In the aftermath of Ian, Latino workers in Southwest Florida prioritize others for their own economic survival

On Wednesday night, the eye of Hurricane Ian ripped the roofing off the home Guatemalan immigrant Luis Tojil shares with his daughter and three other countrymen in Port Charlotte, on Florida west coast.
He spent the next day clearing out his flooded home.

But by Friday, Tojil was somewhere else, cleaning up the fallen trees and roof shingles from a nearby condominium a few miles away near the bay in Charlotte Harbor.

"Here we are, helping others. But it's what we have to do. It's because we are fighting for our own lives here," he said, taking a short break to talk to reporters after being chest high in flood waters removing broken branches. "We have to earn money for food, we're fighting for our families," he added.

The slow recovery begins after the lashing of Hurricane Ian

As the recovery from Hurricane Ian picks up pace along a 115-mile stretch of Florida’s west coast, the sound of wind and rain is being replaced by the whine and roar of generators and chain saws, under different weather conditions as the sun beats down under thankfully clear skies.

More than 40 people are confirmed dead after Hurricane Ian tore through this low-lying coastal area, swamping homes with record 10-feet storm storm surge and 150 mile and hour winds.

At his home a few miles away in Port Charlotte, Tojil’s 19-year-old daughter, Juana, stood in the back garden surrounded by clothing, mattresses and curtains, spread out to dry on a bush, a couch and the grass, as she cooked some meat, with platanos, rice and beans, on a barbecue, using wooden from a broken bedframe as firewood.

“They say we won’t have electricity for another two weeks at least,” she said, so we have to use what we have,” explaining that the entire contents of the house was destroyed by the rain than came in through the leaking roof, bringing down all the ceiling and insulation. With the doors open, the house was already beginning to smell of humidity and the onset of mould.

Piles of insulation and ceiling plaster say out front by the sidewalk, while the sheet of painted black tar roofing roof now lay crumpled in the back garden.

In Port Charlotte, many homes lost their roofs as the eye of the hurricane passed over

“It scared us because we never went through this before. There was a lot of noise (...) then the rain came and here we were getting soaked,” said Juana Tojil, describing the four hours of terror as the eye of Hurricane Ian passed over their heads. “All night we were in the dark, in the rain. All together there, the five of us in the bathroom,” she added.

“We were in the eye wall for the whole darn time, it was just wouldn’t let up. It was like a bully. It felt like it was throwing heavy sandbags at the house,” said one neighbor, a 56-year-old sanitation department employee, sitting in a neighbor’s porch across the street from his damaged home where his black roofing also lay in the garden. “It was pure madness. It was like someone put you in a blender and stood there laughing at you," the man added, asking only to be identified by his first name, Theron.

During a tour of nearby streets, Univision News observed about 80% of the homes with severe roof damage. Some were also left with blown-out exterior walls, exposing rooms and garages. Some of the more fortunate residents already had work crews installing blue tarps to keep out the rain.

Debts piling up for rent ... and a coyote to pay

The Tojil’s monthy rent of $1,700 rent for the small, two-bed house, comes due Saturday. Tojil was worried they would be evicted if they didn’t pay, even if the house is unlivable. The electricity bill would also soon be due, even though the power is out. “Now that this happened we have nothing. I don't know if the landlord will be angry if we can't pay,” she said.

The family also owes about $16,000 to the coyote who brought them across the border through the Arizona desert two years ago. If they fail to pay that debt the consequences were just as severe for her mother and four siblings back home in the department of Quiche, Guatemala. “They could take away our house and land, and they end up on the street,” she said.

Many small businesses in Port Charlotte closed due to storm damage and loss of electricity

While there is plenty of work for able-bodied men in landscaping and construction, it’s a different picture those working in small family restaurants and retail stores, damaged by the storm. Thousands of low income Hispanics in this fast-growing part of the state, where jobs were once plentiful, now find themselves out of work.

Juana Tojil’s job at a local Mexican taqueria where she worked in the kitchen, chopping meat and vegetables, was also on hold, after the storm ripped off roof too, flooding the premises. “The water got in, there's no electricity. We have to wait. Now we have no work,” she said.

Thankfully her father would have plenty of work as the recovery from Ian continues, likely for months, maybe years. But he is gone all day helping fix the problems of others. “We have to help each other, because life goes on. We can't stop,” said Jose Varela, one of Tojil's co-workers, from Puerto Rico. “The truth is, there is a lot of racism here, but they need us to do the dirty jobs,” said Varela.

“That is why there is a saying that the United States without immigrants is a country at a standstill,” he added, smiling. Varela compared Ian to what he experienced in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria in 2017. “Here, it's not like in Maria, where people came together,” he said, describing how he joined others clearing streets on Thursday in order to reopen roads, with little help from local residents. “It wasn't that they were paying us. They are leaving everything to the immigrants. It's not a community thing,” he added.

At Birchwood Condominium, at least, Tojil’s clean-up crew from Gustavo Flores Lawn Service was appreciated. “They’re great. A lot of people won’t do that outside work and we need somebody to do it,” said Deborah Scarboro, a 65-year-old semi-retired resident.

“I’m glad they’re here. Because we would be looking like that for weeks,” she said, pointing to the tree branches and roof shingles scattered all over the grass. Scarboro said the condominium association had been battling its insurer for the last year to pay for new roofing. "They said it wasn't bad enough to be replaced. Now we have leaks," she added.

The Hispanics of Port Charlotte: sad, but hopeful about the future

Meanwhile, at Hidalgo Crazy Tacos, the Mexican restaurant where Juana Tojil works, the owners said they hoped to reopen as soon as possible, maybe as early next month.

“Right now, we are sad. Everyone is worried about work,” said Juan Perez, the 20-year-old manager, who spent Friday sweeping the wet floors and removing the sodden ceiling tiles so full of water they easily crumpled in his hands.

“Everyone is worried about their jobs. We have bills to pay, but we will get through this. I know we can”, he said. “We are like a family. This is like a second home. Together we can move forward," he added.