“I hope to have a job next year,” said Jamal Salem of Garapan.
Salem has been jobless for two months and is hoping to find a new employer soon.
He said he previously worked as a carpenter for a relative who left the island in October.
He was left with no choice but to send all his savings to his family in Bangladesh.
He is hoping that he will be able to get a job before he runs out of cash.
Julianna Cruz said she is hoping to enroll at a college in the States next semester.
“But since the economy is down, it means low salary for my parents,” she said. “That means no cash for college.”
She and her friends are hoping that “life will be better next year.”
Lehn Concepcion, a waitress, said she hopes her salary will increase next year.
“I have been with this job for seven years now but my salary still remains at the minimum wage level,” she said.
Other residents said they are not confident that the island’s economy will be better next year.
“With the same leader in place, I expect no changes at all but things will get worse for sure,” one Garapan resident said.
He added, “The government will remain unreliable.”
Another resident who also declined to be identified said he has “lost hope.”
“I hope that the governor will stop doing things for his own interest but instead put the people’s needs as his top priority,” he added.
