The week is over and I have returned to Berkeley. I helped gut two houses and met some amazing people in the great city of New Orleans. I wish I had high hopes for its renewal, but I am concerned.
If I were to write a list of I saw missing from the equation for the city of New Orleans, competent leadership would be the first item. The people of New Orleans need someone to step in and provide a vision for the future of the city that respects those who already lived there, and charts a course to a future where all residents benefit, not just the wealthy and well-connected.
It seems obvious that Ray Nagin is not that leader. From what I understand he was mediocre and corrupt in the eyes of residents (at least the ones I spoke with) and he has not improved since Katrina. However, I don't think there's an alternative on the horizon. None of the candidates has risen above the fray to show themselves a capable and competent leader for the city.
Without leadership, the city will continue on the course it has charted. It is currently functioning as a tourist city in the developing world. All the places where the rich will come to spend their money have been restored. I strolled down Bourbon St. and had benigets at the Cafe du Monde. I went Uptown to Tulane and ate in a high-end restaurant with its mostly white clientele. New Orleans has a small population of elites that have secured their portion of the city, and the rest have been left to fend for themselves.
When I took my stroll down Bourbon St., I saw many police making sure the drunken college kids and conventioneers didn't get too rowdy. When I was in Gentilly about a mile east gutting houses, I went hours without seeing police. I fear the poor are once again being swept under the rug and hidden from sight.
I do not have a solution. The city has told residents to form neighborhood organizations to decide what to do next about rebuilding the area. Citizens have been promised voice in the process. However, the insurance companies will be the final arbiters of whether or not to rebuild, and not the people. All this for lack of a leader to stand up and make the people heard.
But I cannot be completely without hope. I saw great kindness and depth of character in my time in New Orleans. I met people who had quit their jobs in other cities to come down and be part of this experience. While this has been a great struggle, it also represents a great opportunity. The city could reimagine itself and create a space where the poor are not simply shoved to the side, but are accepted and assisted so they can create a better life for themselves. I believe that New Orleans can be built into a new city.
Comments
not only that, but FEMA is planning to kick out the volunteers who are helping in New Orleans as of April 10... see below...
http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/wwl033006jbvolunteers.78778329.html
Action Report: FEMA plans to shut down 'tent cities,'
volunteers scramble to find alternative housing
10:09 AM CST on Friday,March 31, 2006
Bill Capo / WWL-TV Action Reporter
Thousands of volunteers from around the city have been playing crucial roles in the re-building of New Orleans, but the non-profit and religious groups that sponsor them are worried because FEMA plans to close the tent cities that have housed many of the volunteers.
“It’s been astounding, we’ve been able to enlist the support of over, almost 3000 volunteers, if not more than that,” said Mike Hayes with Habitat for Humanity.
Many of the volunteers have been living in “tent cities” set up by FEMA. Two of them housed 1,200 volunteers at a time at a cost of about $100 per person per day. The tent cities had places to sleep, a shower, and a cafeteria.
“We’ve been staying in the FEMA tents, and they have fed us, it’s awesome food, I mean it’s awesome housing, they got hot showers every night for us, so it’s been a great experience so far,” said Auburn University volunteer Lindsey Harder.
FEMA said it has scheduled to close the camps on April 10 and 11.
“Why is this facility being closed down? Well FEMA originally had contracts for about the last six months to operate three camps in the New Orleans areas, and the contracts run out mid-April,” said FEMA representative Leo Skinner.
Non-profit and religious agencies that have sponsored the volunteers said losing the free housing could hurt their efforts to help New Orleans recover.
“The tent cities are critical in maintaining that level of volunteerism. If they are shut down or they go away, we’re going to have two alternatives. We’re either going to lose hundreds of hard working, willing volunteers, or we’re going to have to scramble to find other housing for them,” said Jim Pate with Habitat for Humanity.
Leaders of non-profit and church groups have been scrambling to find new housing for the volunteers who want to come down and help rebuild New Orleans, while at the same time hoping that FEMA will find some way to keep the camps open.
“Right now the biggest issue for us, especially coming up this summer when every youth group in the country wants to come down here, is where are we going to house them, where are we going to put them, where are we going to feed them?” questioned Aaron Arledge with the Louisiana Baptist Convention.
“We’re looking at the possibility of maybe some of the schools that maybe we can swap out gutting and clean up in exchange for housing volunteers,” said Pate.
Habitat for Humanity said they are hoping to get help from Louisiana’s congressional delegation, but are still preparing their own tents to house volunteers.
“Is there any chance that something could be done to keep these camps open? I’m not going to say yes or no, but I can tell you that the extension of the camps is being reviewed by headquarters, FEMA headquarters,” said Skinner.