Picking up the Pieces after Hurricane Ian

 

    It’s all hands on deck in Florida right now. As the we at the Farmworker Association do our best to mobilize for storm recovery, can’t help but notice that we aren’t the only ones. Idle hands are surely the enemy when it comes to rebuilding the communities in need right now, and luckily it seems that everyone is on the same page with that. We’ve had a rush of donations coming into our office from community members, other organizations, and from our friends at Neighbors Helping Neighbors, all of which are being put in the hands of those who need it most. The donations- dry goods, canned foods, clothing, hygiene items, diapers- are in high demand, particularly in Southwest Florida. Morale is shaky at best for the communities affected. Wouldn’t you feel the same if you lost everything? Everyone volunteering in recovery, including FWAF staff, is working diligently to keep spirits up and needs met.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors volunteer bringing food donations to the FWAF Apopka office

FWAF volunteers rescue the car of a Kissimmee resident

Flood in Kissimmee mobile home community                                  

 Last week, three FWAF staff and volunteers visited a mobile home community in Kissimmee- still underwater and without electricity. Community members and volunteers who owned trucks generously allowed them to be used to pass out donations to those trapped in their homes. Sitting in the bed of one of those trucks, I watched the water come up to above the door handles at its deepest. I found myself speechless at the sight of all the damage, and humbled to have been spared and chosen to help. House by house we stopped to pass out meals, canned water, toilet paper, and diapers. While community members, the Red Cross, and the Farmworker Association were there to help to the best of our abilities, the one need we could not meet, was the need for government action. The water resting throughout the streets of the community- four feet deep at its worst- has nowhere to go and needs to be pumped out. The community is currently awaiting FEMA to act and send in pumps. When I was there, I overheard someone excitedly reporting that they had finally been approved for FEMA aid, and that pumps were on the way. That was one week ago, and the community remains submerged. This neighborhood consists of mostly Mexicans and Puerto Ricans; it is not an accident that the government does not prioritize their wellbeing.

FWAF volunteers bringing Donations to Immokalee 

 Five of our staff also visited Arcadia to bring donations and connect with the affected farmworker community. The flooding and storm debris are still very much a problem in Arcadia, with entire neighborhoods still underwater. Roads are blocked off because of fallen trees, roofs are torn off houses, and people out of work encompassed our tragic scenery. We visited an orange grove to witness the damages there, and we saw nothing but what we expected to see- tree debris, waste, and the loss of opportunity. I felt nauseous. The trees that weren’t fallen over had lost most of their fruits, and those with fruit left are still at risk. With the damage to the trees and to the stems of the oranges, they will never ripen. It will be at least two seasons before Florida’s citrus industry will fully recover from the hurricane damage, and farmworkers will feel the brunt of that difficult recovery. Farmworkers all throughout Florida will certainly be affected by the crop damage from the storm; there is little work available with no crops to harvest. Most citrus workers in Florida are H2A workers from other countries, who depend on their incomes working in the U.S. to feed their families back home. 

FWAF staff member (right) with a volunteer in Arcadia sorting donations

As clean-up continues, and once the aftermath of hurricane Ian is no longer a national news item, we must remember that the farmworker communities of Florida are still struggling to sustain themselves and their families without work, many without homes, and those who are undocumented, unable to qualify for government assistance programs.  At the same time, food prices continue to rise due to scarcity.

Damage to Arcadia homes

Communities of color are all too often, and all too purposefully, forgotten. We must continue to push for the aid they deserve, and the replenishing of their communities. We must not forget what is happening- how they are being forced to wait on the islands that are their homes, and forced to go without food, water, work. We must continue to fight for what our is the promise of this country – the right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.  It is at perilous times like these that we must call out the underlying systemic problems and that have allowed this neglect from the government, and we must demand equity, protection and prioritization of the most vulnerable.   

The system is not broken. This is exactly the way it was meant to work. Ostracized communities stay ostracized, so that the rich can become richer. People of color are othered, being barred from basic human liberties, and their traumas swept under the rug time and time again. We must break the cycle and rise to action even after these tragedies are swept. Equity will cut the path to justice, and we must waste no more time getting started.

  by Finn Spencer