For three days, Anthony Garcia has been sweeping tirelessly in the middle of the ashes. On the small place of Lahaina where, usually, the tourists crowd, he piles up blackened branches and carcasses of animals killed by the flames.
“It’s hard to take it,” says the 80-year-old man, observing the ruins of this Hawaiian city that has brought him “so much joy”.
Originally from California, he came to Lahaina for a weekend in 1993, and never left. He has now lost everything.
An employee of a residential building on the island, Anthony Garcia rents an apartment near a tourist street, known for its bars, restaurants and trinket shops.
Of all this, nothing remains. The flames, which killed at least 80 people, engulfed guitars, documents, sheet music and memorabilia.
“It took everything, everything! It breaks my heart,” the octogenarian told AFP, moved.
In an attempt to forget his grief and anger, Anthony Garcia cleans up the debris. Next to it stands a huge banyan tree, emblematic of the city, which seems to have miraculously survived the fire.
“That tree? It’s been there for over a century,” he said. “And there? This is Lahaina’s first courthouse. Further? The Pioneer, opened in 1901, Hawaii’s first hotel!”
Even the violence of the combats in which he participated during the Vietnam War had not blunted Anthony Garcia’s unshakeable faith in God.
But, since the fires, it is no longer so safe.
“I can’t believe God let all this happen,” he says. “I’m so angry that I don’t know if I want to keep believing in him.”
On the horizon, the waves of the turquoise ocean collide with the promenade, which is also almost completely burnt. Until a few days ago, the place was full of tourists enjoying ice cream or taking selfies.
“In the mornings, we could hear the birds chirping,” recalls Anthony Garcia, who has not seen a single dove since Tuesday, the day the fire broke out.
On the other hand, he sees his neighbors return, one by one, to discover that their house is nothing more than a pile of ashes.
“I’m sad for everyone,” he sighs.
“But I’m going to stay here. I don’t want to go anywhere else, I want to help rebuild,” he said as a truck loaded with debris passed in the street.
This city “made me a happy man”, assures Anthony Garcia despite his pain. “So I’m going to start from scratch. We have to start over.”
08/12/2023 19:15:27 – Lahaina (United States) (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
