Annette and Jesse Dean planned on white sands and blue seas for their 35th wedding anniversary in the Dutch-Caribbean country of Sint Maarten. Instead, they and thousands of others -- both fellow vacationers and residents of the island -- got gale-force winds, lashing rain and a cold plunge into uncertainty as authorities assessed the catastrophic damage to the island's infrastructure.
Although the Deans were more fortunate than many -- they are alive, healthy and sheltering at Divi Little Bay Beach -- they did not know Friday night when they would be able to return home to the United States. Princess Juliana International Airport, the island's primary means of international travel, was severely damaged by the storm, stranding tourists like them in resorts with limited supplies of food and fresh water.
"They weren't expecting to feed and shelter so many people without any incoming food or water for as long as they have been," Aundrea Dean, the couple's daughter, said Friday.
"We think no matter where we are in the world, we would be able to get in touch with someone and let them know you have Americans that are displaced, that are in trouble, and someone from somewhere would initiate some aid," Bishop Bobby Hilton, who counts the Deans among his parishioners, said. "But it's not happening."
According to a news release from the State Department, evacuation efforts for American citizens have been hampered the absence of a United States consulate on the island as well as the near-total destruction of typical modes of transportation. Its only advice to stranded tourists like the Deans was to follow the instructions of local authorities in the days ahead. The French side of the island, St. Martin, was "95 percent destroyed," according to French delegate Daniel Gibb, leading to even more dire predictions about the time it might take to rebuild.
Aundrea Dean accepted that it would likely be some time before she saw her parents again, but said she hoped putting a human face on the destruction would help encourage others to funnel aid and support toward the island.
"I know getting our story out isn't going to have a plane go over there and just save them specifically," she said. "But at least to be able to get food, water and medicine to the people there that need it. That, to me, is the most important thing."
