Doctors, senators, mayors, governor push for new shelter after seeing inhumane conditions of refugees

It was heartbreaking. A large, dark warehouse in Tamuning houses more than 200 of the hardest-hit Guamanians, refugees of Typhoon Mawar. It destroyed their homes. Some of them didn’t have a home before Mawar. They rely on the charity of the American Red Cross to eat and drink clean water.

They share community restrooms and a dumpster leaking leachate that consumes the air with the pungent odor of sewage and feces amplified by the heat and humidity.

Except for a few fans, there is hardly any air or ventilation inside the black-dust-filled warehouse crammed with row upon row of Red Cross- and FEMA-issued cots.

Many people were trying to sleep, biding their time in the exhausting afternoon heat. In a place, where there were so many kids, you’d expect an air of excitement. There was none; only melancholy and disease spreading. Mothers fed their babies as they coughed, while some of the older children colored art work on pieces of paper in the only well-lit room inside the refugee camp.

The workers and volunteers of the American Red Cross – most of whom came to Guam after the typhoon to help our people – tried to be in bright spirits, but you could see the hurt in their eyes. There was an urgency to their duty to the refugees, from answering questions on the floor risking illness, to helping the kids, to temperature checks at the makeshift nurse station near the entrance.

Sen. Jesse Lujan, who came with me to see the conditions, walked to a corner of the warehouse that faced the port-a-potties not six feet from that breezeway so people would not see the tears in his eyes. Tamuning Vice Mayor Al Toves consoled him. Speaker Therese Terlaje, who was there before us, walked from the facility clearly in tears.

These are our people. They are living through inhumane conditions.

 

Medical relief from volunteer doctors and nurses

Dr. Hoa Nguyen and Dr. Vince Akimoto, owners of American Medical Center, were leaving with their team of doctors and nurses as we arrived. The AMC volunteers have been providing free medical checks to the refugees.

They go during the lunch hour and will be there in full force throughout Sunday, according to Dr. Nguyen.

Team AMC arrived at the clinic Tuesday, when reports began surfacing of an outbreak of the flu that led to the hospitalization of a boy, who ran a high fever.

That flu clearly is spreading. Carla Taimanglo, a refugee, said one of her sons registered a fever of 103.2 degrees Farenheit, and another son of more than 101 degrees.

According to Sen. Chris Barnett, who brought a cooler of iced coffee drinks for the encampment Thursday morning, another child had to be taken to the hospital for high fever.

Dr. Akimoto said Influenza B is spreading throughout the country. He provided data and reports showing belief among doctors that the flu is causing more severe symptoms in children than adults.

 

Moving to a school, or a hotel

Dr. Nguyen is recommending the government of Guam do as it did in the pandemic and lease a hotel to shelter the refugees, many of whom do not qualify for the Federal Emergency Management and U.S. Small Business Administration programs to repair their homes. The senators agreed with the doctor.

“They’ll be needing shelter a bit longer, and they can’t be living like this,” he said.

A non-congregate shelter (a shelter where there are separated rooms for families rather than an a congregate setting where everything is in the open) was the suggestion the governor made to the American Red Cross, when ARC was first considering its options for a refugee shelter, according to Lt. Gov. Joshua Tenorio’s senior advisor, Stephanie Flores.

She also dispelled the rumor that Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero or the governor’s office selected the Tamuning warehouse as the site.

“Our administration has expressed concerns and requested for the immediate relocation of the American Red Cross Tier III Shelter at the Guam Pak Warehouse in Tamuning,” a news release Thursday from the governor’s office states. “Upon notification of current shelter conditions, we began the process of securing a new location with remaining inventory. Sites previously identified as shelters, including village gymnasiums, are either under construction or left severely damaged by Typhoon Mawar. These challenges are compounded by limited commercial real estate available for such support. To address health concerns, namely reported cases of influenza, the Department of Public Health and Social Services is working alongside the American Red Cross to isolate affected families and minimize further exposure.

“Our ultimate goal is to support long-term solutions for our vulnerable populations through stable housing. Joining us in these discussions are the Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority (GHURA), the Office of Homelessness Assistance and Poverty Prevention (OHAPP), and the Department of Labor (DOL).”

Tamuning Mayor Louise Rivera wants GovGuam to open up LBJ or Chief Brodie Elementary as the shelter, noting both facilities are air conditioned, have rooms, and also have recreational areas for children.

Mr. Lujan wrote to the governor Thursday: