[StBernard] Trip to hurricane zone opens eyes

[Westley Annis]

OPINION & EDITORIAL
Trip to hurricane zone opens eyes 
http://badgerherald.com/oped/2006/03/22/trip_to_hurricane_zo.php

“I want to make a difference.” Taking these words to heart, the UW-Madison
College Democrats united with thousands of students from across America to
rebuild the communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina during spring break.
The week-long adventure was filled with fun, frustration, and many moments
of solemn silence. Simply stated, the rotting remnants of the once vibrant
metropolis are far worse than anyone imagines.

We worked out of Chalmette, the seat of St. Bernard Parish, which is a
low-income community east of New Orleans. Residents of Chalmette feel that
their plight has gone mostly ignored, as media coverage focuses on the less
extensive damage to the city itself. Of the 27,000 structures in the Parish
(which is similar to a county in Wisconsin), only one was not destroyed by
the 14-foot high floodwater.

Complicating an already perilous situation, the once humble, well-kept homes
are filled with toxic oil sludge due to a spill caused by Murphy Oil
Corporation, which refused to follow federal guidelines for hurricane
preparedness. The company is offering to buy victims’ homes for an insulting
$10,000, along with $25,000 if the owners promise not to sue. This, of
course, ignores the fact that owners still owe mortgages on their homes —
homes which may be unlivable for 15 years. Housing accommodations for
victims are just as terrible; hotels which had been previously keeping
residents have now evicted them, and FEMA trailers are in short supply.

However, we simply knew none of this when embarking on our well-intentioned
journey. Indeed, we looked forward to rebuilding houses with Habitat for
Humanity in combination with Opportunity Rocks, a program lead by John
Edwards. Yet our delusions of heart warming reconstruction quickly faded
when sitting through the safety briefing, in which we learned we would be
utilizing Tyvek suits and respirators while removing “debris” from homes —
in other words, removing the filthy reminders of the once content life
enjoyed by people we would never meet.

Possessions were littered about the homes we entered. Walls were covered
with deadly black mold. With ceilings lying about the floors, decayed food
in overturned fridges, and foul odors permeating homes untouched for half a
year, it was emotionally draining to remove the little that these people had
and place it on the corner to deteriorate. Nothing could have prepared us
for the emotions caused by toys covered with contamination and “Batman”
posters decomposing on the walls. A particularly poignant moment occurred
when one group recovered a U.S. flag, miraculously undamaged, that was a
prized possession of a son whose father fought in the Second World War. With
tattered American flags proudly waving over a once quintessential American
town, we had to remind ourselves that this isn’t a war zone — this is
America.

With FEMA’s lack of organization, volunteers are unable to channel their
strong convictions to just “do something.” The saving grace, for us, was the
friendly leadership of fellow young people found in the AmeriCorps. Resolved
to make a significant sacrifice, these college students have taken a year
out of their lives to help in what ever way they can. They taught us how to
remove the waste, how to rely on one another for support, and how to tear
down a house to its studs; in a way, this process was symbolic, as we
created shells of homes, just as the lives of the victims are a shell of
what they used to be. Unfortunately, President Bush’s proposed budget has
quietly cut funding for most of the AmeriCorps program.

While sympathy is obviously widespread, it is impossible to comprehend the
situation until trying to reconstruct an entire life from photos strewn
across a floor. As cliché as it sounds, this was a life-changing experience.
While the magnitude of the Katrina crisis may seem unfathomable, each person
has the ability to make a difference. Whether it is writing a letter to
congressional representatives to demand funding for the AmeriCorps Program,
sending a donation, or contributing to the effort in person, we must be the
catalyst to repair the lives of our southern brethren. The victims starve
for leadership. We must come to realize that we are the leaders they are
looking for.



Andrew Gordon is a sophomore majoring in political science. He is one of the
many members of College Democrats who spent spring break in areas devastated
by Hurricane Katrina. The College Democrats would like to thank local
businesses, students, and the Dane County Democratic Party for donating
funds to make the trip possible.