Anniversary of Hurricane Maria haunts NMSU professor, native of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico native Ivelisse Torres Fernandez remembers her panic on September 19, 2017.
“By far, that was the worst experience in the world,” the New Mexico State University professor said.
It’s difficult for Torres Fernandez to relive her repeated calls home.
“That’s when you start to turn desperate,” she told ABC-7. “I was trying, I cannot recall how many times I tried to call home. Nothing.”
She didn’t know if her family, friends or partner had survived the night. It took twelve days before she was able to make contact. After watching the devastation on social media, she said she knew she had to take action.
“Help is not coming soon enough,” Torres Fernandez said. “My country is in a full-blown humanitarian crisis. The government doesn’t have a clue of how to handle this, so I have to do something. I didn’t know what, but I said I have to do something.”
She mobilized her university community, preparing supplies to take to Puerto Rico. She can’t forget the words of the flight attendant when she arrived.
“To all of us who were on the plane, she said, ‘Welcome home,'” the professor remembered. “She said it in Spanish. She said ‘Bienvenidos a casa.’ And that was, for me, that welcome home was so different.”
The professor then understood the magnitude of the devastation.
“That’s when I realized, okay this is bigger than me,” she said.
The professor told ABC-7 she feels the local government did not communicate properly with the federal government. But she said the people of Puerto Rico, U.S. citizens, feel abandoned by the United States government.
“If you are not upset, or you are not ashamed, or you are not concerned about the way that U.S. citizens outside of the United States has been treated, than I don’t know what is,” she said.
The professor’s heart is still broken, but she told ABC-7 the strength of Hurricane Maria could not keep down the people of Puerto Rico.
“We are broken, but we’re not defeated,” she said. “We’re standing. That’s the spirit. We’re standing.”
She encourages anyone interested in helping to donate to organizations on the island directly. She recommends Together Puerto Rico and the Hurricane Maria Community Relief & Recovery Fund.
