Reply #1: A certain knowledge was left in the wake of Katrina. [View All]

[frustrated_lefty]

Dissecting the emothional tangles which surround that event is often an impossible challenge.

The sense of abandonment and betrayal was palpable in the Levi Strauss shelter in San Antonio, probably the same in most or even all shelters throughout the country. More often than not, the survivors took care of each other...watching over one anothers children, lending an ear when some pain or loss just had to be voiced, getting the attention of volunteers or healthcare workers when some souls needs weren't being addressed.

We were sometimes stunned by the compassion shown by the volunteers for our plight. I personally helped wipe away the tears of more than a few in that place. Ironically, that occurred mostly with the volunteers rather than the survivors....a volunteer nurse just shattered by what was happening, a mother of three who just had to help, a great hulk of a man helping install the showers in the shelter, all overwhelmed shedding honest tears. I think it was the shock of it for them, being dumped with no preparation (and, really how do you prepare for something like that?) into a situation within which we had been gradually immersed. Most of the survivors realized that our fellow citizens were with us in some way, they felt our pain, their hearts were with us, and they desperately wanted to help.

"Our" government, such as it is, left us to live or die on our own. There is no doubt in that. Rescue helicopters flew over select portions of the city for a matter of days and then simply stopped. Those who remained were left to make our way through the toxic waters and vandals as best we could to evacuation sites.

On reaching the safety of a shelter, we were privileged to see the president speak on national t.v., stating that the first priority would be to place evacuees in temporary housing so that we would be in our own homes. The very next morning, FEMA began pushing evacuees to leave shelters, leave the centralized safe-haven with its medical assistance, food, shelter, onsite social services, mental health, etc. This was not for the benefit of the survivors. It was politics, a measuring stick for the administration to say "look, we're doing something." How many evacuees now go without food, shelter, medical attention? Of course, we're now spread out, dispersed, our tiny voices diluted.

We were betrayed, we have certain knowledge of that. It's not something likely to soon fade from memory.

fl