The Tribune

By FARRAH JOHNSON

fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A STORM victim in Abaco says more can be done to help expedite the rebuilding and restoration process on the island.

Edward Hoyte Jr, who lost the second story of his house during Hurricane Dorian, told The Tribune a number of factors have hindered the island's rate of recovery, including a lack of support from the government.

"They're not really helping much," he said. "A lot of the help came more from the private foundations. What kind of irritated me is that the government spent all that money on those drones when they could have taken some of that money and buy plywood and finished these people houses."

He was speaking about a $17 million contract the government signed last month for drone technology to aid the crime fight.

Mr Hoyte said while he does believe there is hope for Abaco, he understands it will take a significant amount of time to get the island up and running again. He added that the restoration process has slowed down due to a "lack of communication and materials."

"I was on the ground from day one with a few NGOs," he explained. "We were doing recovery first in Marsh Harbour helping with pulling bodies from debris, then we worked with first responders and emergency services at the clinic and the food bank. I also helped people bring in fuel from South Abaco to North Abaco to fuel up emergency vehicles and so forth."

Still, Mr Hoyte said, while some residents have been committed to assisting with recovery efforts, others have hindered progress on the island by refusing to help with rebuilding.

"Some of the guys here in Abaco, they're very lazy," he said. "They sit around and they don't want to help nobody. So it's like we're working with the NGOs and even the NGOs are noticing. Those volunteers came to help, but some of the people are sitting down and thinking they are going to do all the work and it's kind of irritating."

Mr Hoyte also said assistance from some of the NGOs has dwindled since many have left the island to respond to other global crises.

"Now that Australia and all those guys are having devastation problems right now - Puerto Rico with the earthquake (and) Australia with the fire - they have to skip town. So right now it's pretty slow because some of them have left to go tend to fires and the earthquake."

Despite the setbacks, Mr Hoyte said he remains hopeful the island will get back to where it once was.

"We definitely need help, but we also need more supplies," he said. "If we could get at least two boat-loads of supplies I think we will be good."

In response to complaints from some storm victims, Algernon Cargill, deputy chair of the disaster recovery board, insisted the government is dedicated to supporting reconstruction efforts in Abaco. "We've been having deliveries to Abaco to be able to correct the current situation," he said. "But in terms of the supplies, we will be addressing this (issue) very quickly because we want to get Abaco back and running very, very quickly."

Mr Cargill also said the board is assessing the island's current needs. "We're having a series of meetings to determine what is needed where in order for us to supplement the supplies on the ground in Abaco," he assured them.

Editorial View - Page 4