meantime kept pumping water out of their yard. But when the power was shut down on Monday night and the pumps could no longer work, she was even more devastated.
She knew instantly that they could no longer prevent the water [from the boiler] from getting into their basement where they stored household articles and most of their important documents as well as clothing and footwear.
They only managed to grab a few items before the water gushed into the flat they have occupied for a few years now.
They are currently seeking refuge at her sister’s apartment in another section of New York. And as they clean up in the aftermath, her daughter, Amy told the Sunday Stabroek that her mother is still “crying a lot.”
She and other storm-hit Guyanese are among thousands of persons who have been displaced and are in need of assistance.
Other US-based Guyanese, spared the devastation have joined relief groups such as Occupy Sandy Relief NYC and have been volunteering to distribute bread, water, coffee, blankets, coats, diapers and other items to the victims. Many persons are still being kept at shelters.
Eric Khadaroo of the US as well as other members from the Skeldon Conversation (SC), a group on the popular social media site, Facebook with over 2,200 members, have also been making appeals.
They have been very active in informing persons about the drop off points where they can leave donations of food items, clothing, footwear for victims and where they can volunteer.
Some of the members of SC living in NY are also involved in some volunteer efforts with the groups.
One member mentioned in a Facebook post that his friend from Long Island whose family was without food called and requested that he take bread for his family. His friend was without food and gas and could not drive to get anything from the grocery.
The man went to the grocery store and picked up a few bottles of water and about 20 packs of bread and manager inquired what he was going to do with it.
After learning of the good deed, that manager gave him 50 packets of bread, five cases of water, sliced turkey and cheese. He took the items to his friend’s house and made about 100 sandwiches for everyone in the neighbourhood.”
Disruptions
Gaiutra Bahadur, a writer who lives in the suburbs in New Jersey, 22 miles directly west of lower Manhattan said her family had “no power, heat and internet for 60 hours.”
They had “ordered a generator a few days before the storm hit but it did not get to us in time. By the time it did, on Wednesday afternoon, it was clear that we were dealing with a gas shortage, so we didn’t end up using the generator,” she said.
“My one year-old nephew slept with his Mom and Dad around the fireplace. He was our priority. As long as he was warm, the rest of us could cope in layers of pajamas, robes and comforters,” Bahadur told this newspaper.
“We’re lucky,” she said. “We sustained no major property damage and no one was hurt. Our power was also restored on Thursday, but the majority of people in NJ who lost power are still without it.”
She viewed that disruption as being “fairly serious… Life is pretty well paralyzed.”According to her, the PATH trains from New Jersey into Manhattan won’t be up and running for quite some time.”
Her office and her mother’s located in Lower Manhattan “had no power, but even if they did, we couldn’t get to them anyway because of the rail disruptions and the gas shortage.”
Locally, it is hard for persons to understand the difficulties their relatives were facing in the US and Bahadur said “I guess in Guyana people are used to blackouts, but blackouts in the cold are another thing entirely!”
Another woman said in a Facebook post: “stress level is seriously increasing in NY. People are standing in lines for hours for gas and some are still without electricity. NY is just paralyzed with this hurricane aftermath.”
“I’m exhausted,” she wrote, “from days of watching Hurricane Sandy and worrying where she will make landfall. Then the disappointing news that she was definitely going to New York and neighboring states made me so nervous.”
The woman, a teacher, also said that, “Seeing all the devastation in the USA and around the world should make us humble, grateful, thankful and a believer in something much more powerful than us.”
In an interview, a New York fashion designer, Sazie Rahman told this newspaper that experiencing the storm was most horrifying. She said she “just needed to get past the trauma and settle my thoughts.”
Like other residents, she and family members had purchased extra groceries knowing that they would not be able to venture out of their home. They also cooked extra meals in the event of a power outage.
Luckily, they never lost power and the only damage they suffered was the broken limb from a tree. She also recalled looking out and noticing a huge tree on top of a car on the street.
While the storm has not affected her personally, it had been “affecting almost all of my friends from NJ, Long Island, Staten Island, the Bronx, and even right here in Queens. My seamstress from the Bronx said her basement was completely flooded and most of her belongings were destroyed.”
Ashim Razack also of Queens, NY said he had been working late into the nights with his employers to pump water out of people’s homes.
The extent of the devastation he had witnessed while working was enough to overwhelm him. He was saddened that many persons, including children were without basic necessities, all of which were completely flattened by the blustery weather or fire caused by it.
He said that in the midst of their work, they faced the effects of the gas shortage and on Thursday they “checked 20 gas stations and all were closed.” They eventually got a limited supply from the owner of one station who had some stashed away.
Razack told this newspaper during an interview via skype that he was traveling for free in the buses to and from work because the “machines broke and they could not sell the metro tickets.”
An 18-year-old college student, Sabriya told this newspaper that school reopened on Friday and in the afternoon she became worried when she got to the 63rd St., Lexington Ave, F Train Station in Manhattan and saw that the lines stretched to about four blocks long.
It would have taken her a few hours before she could finally get into the station and then into the train but she was not prepared to be out in the cold that long.
So instinctively, she “googled and found another station” on 57th St. It took her about 15 minutes to walk there and to her relief, “there was no line there…”
In recalling her terrifying experience, Safia Sattaur, a journalist of Queens, NY said huge trees about 100 years old fell on the street and on cars in front of her building.
“The morning after the hurricane passed I went out like many of my neighbours to assess the damage. It was pretty incredible. The owners of the cars which got damaged were obviously disappointed. But the city was warned about the hurricane ahead of time…”
Sattaur said too “I was one of the fortunate few that, thank God, did not lose power or suffered any enormous loss. So my family and I are trying to help out by donating canned foods, jackets, blankets and non perishable items to those in need.”
She said the lines for gas were “literally miles long” and persons wait their turn patiently only to find out when they get to the pump that the gas was sold out. I spent an hour and a half waiting on line at a gas station yesterday. I was lucky I got so I have to preserve and stay indoors as much as possible.”
Sattaur told this newspaper that “some parts of New York and New Jersey will never look the same. Atlantic City for instance is completely wiped out and downtown Manhattan (Battery Park) is flooded.”
Subways and buses are finally back up but with limited service, she said. “It is a time where New Yorkers will have to exercise their best patience and have a little faith. It will take a while but God willing we will be back to normal again. It is a resilient city and that will prove itself in this situation.
