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Rocio Carrero recalls helping clean up during Hurricane Maria’s aftermath when she was 17 years old. Five years later, she said living through Hurricane Fiona while being at SU has made her feel “useless.”

“When this happens at home, we’re all one, you just help your neighbors, help whoever you can,” said Carrero, a senior at SU. “(Here), I can’t go out and help move trees or anything.”

Hurricane Fiona made landfall in Puerto Rico on Sunday, leaving the entire island without electricity two days before the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Maria’s landfall. The storm made landfall the following day in the Dominican Republic, which left over a million utility customers without water service as of Wednesday.

Carrero, a fifth year environmental and interior design student, said she has been able to maintain constant communication with her family in Puerto Rico — her dad, her sister and her sister’s fiancé — which was not the case during Hurricane Maria. Currently, Carrero’s family has running water but no electricity.

Anabelle Canals, a freshman broadcast and digital news major, said she wasn’t able to contact her family when the storm first landed in Puerto Rico. The news coverage being released at the time was her only source of updated information on the hurricane.

Mariana Perez Lugo, a junior majoring in nutrition science, said it’s stressful not being with her family in Puerto Rico and continuing her normal routine. Lizmarie Montemayor, a Puerto Rican junior studying anthropology, said she felt “hypocritical” continuing to live her life normally at SU.

“It’s paralyzing”, she said. “I’m still going to classes and doing homework and daily things while my home is being destroyed and there’s people dying and my family has no power.”

Marangelis Uben’s brother, father and uncle currently live in the Dominican Republic. They’ve told her they’re “fine,” but she feels this sentiment is downplayed.

“They just said, ‘it’s raining a lot’ and that ‘it’s kind of like normal, a few people lost their houses,’ but they say it very nonchalantly because it’s normal for them,” said Uben, who is a junior majoring in information management and technology. “There’s not much that they can do or say, so it’s pretty sad.”

Meghan Thompson | Digital Design Director

Carrero, Canals and Perez Lugo were all on the island during Hurricane Maria, and drew parallels between their previous experience and what they’re observing with Hurricane Fiona.

During Hurricane Maria, Canals said her family had no electricity and were unable to contact other family members in the U.S..

“We didn’t know just how devastating it was until months afterwards because we couldn’t even go into the streets,” she said. “We couldn’t drive because everything was just completely blocked.”

Though they can’t physically be there to support their families and communities, students said they were able to find support through talking with friends and peers experiencing the same thing.

Montemayor, who is the philanthropy chair for SU’s Puerto Rican Student Association, said the organization is doing what they can to support both the island and the Puerto Rican community at SU.

Montemayor said that PRSA was created in response to Hurricane Maria as a way to provide support to Puerto Rican students who feel helpless with their families struggling.

Rocio Carrero’s father’s dog wanders through the damage done by Hurricane Fiona that left 100% of Puerto Rico without electricity.

Courtesy of Rocio Carrero

The PRSA started a “donation bingo” fundraiser on Tuesday through their instagram account. All funds will be donated to relief organizations currently working in Puerto Rico, including Taller Salud and Brigada Solidaria del Oeste.

“I understand that all of our friends from America are very sympathetic,” Montemayor added, “but there’s something different about having somebody who is literally going through the same thing that I am (where) their family is on the island … and they have no way to talk to them. Having a group of people that you can relate to definitely helps.”

Carrero said she has been communicating with others through the PRSA group chat as well as with her Puerto Rican roommate. Most students seem to be in communication with their families, she said.

“Everything else we can rebuild little by little, like we have after Maria,” Carrero said. “We just have to… (get) better and stronger.”

Still, Carrero emphasized that students should make an effort to offer their support to friends with family in Puerto Rico, however minimal.

Canals said she’s derived support from the faculty and staff in the Newhouse School of Public Communication. She said she appreciates how individuals have checked in on her or sent out emails to those with families in Puerto Rico and how SU has been acknowledging Hispanic Heritage Month.

Some of Perez Lugo’s professors have also reached out through emails about the storm, and she echoed Canals’ gratitude.

“It’s nice to know that we have that support here and they’re really there for us,” Canals said. “Yesterday in the dining hall, they were serving food that I would eat back home, and that really meant a lot to me, especially during this time.”

Canals encouraged all SU students to keep up with news about Hurricane Fiona and how they can help those affected by it. She added that students with family on the island shouldn’t suppress their feelings and should talk to others about what they’re going through.

Uben said SU should take more responsibility in informing students about the storm and recognize what is happening, potentially through campus-wide emails.

“I feel like the students can’t do much without the school actually saying something first,” Uben said. “Because if there’s not much coverage, then not many people are informed about it.”

Perez Lugo also emphasized the importance of raising awareness for students dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona. Montemayor thinks there needs to be more coverage of the hurricane in the media.

“It’s easy to put us aside because we’re not the majority, but the islands need help,” she said. “I think the media has a responsibility to showcase the realities that we’re facing.”

Published on September 22, 2022 at 12:04 am