Two years ago when Katrina hit the Gulf Coast and destroyed swaths of the area, I was in Scotland for a conference. The majority of the attendees were European and didn't understand why people just didn't leave. The Americans amongst us did understand. People just could not afford to go. They wouldn't leave their beloved pets. There were hundreds of other reasons that they stayed. I spent a lot of time in Louisiana and have seen first hand the grinding poverty in New Orleans and across the Gulf Coast.
As we mark the second anniversary of this American tragedy, please know that there is still much work that needs to be done. Please think about making a contribution to a charity that supports the Gulf Coast and those whose lives were destroyed by Katrina.
Good post. I visited New Orleans in 2003 and I was very struck by the many similarities between Baltimore and New Orleans -- port cities, cities that were once of greater economic importance, not too different in size, a large African American presence, wonderful architecture, grinding poverty... The list goes on.
ReplyDeleteIt's astonishing and unsettling to me that a city of that size could come as close to disappearing as New Orleans has.