Two years ago Antonio Tejada accomplished his lifelong dream — to leave Brazil and move to Hawai’i. He settled in Lahaina and worked in the kitchens of some of the town's most popular oceanfront restaurants.
But on the afternoon of Aug. 8, he lost everything.
“Now, I live here in the park,” he said, opening up a can of spam for lunch at a picnic table next to his tent.
Tejada has been camping at a beach park just outside of Lahaina for several months. He used to keep a tent near here for weekend fishing trips. Now, the tent has become his home.
The cat he'd adopted just before the fire lives here with him. He wanders the beach during the day and returns every evening for dinner.
It wasn't always this way.
In the immediate aftermath of the fire, Tejada had a hotel room. He was housed through the Red Cross's non-congregate shelter program, which initially placed around 7,000 fire survivors in hotel rooms.
He was also working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to register for long-term rental assistance. His plans to rent fell apart when he learned he didn’t qualify for aid.
Tejada said he was told he did not have the documentation FEMA required to prove he was renting in Lahaina before the fire.
“Because nobody here give you a contract when you rent places … I pay you, you let me stay for a month, if I do not pay you, kick me out. That's how it works in Lahaina,” he said.
For Tejada, after everything he’d been through, the process of applying for assistance was extremely emotional. He believes his lack of fluency in English and ethnicity contributed to his experience.
“Technically they call me a liar, in front of my face. I'm a 47-year-old man, decent and honest. I have no criminal records, not even a ticket in my life,” he said.
Tejada had a hotel room through the Red Cross for about 45 days. Then, the organization began verifying eligibility for the program, which also required providing a lease and other documents he didn't have.
He said the organization offered him $750 to leave his hotel room. He took the money and left, saying he had child support and other bills he needed to pay.
In an emailed comment, a spokesperson for the Red Cross said it would not pay people to elicit a certain response. But they do offer some financial aid, depending on a client's need, to assist in a transition.
Tejada said he went to a shelter in Kahului set up for those who were not eligible to stay in the Red Cross’s program.
“After one week, people stealing everything I have again over there. Every single electronic, cell phone, whatever device,” he said.
He feels safer camping on one of Lahaina’s beaches, where he has found a community.
When he couldn't get the aid he needed, others there gave him the supplies to survive. He still wakes up every morning to apply for jobs to try to get back on his feet. He said it's his neighbors and his faith that keep him going now.
“They helped me each step in my life now and provide the food, clothes, whatever I needed. And bring a little hope to keep going and try again,” he said.
Two years ago, his only dream was to come to Hawai’i. Now, his dream is to find a job helping with the effort to rebuild Lahaina.
