"This is a temporary disruption that is being addressed by the government and private sector"
These are the very words George W. Bush used when addressing the press in the days following Hurricane Katrina. To him, the hurricane that displaced thousands and basically ruined one of the treasures of the American South was nothing but a temporary disruption.
In case you were too busy to notice, last week marked the 2 year anniversary of the devastating storm that crippled the big easy. The anniversary may have passed you by...the news media was too busy obsessing over the coverage of the 10 year anniversary of Princess Diana's death to cover it. You see, in this country, we are way more concerned about the 10 year old death of one wealthy, British white woman than the deaths of dozens of poor, black Americans, not to mention the destruction of thousands of lives.
I still can not wrap my mind around the devastation and what I perceive as a lack of response by MY government to this devastation. Issues of poverty, politics, race and class are still emerging in a new light and must be addressed.
My personal ramblings from exactly two years ago today follows...what scares me the most is that not much has changed. There are Katrina refugees trying to cling to what little they have in trailers that FEMA is threatening to take from them and the cycle of poverty and desperation and crime that was magnified in the days immediately following Katrina is still festering in the gulf coast.
September 6, 2005
Hurricane Katrina has DEVASTATED the gulf coast. Though there is devastation throughout the south, the city of New Orleans is at the center of a crisis in this country. Thousands of AMERICAN citizens have lost everything. Many had very little to begin with and now with no homes or jobs are in a state of desperation many of us can’t even comprehend.
It is my opinion that the US government on all levels has failed its citizens. How can the local authorities recommend evacuation of the area via radio and tv but at the same time make no effort to transport the poor, the needy, the sick and even those most dependent on that authority -- the prisoners in the local jail out of harm’s way? There were no evacuation plans that addressed the poor and black of New Orleans. Its as if the current administration views these lives as useless – and are leaving them behind. Why was there not more done to get the citizens of New Orleans OUT when the government knew that the storm was coming?
These citizens of New Orleans, like millions of others, have been left behind by society in so many ways – living in horrible housing projects, in a system designed to keep them oppressed and now figuratively and literally left behind by local and federal officials who failed to design an evacuation system for people too poor to leave under their own power.
As the greatest nation in the world, why couldn't we have gotten food, water, personnel and equipment there sooner?
There are many issues that I don’t understand and I’m searching for answers.
If such a storm was predicted, why were national guard troops and the American red cross not mobilized sooner? And why is it taking so long to get citizens who have lost everything out of what truly looks like a war zone in a third world country. But its not a third world country. Its America, the greatest nation in the world. I don’t understand why FEMA or the National Guard didn’t get down there sooner. Why did it take George Bush 5 days to get to the gulf coast? If we can get troops into Iraq within 24 hours, why can’t we get them into New Orleans? Why were supplies not dropped using air support sooner? Why, on Saturday are citizens still trapped in their homes and a CNN helicopter was dropping water to them? CNN??????????
I know that help is finally getting through, six days later, and I’m thankful for that and I know that we can not blame a natural disaster on the president or the government. But we can not turn a blind eye to the Bush administration’s politicized and delayed response that made this disaster worse than it had to be. President Bush remained on vacation as the hurricane ravaged the gulf coast and flew over the affected areas on his way back to the white house – all wasted time. Furthermore, I am not confident that the administration will address the can of socio-economical worms that have been opened by Katrina.
The death toll from Katrina across the gulf coast rises every day, with the vast majority of the dead not even found or accounted for in New Orleans. I believe more will die from Katrina than 9/11. And this is not to downplay the horror and tragedy of 9/11. But the difference with Katrina is that most of the dead will be poor African Americans. Do you think George Bush will declare a war on poverty as he did on terror? There is no convenient foreign enemy this time – and in actuality the enemy is something that has been built and cultivated in this country for decades. More than likely, he will not declare any sort of war on poverty. Given his track record with the war on terror, I’m not sure it would even matter if he did. It appears more of a priority to instill democracy in a foreign country. I’m uncomfortable with the idea that its more important to solve the perceived problems in another nation than it is to solve our own nation’s problems.
I am angry as I hear people say they don’t understand why folks didn’t leave as they watch a sea of desperate black faces calling out for help. The evacuation largely excluded the poorest of New Orleans. As if they WANTED to stay down there when this was going on or wanted to be stranded in attics and on rooftops. Its very easy for people in their nice, clean clothes as they sit around their offices and jobs with full stomachs and a home to go to with a stocked refrigerator to ask such a thing. But imagine if every day was a struggle, and you didn’t know how you were going to pay the rent AND feed your children, never mind actually having a car. So with that, how do you leave? You literally do not have the money to rent a car, buy a bus, plane or train ticket (they all were sold out anyway). Your family and everything you know is in New Orleans, you have no where to go. YES they are that poor – Now what exactly would you do? They go to a shelter – the Superdome, which has turned into hell on earth. I am SICK of hearing affluent and comfortable people question this – YES, some people made a conscious decision to stay, but thousands did NOT.
I want to know why it is taking so long to help OUR people – they are Americans, just like I am – they are my people. I wonder if this happened in Texas or Florida would it have take as long. Hopefully we will never see this kind of destruction again. But I just can’t help but wonder if it was 50,000 white faces calling out for help how long it would have taken.
While racism is a taboo in this country and in many ways the skeleton in all of our closets, this tragedy and lack of response is something of an economic cleansing where ethnic cleansing would not be acceptable. I'm not surprised that chaos and self armament and looting has started in the face of such desperate conditions that our people have been abandoned in. Everyone deserves care and dignity.
I get agitated and upset when I watch the major media outlets cover this tragedy. I have noticed underlying racial divides in the coverage. Why is it that black citizens taking food and supplies are looting but white citizens doing the same are “finding, surviving or fending for their families.” ? There are stories of thugs and lawlessness and anarchy – and it is implied that these rogue elements are black, when in actuality there are only a FEW people doing wrong – more than likely the same few that were lawless BEFORE the hurricane struck.
The conditions facing OUR people in New Orleans are worse than any words I could ever form to describe them. But above all of that, the citizens are scared, yet they are helping each other. They are hungry, tired, thirsty and scared, sick, hot and desperate to get out of what was once a vibrant city. They are trying to help each other as they wait for their country and their government to bring in much needed help.
Explain to me how it is that the federal government involved itself in the Terry Schiavo case, yet couldn’t do more here. Terry Schiavo was a brain dead white woman whose family was fighting with her husband to keep her alive. They asked the government for help and the government attempted to pass legislation to save her – brain dead and all. No one had to beg and plead on national tv from what is basically a swamp for the government to intervene and help her. Yet the mayor of New Orleans had to give an expletive laced diatribe on the radio before real help started to roll in.
Why does the media portray our poor black citizens in such a negative light – especially when THOUSANDS waited patiently at the superdome, convention center and elsewhere in the city – all they wanted was fresh water, food, medical attention and shelter.
We keep hearing horrible stories coming out of New Orleans – well, here is a story of the good. This story is that of someone I know in Washington DC. His roots and family are in New Orleans. His brother is a strong black man and is also one of my heroes.
“ I just hung up with my brother and his wife. They are in good spirits, as good as can be expected I guess, but just happy to be somewhere dry and be able to get clean and have a meal. Friends of my sister in law have taken them in for the time being. The baby is full of energy and excited beyond belief, I can hear her laughing in the background and basically being a kid, which is a pleasant relief. The three of them along with my sister in laws brother are all together, she has not been able to reach her dad, who is in Atlanta to let them know they are ok. I keep calling, but the only number we have is his cell and since it’s on a 504 exchange, there is no way to get through. He had been visiting family there before the storm and was unable to get back, so she's sure he is worried about their safety. His home, the house my sister in law grew up in, is completely covered in water as well. He lives about 3 minutes from my mother, but closer to Bayou St. John which was overcome with water when the levee broke. They have had no contact as of yet with her older brother, who lived in the lower 9th ward, but we are all praying for the best.
My brother is EXHAUSTED. I cried when I told him how proud I was of him, that he was able to get everyone to safety and keep everyone calm under the worst possible circumstances. He has always been a very resourceful man and his strength has been their anchor through all of this. When he realized everyone would not be able to get out of the city before the storm, he did the next best thing and got as much of my family as he could to the hotel he manages so that they would all be together. He made sure they had food, water, blankets and the like, and then set out to do the same for his employees families, and the guests still stranded at the hotel. Before the worse came he had the foresight to raid the kitchens and storage to get as much food as he could up to the rooms, and even made a stash of sorts in one of the rooms. A lot of it was lost when all the windows blew out of the hotel, and some went bad when they lost power. Once he realized that there was no way to stay in the hotel any longer, he got everyone out. With no power, no communication at all he single handedly got what we know is left of my family to safety, I will forever be in awe of him for that. My little brother is more of a man than anyone I can think of right now.........
My mother and one of my aunts are also in Baton Rouge. We haven’t been able to get through to them since last night, but we know they are safe. Last I checked they were on the way to a drug store to get some of her prescriptions filled but they are ok. She had a couple panic attacks, and is in general not in the greatest of health, but she was pretty up beat when I spoke with her late last night. She was happy to have finally had a bath and something to eat that didn’t come from a can. Tired doesn’t even began to describe the sound in her voice, but I am just glad she is ok.
But reality is setting in now for my brother and his wife. They have been trying to reach the flood insurance company (thank god they had insurance) and have thus far been unable to get through. They have only the clothes on their back and what supplies they were able to get into the trunks of the cars. My sister in law had the foresight to get all of their identification and important papers out so they are now trying to piece things together. My brother is trying to reach his hotels corporate office to see if they can put him and his family up somewhere until they figure out what to do, but so far nothing. There is talk of going to Houston to more family and hopefully work, but right now nothing is certain. He says today he may go out to the local McDonalds or Popeye’s to try to find something, anything, to generate some sort of income.
My sister in law works for one of the larger banks in the state and is also seeking employment and any relief she can get from them. "And I hope these credit card people don’t think they getting paid any time soon, this is all we have to survive on for the time being so I'll be taking $1,000 cash advances until they cut my cards off."
We talked about my aunt from Tampa coming with friends to get them all to Florida and she was excited, but at the same time unsure. "How do you decide what to do with the rest of your life overnight? We have nothing but the clothes on our backs, what do we do now?"
Still nothing from my two uncles, we are still hopeful that they somehow made it to safety, but there is no way of knowing anything for sure”
The human spirit is amazing. And this is just one of thousands of stories of perseverance and bravery by our people along the gulf coast. We don’t hear much about them, only the SMALL group that are behaving badly, which is typical of the media’s portrayal of African Americans.
The United States has a rich, though in relation to other nations, short history. And throughout our nation’s history, the country and its citizens have reached out during disasters across the globe to lend a helping hand. Before I go on I would like to point out that Sri Lanka, a fledgling country that less than a year ago was demolished by the tsunami has pledged its support and money to aid the hurricane victims, which is beyond commendable. Why is it that this struggling nation can offer aid without reservation but other countries and international organizations can not. The UN and NATO have not offered anything. At the United Nations, the official spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the U.S. was the country best prepared in the world to deal with such a natural disaster, but offered no assistance.
So tell me, now, on September 5th, 2007...How much has really changed?
