Saturday March 11, Day 1 in New Orleans

Saturday night Mach 11, 2006 – Day 1
We arrived in New Orleans tonight, as soon as we walked off the plane the overwhelming smell of mold hit us like a wall. After a few hours you get used to it, but it is a constant reminder of the devastation that plagues the region six months after Katrina.

While on the plane we fly over Lake Pontchatrain, none of us are quite sure if it was the Mississippi River, the Gulf of Mexico or the lake because it was enormous. It turned out to be Lake Pontchatrain, it is supposedly 32 miles across at its widest point. Tonight it looks so calm and peaceful, it is hard to believe that this body of water has caused so many problems. As I look out from the plane at the glistening water, my anger quickly returns. Of course, a storm cannot be prevented and a lake’s waters will naturally rise from a flood. But I cannot blame Mother Nature or this beautiful lake – I am struck once again with shame and disappointment in my government which allowed this disaster to reach this abysmal level.

I describe myself as a very patriotic person, I believe strongly in the ability of the American government to help people succeed and take care of its poor. Of course our system is not perfect and we have many flaws (health care, education, homelessness, affordable housing, poverty) – but at the end of the day, I believe that we are constantly working to make things better for those who are in need. After September 11th, the Bush administration went to great lengths to make us feel safe and secure and amazingly, we have not experienced another terrorist attack.

But here in New Orleans, the levees are being build to the same level they were before Katrina and with the same 1950s era design as before! Clearly this has not succeeded in protecting the New Orleans community, why is our government repeating its mistakes? Why did hundreds and hundreds of the poorest of our citizens die in flood waters simply because they had no way of going elsewhere and our government failed to help them? As we have seen from recent news stories, Bush was clearly aware of the possibility of the levee breach – and yet this nightmare took place on his watch. I have often supported President Bush in his foreign policy, security plans, even Iraq – but I have such little respect for his treatment of the poorest of the poor in the Gulf Coast.
--> Levees Being Repaired

Anyway, I could go on all day about my feelings about the matter – but my real effort is to describe my experience here in NO so I shall continue with that…After we cross the lake and begin our final descent, we fly over a very nice part of town with luxury homes and swimming pools in the backyard. This area was not flooded, but about ¼ of the homes have blue tarps on the roofs (like the one in this picture) to protect the residents from the elements after their roof was damaged or destroyed by wind, fallen trees, or debris. I am reminded once again of the widespread damage Katrina wreaked on so many people – and how long the communities remain debilitated.

On our drive to the hostel from the airport everything appears to be normal. We are greeted by an onslaught of campaign signs, reminding us of the controversial primary only a few weeks away. I recall seeing news stories of Ray Nagin and the other candidates campaigning in Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, and Baton Rouge – because that’s where so many New Orleans voters reside.

As we get closer to the city, we reach the area which was flooded. The neighborhood our hostel is in was under 4-5 feet of water, the ubiquitous flood line is a constant reminder on all of the buildings of what happened in September. I’m amazed by the massive piles of debris lining the streets. We drive through streets full of sinkholes and tree limbs. In horror I see my first house that has completely collapsed from the floods – my heart jumps into my throat and I realize I’m holding my breath. I am immediately brought back to my days in third world countries like Ukraine where buildings were falling apart all around us. But this is 2006, this is the USA – how is this possible? Around the corner from this first home, I see another home with red spray paint indicating the people who were in it, where a dog hides under the house, and if it safe for people to enter.





We arrive at the hostel, it has been years since I have stayed a hostel so it has been an adjustment for me. I’m reminded again how much I take my everyday luxuries for granted – air conditioning, multiple functioning bathrooms in my home, furniture, a car, etc – I remember to take time to appreciate the little things in my life that I have come to expect and realize how very blessed and fortunate I am to never wonder how I will eat.

Our hostel is located about 10 minutes from the French Quarter, the neighborhood looks like a ghost town because very few residents and businesses have returned but the hostel employees tell us that the area used to be very active and populated. The hostel was under about 8 feet of water during the storm, there is a flood line on the walls outside.




There are two big beautiful palm trees in front of the hostel, but the tops were ripped off during the storm and landed on the roof of the hostel – destroying it. The hostel was closed for 3 months after the hurricane to replace the roof, gut the lower floor, and rebuild. I’m so surprised by how happy they sound describing the repairs they have done to the hostel – they are so excited and positive simply because they were able to re-open their doors and resume business within 3 months!

We go to dinner and are surprised by the tremendous wait – simply because the restaurant can’t hire enough people because so many employees were displaced by the storm. The bathrooms don’t work throughout the city because of the massive plumbing problems caused by the storm.

On our way back from dinner our driver forgets about the “what to do at non-working lights” stop signs and we’re almost in an accident. I’m amazed that it is now 6 months after the storm and there are still so many traffic lights without electricity on major intersections. It would be like the light at Wisconsin/Massachusetts not working for 6 months!

We listen to the radio and hear the hip hop station talk about rebuilding hip hop in New Orleans and does a story about the Congressional relief bill. Another radio station says “Rock New Orleans, Take that Katrina!”