Katrina
As I go through the day. I feel an almost psychic pain as I attempt to deal with the tragedy in New Orleans. As my daughter puts on her black sweater I see the pink flowered appliqué on her sweater and I think about people drowning and fighting for their lives. As I place my hand on a piece of metal a jolt runs through me and I think about the gates of New Orleans, I hear a trumpet playing when the Saints go Marching in through my head. As I am sitting in Applebee’s earlier in the week, I see Atlanta Football paraphernalia all over the wall and I think of the football team the saints and I wonder why did this have to happen. As I return home and hear on the news about the football teams, and other sporting events, I feel such shame that these games are going on in the midst of such pain. I turn the TV off. I can not escape the Katrina tragedy, it is with me everywhere I go. There is a huge psychic pain that our country must pay for the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina.
From what journalists and political pundits are saying the huge human toll of loss of life in New Orleans could have been avoided if only individuals, municipalities, agencies, cities, states, and the nation had only considered the poor and underclass in their pleas to evacuate the city. Unfortunately what many don’t seem to realize is that one can not plan for a category 5 storm in a day or even a week. An Emergency preparedness plan must be in place months and years in advance. An emergency plan would include a checklist that takes into consideration the income of the residents, their ability to mobilize and what was necessary to have it done. Unfortunately a checklist of this kind did not effectively exist and should exist for every city taking into consideration the various calamities that can affect places where people live. I suppose as the news first broke considering Katrina and New Orleans and the effects of the Hurricane I thought that it was an awful freak of nature that man could not have done anything about. According to one Army Corp of Engineering official the statistical probability of a Hurricane of Katrinas size hitting New Orleans was .05. However as he said, it happened. It happened but as I continued to watch coverage of the event I learned that some residents who did not have cars had a fifteen mile walk to safety The Dome. [As I contemplate the fifteen mile walk to the dome, I can only contemplate the hurling in of Katrina and the drowned as they made the long walk to the Dome which turned into the walk to death into the opening arms of Death. Ironically in a catholic city where baptism in water indicates rebirth. ] The obvious question being regarding the walks of these residents is, Did somebody have the foresight to suspend public transportation, but not the foresight to know that residents needed help. I think that was the case.
Finally we must ask ourselves in a world where states and cities battle with the federal government for control over say so in the lives of individuals. Was this incident a federal failing. Should the federal government have been able to initialize quicker. Unfortunately the federal government could have provided the checklist but ultimately the blame rest s on state and local officials. Personally there could have been more drop offs of water but in a situation where bridges are knocked down, whole areas are flooded it takes time and I do not believe three days is such a long time to wait. As for comparing the New Orleans victims with the Tsunami victims, I believe the tsunami people probably had to wait just as long for comprehensive help or longer for a plane to fly around the world so I do not believe the U.S. has been deaf to the pleas of the Katrina victims. Personally I wish the new people would cover more people grieving, more people praying and thanking God that they are alive and less people complaining, looting , and rioting because I know personally that the media controls spin, and the spin being portrayed at this moment is that New Orleans though suffering is full of people who are not thankful to God for their lives, who are not thankful for the many people who are donating their time, their efforts, and their money to see that these refugees of a raging hurricane are treated right, can regain lives, homes, and deal with their grief. Personally I do not belie that the majority of victims are disgruntled angry individuals angry at the government. I believe the majority of hurricane refugees are overwhelmed grieving, incredulous and wondering what will happen. They are afraid and welcoming the comfort that the world wants to give them as this nation deals with the worst natural disaster this country has seen in over a century and a half or maybe ever. God Help Us. God Help Us. God Help Us. Lord Have Mercy. Please help us to heal. Please help me to heal. I can not handle the events of the past week. The Drowned and the Dead will haunt me forever.
From what journalists and political pundits are saying the huge human toll of loss of life in New Orleans could have been avoided if only individuals, municipalities, agencies, cities, states, and the nation had only considered the poor and underclass in their pleas to evacuate the city. Unfortunately what many don’t seem to realize is that one can not plan for a category 5 storm in a day or even a week. An Emergency preparedness plan must be in place months and years in advance. An emergency plan would include a checklist that takes into consideration the income of the residents, their ability to mobilize and what was necessary to have it done. Unfortunately a checklist of this kind did not effectively exist and should exist for every city taking into consideration the various calamities that can affect places where people live. I suppose as the news first broke considering Katrina and New Orleans and the effects of the Hurricane I thought that it was an awful freak of nature that man could not have done anything about. According to one Army Corp of Engineering official the statistical probability of a Hurricane of Katrinas size hitting New Orleans was .05. However as he said, it happened. It happened but as I continued to watch coverage of the event I learned that some residents who did not have cars had a fifteen mile walk to safety The Dome. [As I contemplate the fifteen mile walk to the dome, I can only contemplate the hurling in of Katrina and the drowned as they made the long walk to the Dome which turned into the walk to death into the opening arms of Death. Ironically in a catholic city where baptism in water indicates rebirth. ] The obvious question being regarding the walks of these residents is, Did somebody have the foresight to suspend public transportation, but not the foresight to know that residents needed help. I think that was the case.
Finally we must ask ourselves in a world where states and cities battle with the federal government for control over say so in the lives of individuals. Was this incident a federal failing. Should the federal government have been able to initialize quicker. Unfortunately the federal government could have provided the checklist but ultimately the blame rest s on state and local officials. Personally there could have been more drop offs of water but in a situation where bridges are knocked down, whole areas are flooded it takes time and I do not believe three days is such a long time to wait. As for comparing the New Orleans victims with the Tsunami victims, I believe the tsunami people probably had to wait just as long for comprehensive help or longer for a plane to fly around the world so I do not believe the U.S. has been deaf to the pleas of the Katrina victims. Personally I wish the new people would cover more people grieving, more people praying and thanking God that they are alive and less people complaining, looting , and rioting because I know personally that the media controls spin, and the spin being portrayed at this moment is that New Orleans though suffering is full of people who are not thankful to God for their lives, who are not thankful for the many people who are donating their time, their efforts, and their money to see that these refugees of a raging hurricane are treated right, can regain lives, homes, and deal with their grief. Personally I do not belie that the majority of victims are disgruntled angry individuals angry at the government. I believe the majority of hurricane refugees are overwhelmed grieving, incredulous and wondering what will happen. They are afraid and welcoming the comfort that the world wants to give them as this nation deals with the worst natural disaster this country has seen in over a century and a half or maybe ever. God Help Us. God Help Us. God Help Us. Lord Have Mercy. Please help us to heal. Please help me to heal. I can not handle the events of the past week. The Drowned and the Dead will haunt me forever.
posted by blackhippychick @ 11:12 AM
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