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Mayor Nagin: Response still isn't enough
Viewed from the windows of a low-flying Blackhawk helicopter, the scope of Hurricane Katrina's destruction becomes clearer. The Causeway is like a broken spine, large sections of roadway listing disconcertingly into the brown water of Lake Pontchartrain. The modest homes in the Lower 9th Ward have been uprooted and are crushed together in clots like bumper cars. Pyramid-shaped rooftops are all that can be seen of many suburban-style houses in the Lakeview neighborhood. And the expanses of small trees that line the coastal wetlands of eastern New Orleans have been bent to the ground and combed precisely in one direction that marks the path of last week's ferocious wind. Nothing is right.
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin knew that's what he would find when he conducted a helicopter survey Saturday of the city, a grim tour that graphically exposed members the national and local press to the destruction he's come to know well. The copter turned slow circles over the sky like a buzzard over the still-breached 17th St. Canal levee and twice paused in flight over New Orleanians who were still stranded. Nagin dropped water and a ready-to-eat meal to one of them.
Preparing for the flight, Nagin was in a more sedate mood than he was during an expletive-ridden television interview Thursday, when he railed against the plodding federal and state relief efforts, accused President Bush and Gov. Kathleen Blanco of posturing for political advantage at a time of acute need, and burst into tears -- not that the situation in the drowning, crippled city had much improved.
"When I woke up this morning," Nagin said, "I turned my radio off. I just couldn't digest any more bad news."
Bush was forgiving of Nagin's tirade when they met Friday, Nagin said. "He said, 'Look, I know you said lots of things. We could have done better. I can't argue. Let's deal with the future.' ... Mr. Bush was really, really concerned."
Blanco, too, understood his anger, Nagin said. "I told the president and her, 'I kind of lost it. But put yourselves in my shoes. If I said anything offensive, I apologize.' ... But then I immediately went on to tell them what I need."
Nagin may have mended his fences politically, but he said he still believes the situation is being poorly handled. "We're still fighting over authority," he said. "A bunch of people are the boss. The state and the federal government are doing a two-step dance. "I told the president, 'I'm into solutions. If the state government can't take responsibility, then you take it.' ... I think it's getting better, but the pace is still not sufficient.'"
Some observers have said that because the majority of storm evacuees are black, the lethargic disaster response has a racist component. But Nagin cast the color issue in another light. "I think it's more a class issue than race," he said. "The Superdome had mostly poor people in distress. The rich have resources the poor don't. The Convention Center was different. There the poor were mixed with people from hotels and predators. You had blacks, Hispanics, Asians. The predators in there didn't care. When those stories come out, like children raped, with their throats cut, then somebody's got to answer."
Nagin's ire began to rise anew as he recalled a foiled strategy to send able-bodied refugees over the Crescent City Connection to the high ground of the West Bank.
"We were taking in people from St. Bernard Parish," he said. "If we had a bottle of water, we shared it. Then when we were going to let people cross the bridge, they were met with frigging dogs and guns at the Gretna parish line. They said, 'We're going to protect Jefferson Parish assets.'
"Some people value homes, cars and jewelry more than human life. The only escape route was cut off. They turned them back at the parish line."
Nagin said that in order to cope with the always frustrating, sometimes overwhelming situation he has tried to "stay in the moment," dealing as best he can with each individual issue as it arises: a police officer's report that a large number of elderly people were stranded near Lee Circle; the sight of refugees continuing to gather on the city's raised highways. Nagin recalled with special dismay having recently been told that a New Orleans police officer committed suicide during the storm's aftermath.
"I asked my people to get in touch with the LSU department of psychiatry," he said. "The police are holding the situation together with Band-Aids. We have to let them get three to five days off."
As the Blackhawk coursed over the city, Nagin and the other passengers pointed out familiar landmarks made unfamiliar by the storm. The city was largely ruined. It would be as difficult to restart as the thousands of automobiles submerged in the murky water below. But Nagin insisted it must be restarted, no matter what.
"I think I'm here for a reason: to rebuild," he said. "New Orleans is the soul of the country. It's the place jazz comes from. It has Mardi Gras Indians that nobody else has. It's a place where a chef can take a piece of fish and make it into a masterpiece. We don't even think about not rebuilding Miami. We don't think about rebuilding Los Angeles, and they're on a fault line. We just do it. We don't talk about it. I don't want to talk about that foolishness."
Preparing for the flight, Nagin was in a more sedate mood than he was during an expletive-ridden television interview Thursday, when he railed against the plodding federal and state relief efforts, accused President Bush and Gov. Kathleen Blanco of posturing for political advantage at a time of acute need, and burst into tears -- not that the situation in the drowning, crippled city had much improved.
"When I woke up this morning," Nagin said, "I turned my radio off. I just couldn't digest any more bad news."
Bush was forgiving of Nagin's tirade when they met Friday, Nagin said. "He said, 'Look, I know you said lots of things. We could have done better. I can't argue. Let's deal with the future.' ... Mr. Bush was really, really concerned."
Blanco, too, understood his anger, Nagin said. "I told the president and her, 'I kind of lost it. But put yourselves in my shoes. If I said anything offensive, I apologize.' ... But then I immediately went on to tell them what I need."
Nagin may have mended his fences politically, but he said he still believes the situation is being poorly handled. "We're still fighting over authority," he said. "A bunch of people are the boss. The state and the federal government are doing a two-step dance. "I told the president, 'I'm into solutions. If the state government can't take responsibility, then you take it.' ... I think it's getting better, but the pace is still not sufficient.'"
Some observers have said that because the majority of storm evacuees are black, the lethargic disaster response has a racist component. But Nagin cast the color issue in another light. "I think it's more a class issue than race," he said. "The Superdome had mostly poor people in distress. The rich have resources the poor don't. The Convention Center was different. There the poor were mixed with people from hotels and predators. You had blacks, Hispanics, Asians. The predators in there didn't care. When those stories come out, like children raped, with their throats cut, then somebody's got to answer."
Nagin's ire began to rise anew as he recalled a foiled strategy to send able-bodied refugees over the Crescent City Connection to the high ground of the West Bank.
"We were taking in people from St. Bernard Parish," he said. "If we had a bottle of water, we shared it. Then when we were going to let people cross the bridge, they were met with frigging dogs and guns at the Gretna parish line. They said, 'We're going to protect Jefferson Parish assets.'
"Some people value homes, cars and jewelry more than human life. The only escape route was cut off. They turned them back at the parish line."
Nagin said that in order to cope with the always frustrating, sometimes overwhelming situation he has tried to "stay in the moment," dealing as best he can with each individual issue as it arises: a police officer's report that a large number of elderly people were stranded near Lee Circle; the sight of refugees continuing to gather on the city's raised highways. Nagin recalled with special dismay having recently been told that a New Orleans police officer committed suicide during the storm's aftermath.
"I asked my people to get in touch with the LSU department of psychiatry," he said. "The police are holding the situation together with Band-Aids. We have to let them get three to five days off."
As the Blackhawk coursed over the city, Nagin and the other passengers pointed out familiar landmarks made unfamiliar by the storm. The city was largely ruined. It would be as difficult to restart as the thousands of automobiles submerged in the murky water below. But Nagin insisted it must be restarted, no matter what.
"I think I'm here for a reason: to rebuild," he said. "New Orleans is the soul of the country. It's the place jazz comes from. It has Mardi Gras Indians that nobody else has. It's a place where a chef can take a piece of fish and make it into a masterpiece. We don't even think about not rebuilding Miami. We don't think about rebuilding Los Angeles, and they're on a fault line. We just do it. We don't talk about it. I don't want to talk about that foolishness."
For more information:
http://www.nola.com/newslogs/tporleans/ind...
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IMC Network
First of all, many thanks to the kind and courageous folks currently
staffing Outpost Crystal. Their compassion and honesty are
unparalleled.
I am writing this to describe a horrific situation in NOLA that few are
aware of, and those who are aware are doing little or nothing. As many
of you have likely observed, the national media outlets are suggesting
that hurricane relief is finally leading to vast improvements with each
hour that passes. Food and water are being delivered, power restored,
levees repaired, water drainage plans developed, and those still living
successfully evacuated. Many are reporting that the final areas are
being checked for survivors, as well as those who have passed at the
hands of Katrina (and more often, neglect). Unfortunately, this is not
the case. As demonstrated on nola.com's blog section, many individuals
know the exact locations and WORKING telephone numbers of family
members, most of whom are elderly, sickly, starving, and in serious
need of medical attention. When able to get through on emergency
telephone numbers, a feat not to be taken lightly, they are dismissed
or told that dispatch would be sent immediately, yet no one has come,
even though calls have been placed for days. Many do not require full
evacuation, but basic medical attention and/or supplies. Many are
completely immobile, and unable to access the limited relief sites or
food drops. I spoke to one such individual, Ms. Lee Livermore, who was
still trapped in her home earlier this evening (around 6:00pm EST).
Her nephew, living in Michigan, explained to me that she is diabetic,
has difficulty moving, and he has been in contact with the coast guard,
emergency services, and even the governor's office, yet nothing is
being done. Stranded on a 3rd floor apartment, with little food, no
sweets, and low blood sugar, her outlook is not promising. This is
just one case out of hundreds, probably thousands. Incredibly, much of
this information is available through nola.com, a resource many of the
media are utilizing, yet remains unreported. The television broadcasts
refer to none of this, simply stressing the importance of financial
contributions, encouraging National Guard membership for potential
volunteers, and emphasizing the positive direction the situation is
headed.
For more information on these people who are stranded and requiring
immediate assistance, please visit:
http://www.nola.com/weblogs/nola/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_nolaview/archives/2005_09.html
Note: specific contact information and locations ARE provided
Some of these people, primarily those in high profile areas, such as
universities and hospitals, have since been rescued. Others, however,
are being ignored, even though their situation and status is easily
discernable and their telephone contacts are reliable and consistent.
Addresses are always provided, as is contact information for family and
friends. After speaking with stranded individuals and their family
members, the severity of the situation is obvious, yet rescue workers
are overwhelmed or dismissive, often a combination of the two, with
each call placed. We are being bombarded with images of the care and
rescue of healthy, able-bodied people, yet so many of those who need
our attention most are completely helpless.
After having little success using the emergency numbers provided by a
variety of organizations and websites, I called CNN to explain the
distress that these individuals are in. I was told that they have a
department compiling information of those who need assistance, and that
the office would be open on TUESDAY, after the Labor Day holiday, so
the best course of action is to leave a voicemail. Understandably
outraged, I called MSNBC, where the woman I spoke with was also
shocked. She told me they have a voicemail box that was checked every
15 minutes, and my information could be left there. It was, not
surprisingly, full, and I was disconnected, as has occurred on every
subsequent call.
I encourage anyone in a position to help to do everything they can to
assure that those whose locations are known, especially those requiring
medical attention, be assisted IMMEDIATELY, with other search and
rescue operations taking a lesser priority. Just because these people
are less visible and indoors, some perhaps in dry areas, should not
exempt them from the care and attention being relegated to others.
I also ask that those who are able complain about the policies of the
major media networks, both in collecting information on those in need,
as well as the reporting of improvements, when many are STILL ALIVE,
but will starve and die of their conditions in the very near future.
I understand that the extremely limited resources need to be conserved
and delivered where most needed. As it is easy to ascertain the
condition and whereabouts of many of these people, through a mere phone
call, something that rescue agencies and certainly the media have
access to, it seems beyond remiss that their perilous situations be
ignored.
If anyone has additional questions, information, or advice, please do
not hesitate to contact me.
Brittany Turner
631-258-4604
brittaful [at] aol.com
Saugerties, NY
Emergency numbers are available to any who need them by visiting
http://www.wwltv.com/
Best of luck to all of you still in the area, doing your best to report
accurate and timely information.