|
New Orleans Still Reeling From Katrina |
|
|
|
|
Contributed by Jim Elliott
|
|
Saturday, 23 February 2008 |
It happened August 25, 2005. Within two days, 80 per cent was flooded. Most of the levees were breached. Some areas had 15 feet of water, water that was a wash with garbage, waste, sewage.
Jump forward to a collection of trailers where people are being sandwiched into, people displaced and who in almost every case, lost everything. The residents are now being told that their temporary homes are filling with formaldehyde, a toxin and a carcinogen. Why shouldn't the displaced be provided with a safe home and the same comforts we see as basics?
Now we are being told that the government bureaucracy is raising its
monster head. To help provide the basic needs of the family like
clothing, a shelter was set up to receive donations. This ran two
weeks before the American Red Cross showed up. They then took over and
fairly quickly the donations are being stored away in the back and not
being released to the people who need them. Those that are being
released are at the whim of the staff as to whether they get anything.
Donations are still coming in but don't seem to be going out as quickly.
More recently, the American Red Cross put out a telephone number where
the displaced could get "immediate financial assistance". In this one
area, there are only two pay phones that work. Many residents spend an
average of the next three days waiting in endless lines for a chance to
call. When and if someone gets through, they typically pass the phone
on to the next one in line because ti takes between 2-3 hours to get
through and hours more on hold before someone can actually speak to a
representative. Somehow the pay phones generally cut off after two
people have had a chance to put in their claim. There are other phones
in the building but they are for staff use only. Simply said, if we
were given the same type of response to the client or the customer, we
would have been fired years ago. Why is it o.k. to punish the Katrina
displaced?
The art of doing the least amount possible as
inefficiently as possible for the fewest number of people possible
seems to be alive and well in the United States. A change in the
United States administration can't be any worse than it is today and
should a happy breath of fresh air. Hopefully, things might change but
there will need to be a lot of heavy directives given by the people at
the top to say that what is happening now is not acceptable.
Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. Powered by AkoComment 2.0! |
|
Last Updated ( Friday, 29 February 2008 )
|
