On the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina
10 years ago today, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans metropolitan area.
On that day, it was raining quite heavily in Chicagoland - but certainly nothing compared to what every municipality near Lake Ponchetrain was experiencing at the time. Over the next few days, tweelore and I would watch the news, struggling to come to grips with it all. Seeing the damage was shocking. But as the days wore on, and it because increasingly clear that federal and state government response was, quite frankly, crap, and that people were dying because of it. Having grown up watching a whole country collapse, I knew all too well what happens when a government fails its people, but this was something else entirely.
Since then, of course, the disaster has taken on new significance. I got to know phoenix_anew and jaklocke. Much as I was worried about Randirogue and Don, every time a tornado came near Florida (and, when they moved to New York City, when any weather threatened NYC), I worried every time there was a hurricane anywhere near the city.
This spring, I got to see the Crescent City for myself. While it was clear that much NOLA has been rebuilt, it was hard to miss its effects. The Katrina section at the East Bank Library. Gaps in the archives of area newspapers. Raised foundations of the houses in Angie's neighborhood. The vacant buildings downtown.
It's one thing to see a zine about defaced refrigerators that rotted during the hurricane. It's quite another to have a friend tell you that, yes, they really did smelled horribly.
I admit, when I hung out with Angie and Jak, when I met their friends, I always wanted to ask what it was like. But I thought "yeah, sure - ask them what it was like to experience what's probably the worst thing they've ever experienced in their lives," and I said nothing.
And another thing. Now that I've been to New Orleans and its suburbs, I get a whole new perspective. Looking at the photos and video from 10 years ago, I find myself recognizing the places. This is the highway Angie drove me down several times. This is the street where I walked down with my suitcase, looking for a replacement laptop charger. This is the train station I arrived at. And somewhere over there is Angie's house... and everything is underwater.
Canal Street during Hurrican Katrina (via BBC News)
My photo of the same location, 2015
When Kristen McQueary used Hurricane Katrina to make a political point, there was outrage in the city. But a few days later, the news cycle moved on, and McQueary continued writing editorials. We have that luxury, because it didn't happen to us.
But Hurricane Katrina has forever altered New Orleans metropolitan area. It will become an eternal scar on the city's fabric, the way Siege of Leningrad has become for St Petersburg, and the 9/11 attacks became for New York City. Thousands of people died. Thousands more still haven't come home. Years, decades will pass - but in New Orleans, this will matter forever.
Before I finish this post, there are a few things I would like to add. First of all, I would like to share a link to the the BBC News feature about WWL, a NOLA talk radio station that has become a lifeline for the city as the hurricane struck and the levies burst. What the station employees would up doing went above and beyond the call of duty, risking lives and saving some lives in the process.
Second... Last night, I got to watch a follow-up documentary to the 2006 documentary Standing on Common Ground: My Spring Break in New Orleans. The original followed filmmaker Evan Allen-Gessesse, then a college student, as he joined hundreds of volunteers who came to the city to try to help rebuild. 10 years later, it is clear that, while much improvement has been made, there is still much work to be done - especially in the poorer neighborhoods, the parts of New Orleans I didn't really get to see.
(I haven't been able to find the follow-up documentary online, but you can see a trailer for below, and you can watch the original here)
Standing On Common Ground 10 YEARS LATER Promo from Barbara Allen on Vimeo.
The documentary is not without issues, but I think it's ultimately worth a look. And once it is online, I will post it in this LJ.
I am finishing this post in a coffee shop, on the way back from an assignment. And I sit there, I bow my head and offer a minute of silence for all those who perished 10 years ago. As we the natives of St. Petersburg would say - may they be remembered forever.
On that day, it was raining quite heavily in Chicagoland - but certainly nothing compared to what every municipality near Lake Ponchetrain was experiencing at the time. Over the next few days, tweelore and I would watch the news, struggling to come to grips with it all. Seeing the damage was shocking. But as the days wore on, and it because increasingly clear that federal and state government response was, quite frankly, crap, and that people were dying because of it. Having grown up watching a whole country collapse, I knew all too well what happens when a government fails its people, but this was something else entirely.
Since then, of course, the disaster has taken on new significance. I got to know phoenix_anew and jaklocke. Much as I was worried about Randirogue and Don, every time a tornado came near Florida (and, when they moved to New York City, when any weather threatened NYC), I worried every time there was a hurricane anywhere near the city.
This spring, I got to see the Crescent City for myself. While it was clear that much NOLA has been rebuilt, it was hard to miss its effects. The Katrina section at the East Bank Library. Gaps in the archives of area newspapers. Raised foundations of the houses in Angie's neighborhood. The vacant buildings downtown.
It's one thing to see a zine about defaced refrigerators that rotted during the hurricane. It's quite another to have a friend tell you that, yes, they really did smelled horribly.
I admit, when I hung out with Angie and Jak, when I met their friends, I always wanted to ask what it was like. But I thought "yeah, sure - ask them what it was like to experience what's probably the worst thing they've ever experienced in their lives," and I said nothing.
And another thing. Now that I've been to New Orleans and its suburbs, I get a whole new perspective. Looking at the photos and video from 10 years ago, I find myself recognizing the places. This is the highway Angie drove me down several times. This is the street where I walked down with my suitcase, looking for a replacement laptop charger. This is the train station I arrived at. And somewhere over there is Angie's house... and everything is underwater.
Canal Street during Hurrican Katrina (via BBC News)
My photo of the same location, 2015
When Kristen McQueary used Hurricane Katrina to make a political point, there was outrage in the city. But a few days later, the news cycle moved on, and McQueary continued writing editorials. We have that luxury, because it didn't happen to us.
But Hurricane Katrina has forever altered New Orleans metropolitan area. It will become an eternal scar on the city's fabric, the way Siege of Leningrad has become for St Petersburg, and the 9/11 attacks became for New York City. Thousands of people died. Thousands more still haven't come home. Years, decades will pass - but in New Orleans, this will matter forever.
Before I finish this post, there are a few things I would like to add. First of all, I would like to share a link to the the BBC News feature about WWL, a NOLA talk radio station that has become a lifeline for the city as the hurricane struck and the levies burst. What the station employees would up doing went above and beyond the call of duty, risking lives and saving some lives in the process.
Second... Last night, I got to watch a follow-up documentary to the 2006 documentary Standing on Common Ground: My Spring Break in New Orleans. The original followed filmmaker Evan Allen-Gessesse, then a college student, as he joined hundreds of volunteers who came to the city to try to help rebuild. 10 years later, it is clear that, while much improvement has been made, there is still much work to be done - especially in the poorer neighborhoods, the parts of New Orleans I didn't really get to see.
(I haven't been able to find the follow-up documentary online, but you can see a trailer for below, and you can watch the original here)
You can watch this video on www.livejournal.com
Standing On Common Ground 10 YEARS LATER Promo from Barbara Allen on Vimeo.
The documentary is not without issues, but I think it's ultimately worth a look. And once it is online, I will post it in this LJ.
I am finishing this post in a coffee shop, on the way back from an assignment. And I sit there, I bow my head and offer a minute of silence for all those who perished 10 years ago. As we the natives of St. Petersburg would say - may they be remembered forever.