The Tribune

By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Deputy Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

NIGHTS are the worst for Lavario Pinder.

Each time the 37-year-old closes his eyes he sees destruction and corpses drifting in dangerously high and rising waters brought by Hurricane Dorian.

“I try to stay strong and not think about all the horrible things I’ve seen. Some other people wouldn’t be able to handle that,” he told The Tribune yesterday, from a bench behind the Fox Hill Community Centre where he’s been staying for the past three weeks. 

The monster storm has left a permanent imprint on his mind, Mr Pinder said.

“I’ve seen a lot of very terrible things in Abaco. After my cousin roof fly off and everything was completely gone, so soon as we got out everything was completely flat. I really could have died in the process if we stayed, but after the eye came over and we had a break to move on that road coming to go to the government complex, I did see one or two dead bodies floating around.

“(Prime Minister) Dr (Hubert) Minnis said it was 50 something people died I believe it was way more than that.

“I was going to the government complex and they have a port there where they have a lot of containers and the containers was up in town and in the Haitian village which was completely flat. It’s like no houses was there at all and the containers came from the port and were lined off in the Haitian village.

“I believe there are couple dead bodies under those containers too. When I sleep at night (I see it),” he also told The Tribune.

But in the mornings, Mr Pinder said he tries to focus on what’s next for his life.

Despite losing it all, he said this is his chance to start over.

“Really and truly I don’t know how to put the pieces of the puzzle together but I guess this is a new beginning and a new start. They’re not really saying much to me but they already came with job offerings and stuff like that.

“I gave them my number because I am a heavy equipment operator. That’s my profession. I could do anything else too if they have anything else to do but that’s my profession what I told them I do.”

Finding employment in New Providence is his short-term plan, but ultimately Mr Pinder said he wants to return to Abaco and operate heavy machinery with clean up teams.

Rico Pierre is also trying to move on from the traumatic experience of Hurricane Dorian.

He credits prayers and God with getting him through the ordeal.

“I was in an old church when the hurricane came and it was plenty water,” the 25-year-old recalled. “For me I could swim, couple of us could swim, all those that couldn’t swim we had to help them.

“We had to hold on to a pipe because the water was getting higher. I believe everyone made it because of me and couple other fellas because we could swim but the main person was God because we was praying.

“I said ‘please Father God bring out the sun, bring out the sun’ but at first the sun wouldn’t come out then it came out and it held the weather for a couple minutes and we come out.”

He said his main concern now is finding employment. He is hoping to find a construction or landscaping job to rebuild his life in New Providence.

Fox Hill MP Shonel Ferguson said between 135 to 140 people are currently staying at the Fox Hill shelter.