Hurricane Dorian was expected to hit Florida— and hard —but luckily the storm changed its directory last minute. Unfortunately, the Bahamas weren’t as lucky as the United States. The storm lingered for days, eating away at homes and destroying lives in the Bahamas. Now that residents of the Bahamas are searching for a saving grace, they turn to Florida, only to be denied.
Ft. Lauderdale is now brimming with people seeking help with nothing but the clothes on their backs and memories of what used to be their homes.
According to the New York Times, almost 5,000 citizens fled the disaster left behind in the Bahamas and began boarding ferries and ships, destination being Florida.
The mess began over the weekend when 119 Bahamians were told to return to their homes due to not having appropriate travel visas. United States authorities state that Bahamians who travel by airline are the only ones authorized to enter the U.S. without a proper visa.
“Everybody needs totally proper documentation,” says President Donald Trump to reporters in Washington on Monday. “The Bahamas had some tremendous problems with people going to the Bahamas that weren’t supposed to be there.”
Before, Bahamians could travel to the U.S. with a Bahamas travel visa and a clean police record, but something has changed and new requirements have been set up, although no one knows what they are— the people of the Bahamas know even less.
Although many political figures, such as Mark Morgan, state that the victims don’t deserve to be treated as such, they are not doing anything about it. A video released by WSVN reveals travelers sadly mumbling and crying as they disembark the ship, lamenting about their crushed dreams of starting anew in Port Everglades.
President Trump says he refuses to let Bahamians in due to some of them being “bad people,” but many other figures contradict his statement. Brian Entin and Senator Marco Rubio are in contact with the President in an effort to nullify some requirements.
“Forcing hundreds of #Dorian evacuees off a #ferry, when they thought they were just hours from relief, is unconscionable,” said Alberto M. Carvalho, the Miami Superintendent, in a Twitter post. “My hope is that compassion and reason continue to prevail. These survivors must be helped and this must never happen again.”
Carvalho also stated that no matter what, Miami is always open to people searching for a better world.
The people from the Bahamas may not be allowed to enter the U.S., but citizens are banding together to help affected people as much as they can. Schools in Miami are working together to gather supplies and necessities for the people who have lost it all, MLEC included.
Sooner or later though, those donations may not be enough to save those who have lost it all. Hope, it seems, comes like a dim light, slowly shining on many lives that were.
