Monday, October 9 -
So many people are leaving the island. Some just can take the post-hurricane conditions. Some can work remotely for anywhere there is electricity and Internet access. Some companies are sending employees to the mainland to work. Some people with children are afraid the kids will miss a whole year of school. Many private schools are opening this week with limited hours. There are reports that public schools won't open until January.
Spirit and JetBlue are running daily "humanitarian" flights to the mainland out of BQN (our local airport). those flights are full every day, with people waiting to get on. I assume similar flights are going out of San Juan as well.
It's hard to see so many people leave. Some will be back; others won't. A lot depends on how much and how soon the island rebounds. The economy wasn't great before. Now it will be worse. The Puerto Rico Tourism company was crappy before Maria. I don't believe they are any better prepared to handle the disaster than any other PR government department is.
People are feeling isolated. Communication with the outside world is still meager and spotty. Even though gas is available, it is still difficult to get around to see others. People are lonely, bored.
I'm certainly not judging anyone who decides to leave. Everyone must make that decision for him-herself.
A dear friend sent us a message: "So glad to hear you're okay. Now come back to the mainland." We've thought about and talked about leaving. We've decided to stay. This is our home now. Things will get better. We're staying.
Another take on the the whole aid and assistance issue: A friend of ours is volunteering for FEMA. He told us they are spending a lot of time in the mountains in the center of the island. "As bad as things are here," he said, "multiply that by 10 or 20." Three weeks on and they are still pulling people out of storm-wrecked houses. It is much poorer with more wooden houses and structures in the mountains. It's hard to image how bad it is.
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