A group of nearly 4000 survivors of Hurricane Maria have been brought to Florida by a cruise ship of the Royal Caribbean. These survivors are now refugees belonging to Puerto Rico and other islands in the Caribbean that have been devastated by the hurricane.
They landed in Fort Lauderdale and were given a rousing welcome by their relatives, and well-wishers in the United States. Some of them have lost their homes along with most of their possessions in the powerful storm, and arrived with whatever they could salvage.
It was a tough ordeal
Daily Mail UK reports that Royal Caribbean assigned one of its ships, Adventure Of The Seas, to evacuate stranded tourists in Puerto Rico and elderly islanders of the island apart from hundreds of children.
There were also people from other islands like St. John, St. Croix, and St. Thomas. Hurricane Maria had wreaked havoc on these locations when it struck around September 20th, and the cruise ship brought the islanders to the United States as refugees.
Some of the tourists had gone for short vacations to Puerto Rico, but the hurricane forced them to remain there without proper food or amenities. The living conditions were poor and there was no power in large portions of the islands including St. Croix and St. Thomas. Moreover, disease and looters were major threats, and safety was a matter of concern for those who were still on the islands trying to reconstruct their lives.
Everyone is trying to rebuild
Royal Caribbean CEO Michael Bayley explained that his company extended assistance to evacuate the large number of people rendered homeless by Hurricane Maria. It was a humanitarian crisis, and the Royal Caribbean re-routed and deployed four of its ships to ferry crucial supplies like food, drinking water, ice and generators apart from evacuating the people.
Some of the refugees from Puerto Rico, who landed up in Fort Lauderdale, are hopeful to find jobs. Already, several companies have initiated the process of recruiting workers from among the refugees. One of these companies provides workers for restaurants in airports and on highways. According to a manager, there are many jobs on offer with attractive salaries, and job seekers can get one within two and a half weeks.
Obviously, the people who have come from the Caribbean islands want to put aside memories of the hurricane and begin life freshly. When a disaster of such a magnitude strikes, it leaves behind a trail of destruction, and recovery is a long drawn out process.
