Hell in New Orleans - 6 Days Post-Katrina
This is the sad truth of the human suffering in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Many outside the city lost much, some even died, but none were kept in hell like the people left in New Orleans at the Superdome and Convention Center:
It looks like the aftermath of a disaster in a 3rd world country, but this is a major United States city.
Poverty, racism, and an extremely poor government response caused the unfathomable to happen in the United States. By 48 hours after the storm, rescue efforts should have been in high gear. The National Guard was ready. Buses were ready. But Governor Blanco was overruled by FEMA and the National Guard wasn’t allowed to go in, bring food and water, and rescue people. The State of Louisiana wasn’t allowed to go into one of its own cities and rescue its people. The people who were trapped weren’t allowed to walk out of New Orleans over the Mississippi River Bridge to Gretna where there were [Incorrect: National Guard troops ready with water, food, shelter, basic medical care,] and clear roads buses could have used to evacuate those people. The west bank was damaged, but it was dry. People could have been led over there to safety [and aid] as they arrived at the Superdome.
Why were they kept in squaller for days when there was a way out? No one knows, especially not the guy who was supposed to be giving the orders, President George W. Bush or his incompetent FEMA lieutenant Brownie. President Bush’s flyover of the disaster area even prevented rescue efforts from starting earlier than they did. He was flying over New Orleans in Air Force One on Wednesday and blocked all air space for several daylight hours. He didn’t know what to do and didn’t know how to get out of the way so those who did could start doing what needed to be done.
If the richest country in the world can treat its own people this badly, how are we supposed to help other countries do a better job of taking care of their people? What kind of example are we to the rest of the world? A pretty bad one. And we’re supposed to be in Iraq to help those people work together and run their own country in freedom, peace and prosperity with our help? We don’t know how to do that in America. But we’ve sent in troops and destroyed a country’s government. Now we can’t leave until we fix what we started. The world is a better place without Saddam Hussein, but the cost of getting rid of him is extremely high and growing each day. How much longer will it be before Iraq is able to govern itself? No one can answer that question either.
President Bush thought the worst that could happen in America happened on September 11, 2001 and that terrorists are the worst threat the U.S. faces. He forgot all about Mother Nature and the far greater power She wields. He set FEMA up to manage emergencies from a terrorist perspective. How wrong can one president go in two terms in office? There were a significant number of strong hurricanes throughout the years 2000-2005. There are still people living in FEMA trailers in Florida from Hurricane Charlie from back in 2004.
The 2nd Bush Administration and FEMA will go down in shame in history, and rightfully so.
There is a Presidential election coming at the end of this year (2008). Senator Hillary Clinton came to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast very soon after Katrina, before Hurricane Rita and spoke to the unnecessary suffering and massive devastation. Senator John McCain was here in April 2008 saying “never again”. Where was he right after the storm? Senator Barak Obama hasn’t been down here at all to my knowledge. I still don’t know who I’m voting for, but I know that Senator Clinton cared enough to come and offer help right away.
I know that in spite of the government debacle, there were individual people and small organizations who went in and helped anyway, who brought what food, water and supplies they could and gave them to the people they could reach during this week of hell in New Orleans. There were survivors in New Orleans who helped a great deal even though they were suffering themselves. The local National Guard troops also did whatever they could to ease the suffering with no support from their chain of command for several days. These people are the real heroes.
The volunteers who came and who keep coming with money and supplies to rebuild the Gulf Coast are some more of the real heroes and the people to whom we owe a great deal of gratitude and appreciation. If you’re a volunteer reading this, thank you. We can’t rebuild and thrive again without you. To hell with the government. Our fellow Americans are who have come and will continue to come and help make us whole again.
See more pictures in the Hurricane Katrina Picture Book by Jeffery Morgan
Read Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City by Jed Horne.
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Posted on June 24th, 2008 by joubess
Filed under: Stories, Videos
You have your facts wrong that the national guard was stationed in gretna with food and water for people. The west abnk of Jefferson Parish was dealing with its own problems, like looters setting fire to shopping malls, and did not have resources to take care of people walking over the bridge. Yes the westbank was dry, but so was the area around the convention center.
The Governments of Gretna and Jefferson Parish have the responsibility to protect our property when we are told to evacuate for a storm. The best way for them to do that was to not let people cross the bridge with no where to go. If people had been allowed to cross the scenes at the convention center would have taken place in a parking lot on the other side of the river.
Matt, I stand corrected. There were no troops, food, water or aid on the Westbank. Thanks.
But I must disagree with you that preventing damage to physical objects and protecting property on the Westbank was more important than evacuating people from extreme peril. Human life takes precedence over property.
The buses waiting to enter New Orleans could have been diverted to Airline Highway over the Huey P. Long bridge to the Westbank Expressway. People could have walked to the west bank to the mall parking lot and been evacuated on Tuesday and Wednesday before things got so bad. The buses could have come stocked with food and water as well.
Governor Blanco should have told FEMA where they could shove it and taken action herself. She could have gotten buses (with drivers), food and water from Baton Rouge to the west bank to pick people up very quickly since it was dry. The expressway was clear and deserted so buses could have gotten to the mall and out again easily. Many local volunteer organizations already had trucks stocked and ready to go Monday night. There is no reason people had to suffer the way they did.
The west bank expressway just after the Mississippi River Bridge could have also been used as an evacuee center and stocked with food and water by the State or National Guard quickly. But it wasn’t. Port-o-lets could have been located on the west bank and placed at the end of the bridge for people to use for a day or two while they waited to get on buses.
If we’ve learned anything, when FEMA shows up to help, we’d better be ready to help ourselves and the local government had better be ready to help its citizens without federal aid.
Another thing I don’t get is why the news crews weren’t bringing water and food with them when they came to report. They also could have gotten aid to suffering people quickly. They got there, they could have brought a lot of supplies in and kept them coming.
joubes,
yes there were alot of things that could have been done on the westbank, but to my knowledge the jefferson parish government was by themselves overthere with very little resources.
The westbank expressway and the CCC was the only route into the dry parts of the city in the days after Katrina. The westbank should have been used for alot of things.
Its a classic example of Would a, could a, should a.
Matt,
You’re right, we all have 20:20 hindsight.
It’s too bad that we as humans seem to have to learn from mistakes. The worse the mistake the bigger the lesson, and this was one hell of a big lesson.