Everything she had her house is a ruin. Her fellow residents in salinas have likewise been left largely to their own devices its here in the south of puerto rico that the hurricane hit hardest but hell but is determined to keep her spirits up and shes already looking toward the future. Thanks. The first thing that elba does after she gets up is to check that she has enough diesel fuel for the day. This generator is her sole source of electricity and its vital for pumping water up to the second story. Houses right by the sea the view is spectacular until recently. The house is in an upscale neighborhood but the stylish motor boats that used to adorn the bay of plato were hit just as hard as the fancy beach houses. Elba faces an ongoing battle against the water pouring into her home through the roof. We have to get rid of the will to say the top three thing can dry out. All the tries to rescue the parquet floor by pushing the water through the cracks when its going down. Hard to rebuilt my room so at least i dont have to sleep on the balcony anymore. Game day and night. Elba takes another look around the living room to see what else has gotten well. She stored all the possessions that she managed to salvage in the living room its one of the few rooms that are secure thanks to the concrete walls the other rooms were built with elegant looking would. Tell the inherited the house from her parents. She spent the happiest years of her life growing up here. The damage to the house amounts to several hundred thousand dollars. Is from a well to do family but most of that wealth has been destroyed by the hurricane. Here the wooden floor has buckled the house had survived a series of hurricanes over decades but maria was just too strong to lower section of the houses made from concrete as protection against flooding. You know. Some of the elders relatives have come by today to help out this is now the makeshift kitchen and living room. Youre. This hammock is now where eldest brother ramon sleeps. Hes recently divorced and hes coping with the devastation in his own way. Hes using a car battery to power up his music stereo which will hopefully lighten the mood. Its. Just so sad i had not seen her cousin elba sense the disaster she lost her mother in the aftermath of the hurricane. Remember i just feel my mother died weve suffered genuine losses in addition to material damage my mother is the person i loved more than anything i have to believe shes in a better place no thank goodness and that we have to survive this is not my fright now you know its about just staying alive you know i think. You know and certainly so you know we have to look to the future life must go on. The mother how did your mother die. You know for my photographs i never knew if it was a natural death but they cant say for sure because the hospital has been crippled by the Power Outages so when they get back so you know you have a part right in front of the destroyed facade and shes shocked by what she sees. On the right and you think im lost for words the facade is gone out of this house belonged to my fathers twin brother they loved each other very much its as if after losing them weve now lost our memories of them but the most important thing is to stick together and stay strong. Nobody but something that only you know you can afford it. And out applies to the rest of the population of salinas indeed all residents of puerto rico there are lines everywhere especially outside banks the power failures mean credit cards normally a popular method of payment cannot currently be accepted cash is now the only option and banks cannot cope with the demand Puerto Ricans are u. S. Citizens but aid from washington has been slow to arrive. Elba finally returns from her shopping expedition which was as she reports chaotic. You know that. Its difficult to find food the ques a horrendous plus we went to three banks but none of them have any cash. Now you need health care we took whatever was available. Thank you very much her priority when shopping is items for the immediate future not luxury goods. Elba bought mostly nonperishable canned food theres practically no Fresh Produce on sale and the supermarkets refrigerators and freezers have no power. Help them manage to buy some diesel fuel to get the generator up and running again. Her cousin does what she can to help. Cocos its rained so much today. When youre on the air youre in the bathroom and thats where i hid. My face like all of us all four dogs roam on im cooking. We were all here in the bathroom heat and then i was alone with the dogs for over ten hours. And you know. I didnt know whether to sing or pray. With my baby and by the time i came out i didnt know what day it was or what the time was. So any of us single me and it took me five days to return to reality you know come on were better than that. I couldnt sleep although i try it was just so that i also used it as a wardrobe. This was my shelter from the hurricane so they. Chose. The noise started at four thirty in the morning. And the reason why it was really loud. If you would do you. Want to do is scream because i thought the house was going to collapse on me. And run said run take the dogs and then we all came inside here. And i think. He knew what was going to happen see yes i thought the entire house was going to fall down. Eventually i wanted to see what was going on outside. I kind here took a look and and they found a piece of metal smashed against this window. But the clothes didnt break i just stood there it was a whole section of the roof. No im not going to do a check yeah. Yeah but. Thats what you can see down there is clean now it was a total mess at the neighbors place to you everywhere. That you. Have you been a moment. Here but i cant do it the only thing you havent seen it come with me youll need a drink. Let. Me that i go yeah ill buy shells from cousin around the wooden section over home her brother ramon had been living in what used to be her parents room. Money. Money you know. But i get that knowing. That were going to show you what. Take a look i know i can go down they have to to understand. Its all gone. The shows are still up. So its the picture of the saints above the bed what doctor i. Am in my. Family scattered her fathers ashes into the sea opposite like when she came out of her shelter and saw the roads. I leave. I immediately noticed that the winds were still going strong. I thought oh my god when is it finally going to end this is you know the yaml been up there and when i turned around and saw the house well what can i say you gave me i told myself that everything could be replaced theres no more i can do here now. For the my video for the earliest. Elbel was scared for her life while she was hiding from the storm but she also had time to reflect about how to move on. Elba has a dream of having a brand new home here a year from now. That in my future i dont know. Tomorrow after i have a cup of coffee im going to start thinking about where i want to have my new kitchen. In bed when they get up and then ill be able to start working on it once the old one has gone. This i dont know. Big things have small beginning for people like hell but there is only a new beginning. Fake hair and real story. Where i come from a lot of women like me you have fake hair sometimes a hairstyle takes up to two days thats a lot of time that needs to be filled so people at the salon talk about whats happening in their lives. I became a journalist to be a storyteller and i always want to find those real authentic stories from everyday people who have something to share. With all the time i spent at the salon i know good quality here when i see it and a good story when i hear it. My name is Elizabeth Shaw and i work at c tell them. Their first day w. Because i may speak your language to tell you that. For content in dari pashto and more to. The specs for returning to our web special feeling that the refugee journey of life in germany and the prospects for those returning home