Forced Out By Hurricane Fay

“Mandatory Keys Visitor Evacuation Begins at 8 a.m. Sunday for Fay” is the exact headline I read on Keys Tourism Advisory #3. This advisory depicted a graphic of the path of the Tropical Storm Fay, and a synopsis of the event. The synopsis states, “We hate to inconvenience those visitors that had plans to be in the Keys the next few days, but their wellbeing is our top priority. We certainly hope they return in the near future,” by Monroe County Mayor Mario Di Gennaro. I picked up this advisory, which was slid underneath my hotel room door. I had temporarily moved into the hotel a week earlier awaiting renovations on an apartment I was supposed to move in Tuesday of this week. I was in between leases and decided that a hotel would be a better alternative than living on the street with my 8-month-old baby boy.

Five minutes later, the hotel manager called on the hotel phone. He told me that I had until 11:00 a.m. to evacuate from the hotel, and I must take my belongings with me. I explained that this hotel was my only alternative, and that I would have no family or friends in the region. In fact, my closest relatives live in Lansing, Michigan. There was a sense of urgency in his voice. I asked him if he expected me to physically move heavy boxes of academic textbooks and office equipment from my writing program, while caring for a baby, and within an hour. He told me he didn’t care about what I did with it, and that every person in the hotel must evacuate. He did not offer an alternative hotel or transportation service; he told me I should call my place of employment, another hotel chain.

I worked as an off premise contact (OPC) to book timeshare tours for a hotel chain in Key West. This was a temporary job because I was intending to return to the teaching profession this fall. The 25% teacher turnover rate guarantees that a teaching job is always available in October after the teacher would have folded from class management problems or high living expenses. Key West is certainly a town that caters to the tourists. Many of the area hotels refuse to rent to local residents; I’ve had a personal experience with that. Obviously, this hotel manager did not care about anything but evacuating every visitor from the hotel. I even called my boss and he wished me well on my journey because he understood the magnitude of the event. He even commented about how he could be forced to evacuate because his car tags were out of state. He told me to contact him when I arrived in a safe location. He was new to his position, and had moved there three weeks before he hired me.

At that point, I knew that I had to think about the safety of my baby--especially after watching Spike Lee’s documentary on Hurricane Katrina. I know that flooding could cause alligators and sharks to swim in the streets that were once safe to walk. I know that people could be stranded for days or weeks without adequate food or water. I know that people could be gasping for air inside a flooded apartment or stuck in a tree. I remember a woman losing her child and the pain she felt as she had no choice but to let go of her daughter’s hand. I remember women holding babies they could not feed formula to because there was no sanitary running water. I could never put my child’s life in jeopardy, especially when I am complying with the law. Many of these people ignored “mandatory evacuation” for many reasons. They want to physically protect their businesses and personal property. They had no financial options. They know that looters exploit the hurricane season, but I ask why is materialism more important than human life? I left behind all of the materials from my writing program, Choices i Control. I didn’t know if everything was going to be underwater or safe from burglars. I cared more about my three children who needed a mother to care for them. If I didn’t have children, then maybe I would take this type of risk. There was no choice but for me to go to the only safe place I know, Lansing, Michigan, my hometown.

I was the first person in line at the Greyhound Bus Station. I waited 7 hours inside the bus station at the Key West International Airport. The bus station was packed with people from all over the world. I met a couple from Kansas City, Missouri who were on their honeymoon. In fact, there were quite a few couples on their honeymoons. They were so disappointed, but some were optimistic, stating that at least they will never forget this moment. There was a group of six girl college students from England. It was delightful to hear all of the various foreign accents in the station. Most of the tourists were friendly, but many had a blank stare on their faces in disbelief. We were all jittery, pacing about, and contacting relatives on the telephone. I so happened to step outside to talk to my Dad on the telephone. All of a sudden, a strong wind swept through, and nearly knocked my baby stroller down the ramp. The palm tree was waving, and the rain poured down. It stung my skin and I immediately retreated inside the bus station. The man at the ticket counter was obviously under pressure due to the state of emergency. He made an announcement that everyone is not guaranteed a seat on the bus. He explained that we would board the bus according to the date and time of purchase, regardless if you reserved the ticket. It would be a first come first service basis.

There were a few local residents aboard the Greyhound Bus. There was my former student from PACE Center for Girls, and a Niquaraguan ESOL student from the high school where I taught. There was a woman who lived in Bahama Village who I recognized. She was an older lady in her 70s, and she sat calmly in the front seat clutching her black purse. After everyone was seated, there were about 25 people standing outside. The bus driver explained that a Greyhound Bus was on U.S. 1 but would not arrive until 3 hours later. He gave them two options. Stand up on the bus until we arrive in Miami, or wait for the other bus. Every person boarded that bus to safety. No one left their lives in the hands of Greyhound. Afterall, the bus could break down; the bus I was riding through Gainesville, Florida had a transmission problem and we were left stranded for 3 and a half hours. I never realized that Tropical Storm Fay would affect Northern Florida or Georgia, the same states I rode through to get to Lansing, Michigan.
At the bus stations, people were under stress, anxiously awaiting their connecting buses. People were arguing with bus staff, and bus staff was hostile at times. They were under stress as the evacuation was underway. I tried to sleep through most of the the bus ride, which took two and a half days to complete. I had to change my baby at the rest stops, and purchase bottled water to mix formula. At times I had to breastfeed my baby, realizing that I could possibly run out of formula.

There was absolutely no room to move on the ride through Florida. The bus was quiet for the most part, as people prayed to reach safety. It was raining the entire time, and the wind was blowing so hard the bus felt like it would flip over. We were swerving trying to fight the wind. The bus driver on the way through Gainesville continued to make stops, once at a gas station, another time near a factory. He looked under the hood, then tried to start the bus. The bus kept cutting off every time he attempted to start it. At that point the bus driver walked across the street. He had to stand inside of some sheds that were for sale on the opposite side of the road. The wind was too high to even make a cell phone call. I exited the bus and looked at the sky. The clouds were dark and plentiful. It definitely looked like a devastating storm was on the way. I was confused because I thought the mandatory evacuation was with the Florida Keys only.
The entire time, the bus driver did not communicate with the passengers about what was going on. He just kept making phone calls. Eventually, one of the passengers asked him what was going on with the bus. He finally told us that a bus was coming from Jacksonville and may take up to 3 hours. I thought that the delay would cause me to miss my connecting bus in Atlanta, Georgia, but I realized I had a 4 hour layover there. Many people were worried about getting home on time. There were three Mexican construction workers, who told me that their boss in Big Pine Key wanted them to return to work. They were on their way to the headquarters in Atlanta to find a new location. I didn’t have contact with anyone about the conditions of the storm. All I knew is that I wanted to be safe and sound at home in Lansing, Michigan.

I wanted to stay in Key West, and had many obstacles to living in the region. Despite the challenges, I continued to teach grant writing to non-profit professionals, and essay writing to K-12 students, free of charge. I came to Key West on a mission to help children. I had a special place in my heart for the children of Bahama Village, a disadvantaged community in Key West. I loved working with the kids there and have especially developed a bond with my students. I vow to treat every human being with respect, regardless of age, ethnicity, religion, education, or sexual orientation. One thing I thank Lansing, Michigan for is helping me to remove the lenses of judgment from my eyes. Coming from the Robert Taylor projects on the South side of Chicago, I had major issues with perception. When I moved to Lansing in 1995, I was pushed to the next level. I started to believe in myself and my ability to succeed at anything I set my mind to do. As a 2004 Teach for America corps member, I developed a writing system in my Houston classroom. Once I realized how effective it has consistently been in helping kids become commendable writers, I decided to market my program to schools across the nation. Despite significant obstacles in my life, I have three beautiful kids I owe everything to. My children are my life, and my career is my heart. I will never give up my mission to help every child in this nation learn to write commendably. I know that without my ability to write, I would not be where I am today.

I will not allow Tropical Storm Fay or any being on this Earth to stop me from achieving my goals. I will return to Florida when the time is right, even though Key West was not affected as much as expected. I did not wish to put my life and my kids’ lives in jeopardy because of material gain. I have been in a tornado before that hit Xenia, Ohio and remember the blackout and ambulances escorting fainted victims to the hospital, which was running on generators. That was during my matriculation at Wilberforce University, Ohio. I graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in mass media communications. I have owned a motivational speaking company since the age of 15, and am recipient of over 100 awards and honors in my lifetime. I am a hardworking woman and will never give up the fight for equality in education for every American child. I know what it is like to live in roach infested apartments, witness brains being blown out at close range, dodge bullets from drive-by shootings. I know what education can do for a disadvantaged youth. Tropical Storm Fay has caused devastation like no one has ever seen. Why take a risk with my life and my child’s life, when I was clearly given two choices. Choice #1: Evacuate from this hotel and live under a bridge with my baby. Choice #2: Evacuate from this hotel and board the Greyhound bus to the safest place I know. Not everyone was able to get out of Florida. I made the right choice.

Rachel Kenyata Armour
CEO, Choices i Control Academic Program, Inc.
Kenyata.truth@choicesicontrol.com