AFTER THE HURRICANE

In Barbuda, islanders fear their cherished lifestyle may be lost forever

AFTER THE HURRICANE

In Barbuda, islanders fear their cherished lifestyle may be lost forever
Barbudans gather in late November at the home of the owner of a bar that was destroyed by Hurricane Irma a few weeks earlier.
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Photos by Salwan Georges

Months after Hurricane Irma blazed its destructive path through the Caribbean, the once vibrant community on the tiny island of Barbuda is still struggling to rebuild paradise lost.

Before the September storm, Barbuda was a forgotten Eden about the physical size of the District of Columbia. Its 1,700 inhabitants were family, literally. The descendants of African slaves brought centuries ago by the British, many islanders were related. The workdays were short and the lobster was sweet. There were no street addresses. Everyone went by their first names.

Barbudans gather in late November at the home of the owner of a bar that was destroyed by Hurricane Irma a few weeks earlier.

Irma’s Category 5 winds damaged virtually 100 percent of the island. In its aftermath, and as Hurricane Jose threatened to hit, the island was completely evacuated.

A few hundred Barbudans have since returned, seeking to rebuild. But the hurricane has ripped open old wounds in Antigua and Barbuda, a Caribbean nation of two very different islands where long-standing tensions have spilled over. Barbudans who have returned are furious at, and suspicious of, the national government in bigger, more developed Antigua, insisting it is dragging its feet on restoring electricity to homes and rebuilding schools. They smell a plot to deter Barbudans from going back, in order to sell out the island to developers. The effort by the Antigua government to construct a bigger, more fortified airport on Barbuda, they say, is proof.

But the government in Antigua insists the time has come for Barbuda to be dragged into the modern world, abandoning a throwback culture of collective land ownership in favor of modern property laws. If Barbudans own their own land and houses, they can, the government argues, take out loans to rebuild their properties without taxpayer assistance. They can also insure their homes against storms, just as residents do on Antigua.

In the balance is a cherished Caribbean lifestyle that Barbudans fear may never again be what it was before the wrath of Irma.

An island ravaged

On Barbuda, the rebuilding effort after Hurricane Irma has a long way to go. Street debris has been cleared, but many houses remain in tatters. Some of the few hundred returnees are sleeping in tents outside the ruins of their homes.
But Wayde Burton, a local city councilor, has managed to reopen the only store on the island, Lil-Linc’s Supermarket. And a daily ferry is running between Barbuda and Antigua, leaving in the early morning and going back in the late afternoon. But it’s unreliable, residents say, and often crowded, making even getting to Barbuda a chore.

Dasheke Charles, 19, looks out of the ferry as it arrives in Barbuda in late November.
Henry Webber, 48, known as Cool Cat, eats lunch at one of the island's few restaurants.
Nico Webber, 40, does laundry at her home, which was destroyed by the hurricane.
LEFT: Henry Webber, 48, known as Cool Cat, eats lunch at one of the island's few restaurants. RIGHT: Nico Webber, 40, does laundry at her home, which was destroyed by the hurricane.
Steel drums used for music classes sit in the island's primary school, which was damaged by the hurricane.
Barbudans rest on the ferry returning to Antigua after working on their storm-damaged homes.

Rebuilding

Shiraz Hopkins, a Barbuda farmer, fled to neighboring Antigua during the island-wide evacuation in September. Much of his livestock survived Irma. But in the storm’s aftermath, local pit bulls killed off many of his goats, sheep and turkeys. He returned to Barbuda in November, and he argues that the government has been too slow in restoring electricity and water and rebuilding the local primary school.

Many Barbudans have stayed on Antigua, finding jobs and building new lives. But he and other returnees are vowing to stay. “With God’s help, I will get back what I had and even more,” he said.

Skyler Hopkins, 12, helps his father, Shiraz Hopkins, 38, build a fence around their home in Barbuda.
Shiraz Hopkins cares for the sheep that belong to his evacuated friends and neighbors.
Shiraz Hopkins says the national government is not doing enough to help Barbuda recover from Hurricane Irma.
TOP: Skyler Hopkins, 12, helps his father, Shiraz Hopkins, 38, build a fence around their home in Barbuda. ABOVE LEFT: Shiraz Hopkins cares for the sheep that belong to his evacuated friends and neighbors. ABOVE RIGHT: Shiraz Hopkins says the national government is not doing enough to help Barbuda recover from Hurricane Irma.
Skyler reads a book on his bed at home.
Family photos at the Hopkins's home in Barbuda.
Skyler's shirt and other items hang in his room.
TOP: Skyler reads a book on his bed at home. ABOVE LEFT: Family photos at the Hopkins's home in Barbuda. ABOVE RIGHT: Skyler's shirt and other items hang in his room.
A pineapple sits on the dining table at the Hopkins family home.

The ‘Dog Hotel’

In Irma’s wake, people were evacuated from Barbuda but animals mostly weren’t. It created a problem as abandoned dogs, formerly pets, formed hunting packs and preyed on sheep, goats and chickens. Some dogs were put down by animal control squads, but others are being housed in a makeshift kennel inside a damaged hotel.

On a December afternoon, 20 dogs were chained up at the “Dog Hotel,” living in what appeared to be poor conditions. That month, however, work was to begin on a new facility meant to serve as a long-term animal shelter.

The “Dog Hotel,” a damaged hotel on Barbuda being used to shelter animals abandoned when the island was evacuated ahead of Irma.
A dog is chained up at the “Dog Hotel.”
The damaged hotel on Barbuda.
A dog being kept at the hotel while a new shelter is being built.
TOP: A dog is chained up at the “Dog Hotel.” ABOVE LEFT: The damaged hotel on Barbuda. ABOVE RIGHT: A dog being kept at the hotel while a new shelter is being built.
The new shelter for animals is being built nearby.

A new airport?

One bone of contention between Barbudan returnees and the national government in Antigua is the reconstruction of the island’s airport. The government is moving ahead with plans for a bigger, more fortified facility that officials say will aid in the reconstruction effort and provide long-term economic benefits. But critics on Barbuda say the project is aimed at opening the long quiet island to larger-scale tourism, which many locals would be firmly against.

An aerial view of the new international airport being built on Barbuda.
A loader is parked at the airport site.
Equipment is seen at the airport site.
Trucks on the site of the airport being built on Barbuda.
Trucks and equipment on the site of the airport being built on Barbuda.

The faith

Faith has returned to Barbuda in the form of Bishop Nigel Henry, pastor at the local Pentecostal church, who is again holding services on the island. The church is attempting to aid local residents, providing food when possible and occasionally organizing transportation for Barbudans on Antigua to get back to their island when the ferry service isn’t available.

Bishop Nigel Henry speaks during the Thanksgiving service at Barbuda Pentecostal Church.
A man prays during the Thanksgiving service.
Barbuda's Seventh-day Adventist Church was heavily damaged by the hurricane.
TOP: Bishop Nigel Henry speaks during the Thanksgiving service at Barbuda Pentecostal Church. ABOVE LEFT: A man prays during the Thanksgiving service. ABOVE RIGHT: Barbuda's Seventh-day Adventist Church was heavily damaged by the hurricane.
Barbudans wait for a plane to head back to Antigua after attending the Thanksgiving service in Barbuda.

Life goes on, in Antigua

Most of the 1,700 Barbudans evacuated from the island in the aftermath of Irma have taken up residence on their sister island of Antigua, where life is radically different. Barbuda was slow-paced, without chain restaurants or major tourism. For them, Antigua is a leap into the modern world, with massive cruise ships, a faster pace of life and even a Burger King.

Cruise ships docked at Antigua — Barbuda’s bigger, more modern sister island.
A Burger King in downtown St. John's, Antigua.
A tourist avenue in St. John's.
TOP: Cruise ships docked at Antigua — Barbuda’s bigger, more modern sister island. ABOVE LEFT: A Burger King in downtown St. John's, Antigua. ABOVE RIGHT: A tourist avenue in St. John's.
A man eats a meal on his boat as he looks at cruise ships docked at Antigua.
Credits: Story by Anthony Faiola. Photos by Salwan Georges. Designed by Joe Moore.