Displaced Americans long to return home after hurricane
Raleigh, US - on Tuesday with her four children, just one step ahead of the storm. “The house that we were living in, the water came up to second floor, so we lost everything. The kids are scared. They don’t really understand what’s going on.”
Her eldest son Jeremy said he can’t wait to get back to school and his normal life. “It’s so loud in the room, everybody is snoring when I’m trying to sleep. And the beds are hard.”
Thomas Hammett has two tears tattooed by the corner of his left eye.
He fled his home in Otway with his two kids, Christopher, aged three, and Jerry (11).
“We can’t wait to go back home and live a normal life again, hopefully on Wednesday,” Hammett said.
“We had to evacuate, it was too dangerous to stay. Some people have died down there. The neighbours told us our home was fine apart from a few branches down, so that’s a relief at least.”
Despite their tribulations, most are doing their best to stay positive.
“Everyone has been very nice, very helpful,” said David Owens, a wheelchair-bound pensioner.
“There are some very interesting people here to talk to, with stories that will humble you and make your heart cry,” he said.
Van Horne, the Red Cross official, said that despite their yearning to go home, the displaced people ‘are in a safe place and are making new friends’.
“Black, white, Hispanic people... we all come together here. We got on the same bus, we smell, we sweat, we are all equal,” said Charles Williams, an African American ex-sailor.
“Whether you make US$20,000 or US200,000 a year, all the money you have won’t do you any good. All that matters is we’re all safe.”