fuck new orleans....

well then...if u say it's that easy then it must have been possible

 

It was extremely 'possible'! The ship mentioned below carries a 600 bed hospital and was on the scene before, during and after the storm hit!

 

yeah, it coulda been, but they needed permission to get in and out. but there's just too many people to deal with, and too many various policies to get through. this is definitely a system requiring some streamlining.

 

i don't believe that at all. whatever bush's faults, he's not the only person involved in getting these people aid.

 

As relief efforts are finally being funneled down south to Mississippi and Louisiana, Food Not Bombs is at the crest of charitable and effective disaster relief, helping to feed and clothe thousands of displaced people staggered by the initial shock of Hurricane Katrina and reeling from the disgraceful aftershocks of those desperately waiting for help from local and federal government and social service agencies.


What sets Food Not Bombs apart from many of the relief agencies is that they will not be intimidated by military presence and will be helping those in need over long haul, well after the victims of this actual saga have been stricken from the front pages of newspapers and lead stories on television and radio.

Keith McHenry fields phone calls and inquiries coming in from Food Not Bombs in Tucson, Arizona and said in an interview today that the line has been ringing of the hook and that Food Not Bombs volunteers are "mobilizing like crazy."

Food Not Bombs has busloads of volunteers from all corners of this country delivering aid to the refugees. Buses are coming from St. Petersburg, Florida, Los Angeles, California Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Hartford, Connecticut, to name but a few. Those coming from the west coast are being directed to New Orleans and those coming from the east coast have been directed to Baton Rouge, a city which has doubled in population in only a few days from 300,000 to 600,000 as it strains to harbor many of the refugees.

McHenry was with Food Not Bombs during the San Francisco earthquake in 1989 and claimed that immediatley after the quake, FNB was the only organization providing relief on the spot. He also added that FNB has a solid reputation with many of the homeless people in New Orleans and are trusted to provide relief without any beurocratic hitches. Moreover, FNB does not make a habit of backing down from military restrictions, especially if it means that the displaced will go hungry.

Other organizations, including the Red Cross (read here), have been criticized for caving into military pressure, putting up beurocratic obstacles and denying donations of food and clothing in the face of those who need immediate assistance. The government has also denied readily available resources to those who can help the helpless (and here).

"The stories we get are just unbelievable," McHenry said of relief agencies being turned away by the military.
"Food Not Bombs does not put up with such nonsense."

Aside from providing immediate relief, FNB's goals are for long term relief as well. They will be setting up more chapters in the south so refugees can help themselves once the other relief organizations are gone.

"This project is planning to be going on for six months to a year," McHenry said.

McHenry also observed that based on his previous experiences with disaster relief, after the first two weeks of media attention, victims lose their special treatment status and become outcasts once again, making those who were already in dire circumstances worse off than before.

"Basically all these people are going to be kicked out of shelters and told that 'it's just too bad,'" he said. "[After the earthquake] there was a whole class issue that became very predominant and certain people got treated well and others were not allowed access to food.

"These people will get nothing and will be abused by the social service agencies. Our theory is that this is like a permanent crisis and for no less than six months, probably years, Food Not Bombs will always be around. The people are sick of what's going on [in New Orleans] and this was an obvious showing of the callousness and lack of respect the government has for its people."

Food Not Bombs and others, including anarchist organizations, are organizing very effectively. Right now, according to McHenry, hundreds and hundreds of people are donating money in small amounts to the FNB site, and he stressed that no donation is too small. McHenry also said that 100 percent of what gets donated to FNB goes for food relief and clothes, since it is a non-hierarchical all-volunteer organization with no beurocratic strings attached.

Jon Dyer is with the Food Not Bombs chapter based in Southern Illinois and has been working to see what they can do to help with the Katrina aftermath.

"We were just talking about circumventing the whole military issue," he said. "When seeing people in need - you go where they are gathered and you feed them. It's just that simple. [The government] just needs to cut the bullshit, get the food and feed the people."

As it stands, the local FNB is not in good shape to help immediately and directly, but will continue to concentrate on local efforts to feed the hungry.

"We're still relatively small," said Dyer, "but will be working on something. Each day that goes by is crucial, but we're not sure how to mobilize. We're all students, so it's not too realistic to pop down there."

But in the long term, Dyer said that FNB will not leave those in the lurch after the initial wave of charitable giving and work is finished.

"Their homes are gone and they do need that further assistance," he said. "It's really a sad situation."

[Note: Unfortuneately, efforts to contact FNB volunteers in Baton Rouge, Houston and New Orleans were unsuccessful. Any stories or first-hand information related to this story will be greatly appreciated and can be added to the comments section.]

Other Regional Efforts

Many other relief efforts are being made by secular, governmental, faith-based and activist organizations throughout Southern Illinois.

The Metropolis fire and police departments are collecting items and the Southern Illinois Community Foundation, headed by former Carbondale council person Maggie Flanagan, has cast a wide net so people who want to contribute funds can do so at many local banks. The foundation is also working with local schools that are also participating.

The state of Illinois has sent medical workers, family caseworkers, some national guardsmen and a variety of supplies to aid in the relief effort.

Southern Illinois University has also pledged their support for the victims of the post-Katrina disaster by providing housing and accepting students from schools ruined by the storm.

Also a group of locals have trekked to Murray, Ky., to directly bring supplies and support to refugees from New Orleans. Details and photos of this story coming soon.
See also:
http://www.foodnotbombs.net/katrina.html
http://www.sicf.org

 

the only thing i worry about is people puttinga strain on the already overloaded sewage systems and further polluting the area. it's a fine line between helping and creating a further nuisance.

 

Yeah, exactly. Those people, the ones who are refusing to leave...are being REALLY stupid. And I'm someone who's completely on their side.

 

Having recently queried a NO resident I know online as to why any able bodied people might have remained, I was informed that local official advice ahead of the storm included going up to the attic and riding it out. Many who followed this advice were subsequently trapped in those attics when the levees broke and the flood waters reached attic levels.

 

i found this article on washingtonpost.com about homegrown relief efforts. it's not like you can get mad at people for trying to do the right things, but seriously, people can be such a pain.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/07/AR2005090702070_pf.html

 

man all i know is we have our info posted 4 diffrent places on the web,, an have left messages an e mails with travellers aid and red cross,, an we aint heard hide nor hair of noone needin a place to stay..

We have room for a family of 6 an could perhaps find temporary,,or permanent work for them..

Id think if an when the need gets that serious that they are plenty of folks willin to take folks in,, an help them get a new start on life...why is it the goverments responsibility?? we are a human race.....

Strange how people expect instant gratification in this techonological era...

 

well, i think a lot of them are still trying to get their brains back together. shock will do that to you. there's also so many families seperated and lost and trying to figure out what the next best step should be.

 

Not to mention that most these people don't have the resources to communicate with the outside world right now.