Page 12 - ARUBA TODAY

A12 WORLD NEWS
Friday 13 OctOber 2017
Puerto Ricans leave for US mainland as storm woes linger

By GISELA SALOMON kids. by about 10 percent be- cal island with no power 20 years ago. Then came
CLAUDIA TORRENS “I am in limbo right now,” cause of a long economic or air conditioning and lim- (Hurricane) George,” said
Associated Press said Betzaida Ferrer, a slide that shows no sign of ited water for an indefinite Carmelo Rivera, a 78-year-
MIAMI (AP) — Lourdes Ro- old from the central town
driguez fled Puerto Rico of Caguas who is staying
after Hurricane Maria filled with relatives in Long Island,
her home in the northern New York. “But nothing has
town of Vega Baja with been as hard as Maria.”
mud, ruining mattresses It’s too soon to know ex-
and other belongings. She actly how many have de-
thought it would be a short camped for the mainland,
stay with her daughter in but Florida says more than
Florida, but three weeks 20,000 have come to the
later there’s still no power state since Oct. 3.
or water back home. There were already about
“We’re going to be here in- 1 million Puerto Ricans in
definitely,” the 59-year-old the Sunshine State, second
retiree said in an interview only to New York.
at the daughter’s home in Many U.S. agencies and
Tampa. “It’s been crazy, jurisdictions are helping is-
totally unexpected, like landers make emergency
nothing I’ve experienced transitions.Law schools in-
before.” cluding Florida A&M and
In San Juan, Efrain Diaz the University of Connecti-
Figueroa, 70, sat listening to cut have agreed to ac-
a battery-powered radio cept students from Puerto
amid the wreckage of his Efrain Diaz Figueroa, right, walks by his sister’s home destroyed in the passing of Hurricane Maria, Rico. Miami-Dade County
home, its walls collapsed in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Monday, Oct. 9, 2017. Maria sent tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans flee- Public Schools have of-
into the yard and clothes ing to the U.S. mainland to escape the immediate aftermath of the storm. The 70-year-old is wait- fered to adapt the curricu-
and mattresses soaking in ing for a sister to come take him to stay with family in Boston. “I’m going to the U.S. I’ll live better lum and change bus routes
there,” he said.
the rain. A sister was com- (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa) to help evacuee children.
ing to take him to fam- Florida Gov. Rick Scott
ily in Boston: “I’ll live better 74-year-old retiree who easing anytime soon. period of time. has said displaced teach-
there,” Figueroa said. moved from Miami to Puer- Hurricane Maria struck The exodus has been ex- ers won’t have to pay for
Tens of thousands of island- to Rico in July and now finds Sept. 20 and, according to hausting for people like certificates to work in his
ers left for the U.S. mainland herself back three months the latest figures from the Madeline Maldonado, state and ordered that li-
to escape the immediate later, only this time without island government, killed who stayed in a hotel in censing fees for certain
aftermath of the storm. a place of her own. She at least 45 people. It also New York caring for two professionals such as real
With conditions back home is trying to find a job that created a new surge that granddaughters before estate agents and barbers
still grim — about 85 per- will let her afford $1,300 in could have lasting demo- going to a friend*s house in be suspended for people
cent of residents still lack monthly rent, more than graphic effects on Puerto Washington.“I need to get fleeing the storm.Still, it’s a
electricity and 40 percent double what she was to Rico and on the mainland. back to my homeland,” tough transition for many.
are without running water, pay back home. “I think that we could ex- she said at the hotel with Rodriguez said her family is
and neither is expected to “To be in a situation like pect that people who did the two girls, ages 9 and 13, trying to figure out wheth-
be fully restored for months this where you need help not plan to stay perma- though it’s not clear when er they need to sell their
— many find themselves is horrible,” said Ferrer, who nently might do so now,” that may be possible. house. They don’t want to,
scrambling to build new is staying with friends and said Jorge Duany, a profes- While Puerto Ricans have but may have no choice
lives away from the island. taking a three-hour a day sor of anthropology at Flor- grown accustomed to se- if they are to survive and
Particularly in states with job training program. ida International University vere weather and hard- build a new life Stateside.
large Puerto Rican popula- There have been several who has long studied mi- ship, the extent of this After initially staying at her
tions, such as New York, Illi- major migratory exoduses gration from the island. storm’s devastation has daughter’s home, she, her
nois, Florida and Connecti- from Puerto Rico to the Many of those who left are been more than many husband, another daugh-
cut, people are bunking mainland over the years, elderly or sick people who could bear. ter and two grandchildren
with relatives while trying to most recently during the fled or were evacuated “We experienced some- now are all living crammed
find longer-term housing, past decade when the is- because of the dangers thing similar with (Hurri- into a two-bedroom rental
jobs and schools for their land’s population shrank posed by living on a tropi- cane) Hugo more than apartment. q
Ex-first lady registers as independent candidate in Mexico

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexi- quantity of signatures in just ing from the practically un- whether their efforts will di- won’t be a tool of the PRI’s
can former first lady Mar- over half of Mexico’s states known to the current gov- vide the opposition, boost- interests and strategies,
garita Zavala said Thursday by Feb. 12. ernor of the border state of ing the widely disliked Insti- and for that reason I won’t
she will try to collect more “I know well that the path Nuevo Leon, have preregis- tutional Revolutionary Party be just one more indepen-
than 866,000 signatures we have taken will be dif- tered as independent can- of President Enrique Pena dent candidate,” Alvarez
to run as an independent ficult,” Zavala said as she didates for the country’s Nieto. Icaza wrote in an open let-
candidate for president registered, adding that she presidential elections on Emilio Alvarez Icaza, a for- ter.
next year. was putting herself “in the July 1, 2018. mer human rights official, “Far from contributing to
Zavala is the wife of ex- hands of the citizens.” All would still need to col- decided not to run as an building confidence, they
President Felipe Calderon, The former first lady re- lect the same number of independent candidate represent the oldest style of
who governed from 2006 signed last week from the signatures to appear on last week, noting a strategy politics, with people putting
to 2012. conservative National Ac- the ballot. among a large number of their personal interests first.”
She has formally registered tion Party, calling its leader- But the sheer number of independents “to fragment The deadline for registering
her candidacy and will ship anti-democratic. independent hopefuls has and divide the vote.” as an independent candi-
need to collect the huge A total of 39 people, rang- raised questions about “I have decided that I date is Saturday.q