-
by pltm
(PLTM) - Hurricane Irma took five lives when it ferociously descended on the Virgin Islands on September 6, and left many residents homeless and traumatized.
"My experience was terrifying like everybody...At one point I thought it would never stop," said Jack Husbands.
Husbands, a Partner at Walkers' Insolvency & Dispute Resolution Group in the BVI, pointed out that his experience is not harrowing as those shared by other residents.
"The second part when it came from the south, I got two windows blown out, big trees uprooted, coconut just broken off; pulled out of their roots, pulled out of the soil," Husbands recalled.
He added, "It was terrifying, although not as terrifying for me as it was for other people."
Like majority of residents, Husbands, who has served as Magistrate in the BVI, spoke of the Caribbean spirit of hope and resilience.
"One thing a hurricane does, sad to say, a hurricane allows for regrowth, and I think that it will be better, more modern and better. The BVI is no stranger to this as it happened before. The BVI is a hard place, hard people, enterprising people, who have been abandoned for years, and people who have kept the country going," he said.
He said that if one saw the BVI in 1920, they wouldn’t believe it’s the same place prior to the hurricane.
"It has exceeded Barbados, Trinidad, Jamaica; exceeded big players. So the BVI will do this again. It’s the type of people I believe it has, who remain in the BVI in the hard years, will build it up again," Husbands said.
He said the toughest thing for the people at present is to overcome the fear of the future.
"The people feel that there is nothing they can do, it's too hard, and just leave. Some people will leave, but people have always left, but people who remain behind will rebuild it; and I think that is going to happen. I am positive about that," he said.
-----
Copyright 2023 by Virgin Islands Platinum News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
