Two students shared their personal ties to the islands still struggling after Hurricanes Irma and Maria at the University of New Haven (UNH) on Tuesday.
One student just got back from traveling to family in Puerto Rico and the second from St. Croix feels for the U.S. Virgin Islands.
"We just have pieces of our roof missing," UNH student Kayra Clouden said. "There are some homes that have no parts of their roof."
She said she is frustrated with the government response and the media coverage of the hurricane destruction in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
"To hear people only want to indulge in our islands and take the beaches and their vacation time and stuff like that," Clouden said. "But when it’s time to help and when it’s time to really do something, no one was there."
Clouden joined UNH graduate student Jason Torres for a panel discussion about the aftermath of the category five hurricanes.
"I’ve visited Puerto Rico at least once every year of my life and this wasn’t Puerto Rico," Torres said. "It was a complete disaster."
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Torres just returned from a trip to his grandparents and other relatives on the southern side of Puerto Rico.
"Mainly because we had no communication, we had no idea what was going on, no sign to see if they were OK," he said. "But we all saw on the news there was power outages, gas shortages, no running water and we couldn’t wait. We had to leave."
The image of a large tree that landed on the home of a man with disabilities has stuck with him.
"He was just completely helpless," Torres said. "So we were able to temporarily help him however we’re not sure how far that will last."
Torres said what frustrated him was seeing supplies still stuck in San Juan. He said his family had no trouble driving from San Juan through the island.
"And even when we left six days later," Torres said. "There was actually more supplies at the airport, it just wasn’t getting out."
Torres and Clouden are getting the message out to not forget the U.S. territories recovering from historic hurricane damage.
"It feels like we are literally begging for help at this point and that’s not OK," Clouden said.
"There’s a lot of struggle still existing and actually President Trumps visiting today and I really hope that’s for a positive for the people of Puerto Rico," Torres said.
Torres told NBC Connecticut his grandparents are leaving Puerto Rico for the U.S. mainland on Tuesday.
"I would suggest that no one lives in that kind of condition," Torres said.
