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Ike Has Tampa's Cubans Scrambling For News From Island

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By KATIE CORONADO | News Channel 8
and RICH SHOPES | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 8, 2008

Updated: 09/08/2008 05:04 pm

TAMPA - People with connections to Cuba and Haiti are gathering aid and hoping for the best even as they worry about the fate of the islands as Hurricane Ike tears through today.

Some people are visiting Cuban stores along Columbus Drive east of Himes Avenue to use the less-expensive phone service there to get word about loved ones.

Yeni Gonzales, owner of Yeni Dollar Discount, said she has seen hundreds of people use her phone the past few weeks as Ike and, earlier, Hurricane Gustav threatened the island nation. Many went away frustrated, unable to get through.

Alfredo Moreno, president of the local group La Casa Cuba, said he was able to reach his sisters Lucila and Theresita in Cuba. They live in Holguin, near where Ike made landfall today as a Category 3 hurricane before weakening to Category 2 as it ran along Cuba's spine.

Speaking by phone, Lucila Moreno had nothing but praise for the Cuban government's handling of the crisis.

She said the government distributed warning messages on television and radio, issued early evacuation orders and even distributed food before the storm hit.

"The Cuban government did an amazing job at informing us before the hurricane, especially the national meteorologist," she said.

Her family has stored enough water for a few days, she said, and their home is safe enough that they have offered shelter to neighbors.

Ralph Fernandez, a Cuban-American lawyer in Tampa, was skeptical of this version of events.

"I have no doubt that that's what she said," Fernandez said. "Now, that's a far cry from what happened."

He said ordinary Cubans suffer consequences if they offer anything but praise for the actions of what he sees as Cuba's repressive government.

Reliable information from Cuba, Fernandez said, is difficult to come by, especially in times of disaster.

Another Yeni's patron, Rafael Almaguer, said today he would like to see a one-month pause in the U.S. government embargo against travel to Cuba so he and other Cubans in the United States can help their loved ones.

The idea met with broad agreement from everyone within earshot at Yeni's.

Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay area's Haitian community and relief groups are rushing to gather supplies.

Successive storms left many homes and roads on the island's northwest side washed out. Especially hard hit was Gonaives, which saw its streets turned into canals when winds from Hurricane Hanna hammered the island.

Daniel Thelusmar, a former Haitian missionary studying in Tampa, said he's putting aside his studies at Everest University to raise money to purchase food, water and medical supplies in Cap-Haitien to take to Gonaives.

Images of the devastation and calls to home have prompted Thelusmar to try to raise about $10,000 this month to feed about 400 people and pay for his trip.

"Right now I have $600 that has come to me from friends, and I have a bunch of bags of clothing," he said.

Eva DeHart, co-founder of the Palm Harbor-based relief agency For Haiti With Love Inc., said the group's food distribution and medical offices in Haiti are swamped with requests for help.

Containers packed with food, beans and rice are waiting in Fort Lauderdale and the Bahamas to be shipped to Haiti. Next week, she plans to fly in bandages, antibiotics and other medical supplies.

The devastation is especially tough on farmers, who saw their rice and bean crops, staples of the Haitian diet, wiped out, she said.

Patricia Eddy, co-founder of South Tampa-based Help Brings Hope for Haiti, said her agency is organizing an emergency collection drive for food, clothing, medical supplies and toiletries.

"Four years ago when a hurricane hit, it was bad. This is much worse," she said. "So many homes are just little shacks, and they were just wiped out."

The group is working with another group, Food for the Poor, to stock a 40-foot container to send this month.

Travel is treacherous and communications are iffy in Haiti. Mudslides have washed out roads and knocked out power and phone lines. Food and supplies brought to the island must be trucked by four-wheel-drive vehicles to remote villages.

Forecasters said Ike could make a direct hit on Havana, where old, decaying buildings are especially vulnerable.

Reporter Katie Coronado can be reached at (813) 259-7157 or kcoronado@wfla.com.

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