I were watching CNN last night and they had a woman on there who had lost her house in Biloxi. She had been sleeping on her brother-in-laws porch for the last couple of days. It looked bad, but workable. The reporter asked her what she would say to the director of FEMA, and her reply; "I need a house."
Now I have all the sympathy in the world for this woman. And I was angry and in a daze myself for the first day or two after Andrew. But after that you pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get to work.
In Biloxi you have standard hurricane damage. First order of business, secure your house and assess the damage. Second, clean the street of debris so that services can get in and out. Third, clean your driveway to provide access to your vehicles. Then, go and get food and supplies and try to stabalize the situation. This can mainly be done without federal assistance. The people that will come to help this woman are just people too. With arms, legs, brains, etc. Sure they will have supplies, but that will mainly be food, medical supplies and shovels and such.
In New Orleans I was seeing images that were similarly perplexing. You have a ton of people in front of the convention center waiting... For what? Apparently the bridge that goes over to the other side of the Mississippi is open and it connects right there are the convention center. It's drier there and there is access to the rest of the country from there. So why are people just sitting there. It's a half a mile walk across the bridge.
I know this sounds cold but it's frustrating to see people, who could be inventive and resourceful just sitting there waiting to be helped. If this is a tragedy of biblical proportions then listen to the bible when it tells you that God helps those who help themselves.
I'm going to contact the Red Cross today to see if there is someway I can volunteer locally to help out. We should all do what we can. Including the people on the ground who were effected by this.
Posted by jherr at September 1, 2005 07:36 AMI don't know Jack. The situation in New Orleans is awful. Your talking about whole families, including small children and elderly and sick, would you propose the healthy leave the sick and weak? Could you leave Me and Megan? these people haven't had clean drinking water in several days. so you want them walking 1/2 mile in 100 degree heat?
And for those that take your proposal and hoof it 1/2 mile to the bridge, then what. There is no one there waiting to take them out of the area. Then they are stuck with no protection from the sun.
I think it may be easy for us to second guess but we have no early idea what these people are going through. After Andrew we had a car, our apartment was untouched and out of the affected zone. We had family close enough that we could drive to that had power (hot showers and food). We had power at your office and a respite from the heat. Even the people you helped with temporary roofing were better off than the people I've seen on the news that have lost everything.
Posted by: Lori Herrington at September 1, 2005 08:54 AMOh and the woman we watched on CNN last night who said "i need a home" She is shell shocked. She's lost everything. Yes she's luckier than most she has a porch of a brother she can borrow for the time being. But still, she's lost her job, her house, most of her possessions. So while yes it sounds like she's asking for the moon, while other people just want water and food, it also sounded like she just feels overwhelmed at the prospects of her life. That's desperation for you.
Posted by: Lori Herrington at September 1, 2005 08:57 AMI agree with you to a certain degree. I certainly wouldn't leave you and Megan. We would all go. But exiting the city is now a matter of life and death. You are subscribed to CNN like I am so you just got the alert that there is a sniper shooting at a hospital. Anywhere outside of New Orleans has to be safer than in the city. So, yeah, no water, no food, it's tough to move. But at a certain point, you have to. Beside, you and I saw the live shots, the people were milling around. And you could wait until dawn or dusk to get going to cut down on the heat.
I also get the desperation of the lady. But she has had days to consider and absorb. In that situation a person needs to bounce back and start working with others in the community to make the situation better.
Posted by: jherr at September 1, 2005 11:21 AMI think your being harsh and judgmental. Its all easy for you to say, you aren't living it.
On the side of this page like the forth picture (of the small ones) shows people walking out so some people are doing as you suggest, you just don't know the whole story.
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-09-01T194616Z_01_ROB586049_RTRUKOC_0_UK-WEATHER-KATRINA.xml
Your talking about 10,000+ people in the superdome which by the way water goes all the way up to and surrounds is waist to chest high, so no elderly and children would have a difficult time walking out as you suggest. I just listen to a reported on the Forum who has been too the superdoom talk about the hike in in the water and the scene there. She also pointed out that just after the hurricane, before the waters came up to the doors of the superdoom these people where told to stay put. They aren't getting any new news except that they have been told repeatedly HELP IS ON THE WAY.
Posted by: Lori Herrington at September 1, 2005 12:37 PMI see the pictures and I get it. My only point in all this is that people need to actively participate in their own rescue and the recovery of the region.
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