[OT] Back From New Orleans - With Pictures! - Long

First, a bit of commentary...

The Louisiana Tourism Commission and the City of New Orleans have a vested
interest in making people believe that New Orleans has recovered from
Katrina and everything there is better than before. The commercials you see
on television, of a pristine French Quarter, a clanging street car, bright
shiny casinos, and a new and improved Superdome have been *CAREFULLY* edited
to show only what they want potential tourists to see. The phrase "We're
back!" is repeated over these scenes in an effort to get people to come to
New Orleans and spend their money. They know that people don't want to
spend their vacations looking at devastation, wrack, and ruin. And there
are *SMALL* areas of New Orleans that have been repaired - the tourist
district.

But for those who believe that the entire city is back to normal... please
view these pictures taken over the last week, *NOT* just after the storm.

For those who do not want to be burdened by scenes of devastation, I've also
included some shots of my friends and family getting on with their lives and
giving thanks for the good fortune of being some of the *VERY* few residents
there who are able to rebuild their lives.

I want to provide a little narration since pictures alone can not portray
the reality of what Ben and I experienced when we went back home for the
first time since Katrina to stay with my daughter Erin and to see the rest
of my family.

We arrived in New Orleans late Wednesday night. Driving in was confusing
for us since *NOTHING* looked the same as we remembered it. Whole areas of
formerly brightly lit shopping centers and subdivisions were totally black.
Not even street lamps pierced the stygian darkness surrounding us. The
stench in some areas was overwhelming and some sights looked like scenes
from a science fiction movie (even late at night, tanker trucks were
gathered along a stretch of deserted highway dumping sewerage and "muck"
siphoned from living areas into the swamp).

The morning daylight revealed more than Ben and I were ready to see. Erin
lives in the house where she was born and reared - she and her husband Greg
moved into it when Ben and I moved to Houston. We would not have recognized
this neighborhood had we not already known where we were! I was also
appalled that my granddaughters have to live and play in this place!
Destroyed houses are not even boarded up to keep out curious children and
gawd knows what toxic, hazardous dangers are inside! Here are pictures of
the circle of houses that make up her subdivision.
http://www.possibleplaces.com/Visit_Home/Erin_Block/

We still managed to have a really nice Thanksgiving dinner, giving thanks
that our family have all been able to recover (or are in the process of
recovering) from this monumental disaster. We prayed for the many, many
family who are not so fortunate. Here are some pictures of Thanksgiving
dinner at Erin's home.
http://www.possibleplaces.com/Visit_Home/Thanksgiving/ Here are pictures of
Erin and her family. http://www.possibleplaces.com/Visit_Home/Erin_Family/
And even some pictures of their d*g, Gypsy.
http://www.possibleplaces.com/Visit_Home/Gypsy/

My family and friends, who once all lived within blocks of each other, are
now so scattered it's impossible to visit all of them on the same day (Ben
and I put 500 miles on our truck *AFTER* we got to New Orleans)! So, we had
to visit everyone on different days of our trip.

First, on Thursday afternoon Ben and I traveled to Covington to visit my
eldest brother's family (and eat a *second* Thanksgiving dinner!!!). Here
are some pictures of my brother's new home and his family.
http://www.possibleplaces.com/Visit_Home/Ricky/

On Friday Ben and I traveled to Hammond to visit with my lifelong friend,
Diane. http://www.possibleplaces.com/Visit_Home/Diane/

On Saturday Ben and I went to visit my brother David while he and his wife
worked on restoring their home in Chalmette.
http://www.possibleplaces.com/Visit_Home/David/ We also went out to
Metairie to visit with my mother.
http://www.possibleplaces.com/Visit_Home/Mom/

Every place we went, however, we were bombarded with scenes of devastation
and destruction. I could have believed I had been transported into some
fourth-world village slum which had been repeatedly savaged by war and
poverty. The neighborhood where I grew up was so blasted by the storm that
at first I couldn't even find the house where my mother reared us.
http://www.possibleplaces.com/Visit_...hildhood_Home/ The house I was
living in when I met Ben, 21 years ago, is scheduled to be bulldozed.
http://www.possibleplaces.com/Visit_Home/My_Old_House/

And everywhere, *EVERYWHERE* were homes and businesses that had been
destroyed by a force unimaginable. After a while my eyes grew weary of
seeing these heartbreaking visions and I had to look down at my lap for a
bit. Because so many people believe that life has gone back to normal in
New Orleans after Katrina, who think that everything has been fixed and all
is well, I wanted to take pictures of every collapsed home, every bit of
evidence of a life derailed or a family broken and scattered, but there were
times that it was all so overwhelming that I could not even aim and click my
camera any more. I didn't have the ability, or the desire, to chronicle the
thousands, *THOUSANDS* of homes that have been abandoned and are falling to
pieces under the unforgiving sun. These pictures just do not convey what
you see when you are there. The panorama of devastation, as you stand and
slowly turn around, is unrelieved by any sign of hope or spark of life (only
about 12 percent of residents have returned to their homes to try and
rebuild - everywhere else are "for sale" signs or the yellow sticker with a
red "X" indicating a request to bulldoze). Remember, these picture are from
just days ago - does this look like New Orleans is fine and "We're
back"????!!!!! http://www.possibleplaces.com/Visit_Home/My_Old_House/

Sorry this was so long, and so depressing, but I had to relate this to
someone who could understand the blow I took to my psyche. Going home to a
home that not only is changed beyond recognition, but is so terribly hurt
and in need has been an ordeal I am not sorry I undertook, but which will be
a sadness within me for the rest of my life.


--

Hugs,

CatNipped

See all my masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped/

And everywhere, *EVERYWHERE* were homes and businesses that had been
destroyed by a force unimaginable. After a while my eyes grew weary of
seeing these heartbreaking visions and I had to look down at my lap for a
bit. Because so many people believe that life has gone back to normal in
New Orleans after Katrina, who think that everything has been fixed and
all is well, I wanted to take pictures of every collapsed home, every bit
of evidence of a life derailed or a family broken and scattered, but there
were times that it was all so overwhelming that I could not even aim and
click my camera any more. I didn't have the ability, or the desire, to
chronicle the thousands, *THOUSANDS* of homes that have been abandoned and
are falling to pieces under the unforgiving sun. These pictures just do
not convey what you see when you are there. The panorama of devastation,
as you stand and slowly turn around, is unrelieved by any sign of hope or
spark of life (only about 12 percent of residents have returned to their
homes to try and rebuild - everywhere else are "for sale" signs or the
yellow sticker with a red "X" indicating a request to bulldoze). Remember,
these picture are from just days ago - does this look like New Orleans is
fine and "We're back"????!!!!!
http://www.possibleplaces.com/Visit_Home/My_Old_House/


Sorry, wrong link - should have been
http://www.possibleplaces.com/Visit_Home/New_Orleans/

Hugs,

CatNipped

CatNipped wrote:
First, a bit of commentary...

*purrs*

--
Victor M. Martinez
Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
Send your spam he
Email me he

"CatNipped" wrote
First, a bit of commentary...

Thank you CN for that valuable insight into the ruins of your old home town.
A harrowing experience even to one with no connection to the area and a
salutary reminder that the "frontier spirit" of having people look after
their own isn't always appropriate in these more sophisticated times

However, at least your family & dearest friend(s) have much to be thankful
for in that they & theirs survived. Purrs for the bereaved and for you all
that the rebuilding proceeds steadily, if slowly.

Best wishes
Gordon, Bandit, Snowball, Claudius & Raki



----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----
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CatNipped wrote:
snip
Sorry this was so long, and so depressing, but I had to relate this to
someone who could understand the blow I took to my psyche. Going
home to a home that not only is changed beyond recognition, but is so
terribly hurt and in need has been an ordeal I am not sorry I
undertook, but which will be a sadness within me for the rest of my
life.

I really wasn't surprised to see how bad things still are, I imagine if you
wnet back in five years time there will still be evidence of Katrina.

I'm glad to see you family looking so well, including Gypsy, I'm sorry
Digger can't be with them.

Purrs for everybody still getting their lives back together, things will
improve however slowly.
--
Adrian (Owned by Snoopy and Bagheera)
Cats leave pawprints on your heart.
http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk

And everywhere, *EVERYWHERE* were homes and businesses that had been
destroyed by a force unimaginable. After a while my eyes grew weary of
seeing these heartbreaking visions and I had to look down at my lap for a
bit. Because so many people believe that life has gone back to normal in
New Orleans after Katrina, who think that everything has been fixed and
all is well, I wanted to take pictures of every collapsed home, every bit
of evidence of a life derailed or a family broken and scattered, but there
were times that it was all so overwhelming that I could not even aim and
click my camera any more. I didn't have the ability, or the desire, to
chronicle the thousands, *THOUSANDS* of homes that have been abandoned and
are falling to pieces under the unforgiving sun. These pictures just do
not convey what you see when you are there. The panorama of devastation,
as you stand and slowly turn around, is unrelieved by any sign of hope or
spark of life (only about 12 percent of residents have returned to their
homes to try and rebuild - everywhere else are "for sale" signs or the
yellow sticker with a red "X" indicating a request to bulldoze). Remember,
these picture are from just days ago - does this look like New Orleans is
fine and "We're back"????!!!!! [...]
http://www.possibleplaces.com/Visit_Home/New_Orleans/

What that reminds me of is Bosnia - see the pictures on my website, though
only the "strafed house" one near Mostar makes the point: these houses
aren't all that badly damaged, people are being actively prevented from
making them habitable again (militant Catholic nationalist thugs in that
part of Bosnia, capitalist business as usual from property developers in
New Orleans).

The son of a friend of mine (from Scotland, studying in the US) joined an
international relief project to work in New Orleans. He quit in disgust
after finding out that what the job was really about was demolishing poor
people's homes so the developers could make a killing.

Mostar may look worse than New Orleans in my photos (and I wasn't being
that selective in the damage I photographed) but while there are a lot
of very angry people there, they haven't given up hope as people in New
Orleans seem to have done. (The gang of cats in the picture was being
fed by a shopkeeper next door - like most of the buildings in the old
Muslim quarter of the town centre, his shop was a blasted wreck, but the
cats purred round him as though nothing had happened and he obviously
had no intention of leaving).

============== j-c ====== @ ====== purr . demon . co . uk ==============
Jack Campin: 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland | tel 0131 660 4760
http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/jack/ for CD-ROMs and free | fax 0870 0554 975
stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, & Mac logic fonts | mob 07800 739 557

"Jack Campin - bogus address" wrote in message
...
And everywhere, *EVERYWHERE* were homes and businesses that had been
destroyed by a force unimaginable. After a while my eyes grew weary of
seeing these heartbreaking visions and I had to look down at my lap for
a
bit. Because so many people believe that life has gone back to normal
in
New Orleans after Katrina, who think that everything has been fixed and
all is well, I wanted to take pictures of every collapsed home, every
bit
of evidence of a life derailed or a family broken and scattered, but
there
were times that it was all so overwhelming that I could not even aim and
click my camera any more. I didn't have the ability, or the desire, to
chronicle the thousands, *THOUSANDS* of homes that have been abandoned
and
are falling to pieces under the unforgiving sun. These pictures just do
not convey what you see when you are there. The panorama of
devastation,
as you stand and slowly turn around, is unrelieved by any sign of hope
or
spark of life (only about 12 percent of residents have returned to their
homes to try and rebuild - everywhere else are "for sale" signs or the
yellow sticker with a red "X" indicating a request to bulldoze).
Remember,
these picture are from just days ago - does this look like New Orleans
is
fine and "We're back"????!!!!! [...]
http://www.possibleplaces.com/Visit_Home/New_Orleans/

What that reminds me of is Bosnia - see the pictures on my website, though
only the "strafed house" one near Mostar makes the point: these houses
aren't all that badly damaged, people are being actively prevented from
making them habitable again (militant Catholic nationalist thugs in that
part of Bosnia, capitalist business as usual from property developers in
New Orleans).

The son of a friend of mine (from Scotland, studying in the US) joined an
international relief project to work in New Orleans. He quit in disgust
after finding out that what the job was really about was demolishing poor
people's homes so the developers could make a killing.

You're exactly right. There are so many "catch 22's" going on here it can
make your head spin. As I related in another note, people have gotten
*NOTHING* from the American Red Cross, and all they got from FEMA is $25,000
for those who couldn't qualify for a Small Business Association low-interest
loan, and $10,000 for those who could. [Those people who lost their jobs
because the business they worked for was also destroyed by Katrina are not
elligible for a loan - the SBA is very lenient about giving credit to those
Katrina victims with a poor credit history, but you still have to have a
means of repaying the loan before they will allow it.]

Insurance companies are either denying claims (getting their own engineering
firms to claim that the damage was caused by flood instead of wind - in the
face of conflicting evidence), or paying only 10 cents on the dollar of the
claims they are acknowledging. The most I've heard of anyone getting from
their insurance company is $50,000. But it was only a very small percentage
of people who even had flood insurance since most of the flooding happened
in areas that had never flooded before (and only flooded this time because
of a disastrous decision by the corps of engineers to put in a ship canal
through St. Bernard parish).

As an example of what it costs to restore a home, my daughter and her
husband have so far spent $110,000 to repair and refurnish a *very* small
house - and they did every single job, from roofing to hanging sheetrock,
with their own two hands, so didn't have to pay a contractor (if they even
could have booked a contractor within the next 5 years). For those people
who can't do the work themselves you would have to add on an additional
$50,000 to $75,000 to pay a contractor to do the work for you (contractors
are so in demand they can charge whatever they like and people have no
choice but to pay).

My son-in-law was also lucky in that the business he works for was not
affected by the storm and he still has a job. A large percentage of those
people who lost their homes and every single possession they owned also lost
their jobs and any means of providing for their family. So, with at most
$25,000, they have no way to restore their homes and are just living in a
FEMA travel trailer (think *SMALL* RV) - some, as my daughter did, having 5
people practically in each others' laps - until they are evicted from even
that when FEMA takes the trailers back.

Now... The local government has told residents that if there is no visible
restoration going on in the "abandoned" houses within the next two months,
their homes will be bulldozed by the parish. But best yet, the owners will
be responsible for the cost of bulldozing their homes. If they can't pay
this, the property will be sold on the auction block.

Again, every member of my family has been incredibly fortunate in that they
had the means and the knowledge to restore their homes and their lives, but
*MOST* of the other Katrina victims are not only being exploited by their
own government, but are now being seen by many people as lazy, slovernly
scam artists who are trying to make a quick buck off this disaster.

Hugs,

CatNipped



Mostar may look worse than New Orleans in my photos (and I wasn't being
that selective in the damage I photographed) but while there are a lot
of very angry people there, they haven't given up hope as people in New
Orleans seem to have done. (The gang of cats in the picture was being
fed by a shopkeeper next door - like most of the buildings in the old
Muslim quarter of the town centre, his shop was a blasted wreck, but the
cats purred round him as though nothing had happened and he obviously
had no intention of leaving).

============== j-c ====== @ ====== purr . demon . co . uk
==============
Jack Campin: 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland | tel 0131 660
4760
http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/jack/ for CD-ROMs and free | fax 0870 0554
975
stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, & Mac logic fonts | mob 07800 739
557

"CatNipped" wrote in message

You're exactly right. There are so many "catch 22's" going on here it can
make your head spin. As I related in another note, people have gotten
*NOTHING* from the American Red Cross, and all they got from FEMA is
$25,000 for those who couldn't qualify for a Small Business Association
low-interest loan, and $10,000 for those who could. [Those people who
lost their jobs because the business they worked for was also destroyed by
Katrina are not elligible for a loan - the SBA is very lenient about
giving credit to those Katrina victims with a poor credit history, but you
still have to have a means of repaying the loan before they will allow
it.]


As an example of what it costs to restore a home, my daughter and her
husband have so far spent $110,000 to repair and refurnish a *very* small
house - and they did every single job, from roofing to hanging sheetrock,
with their own two hands, so didn't have to pay a contractor (if they even
could have booked a contractor within the next 5 years). For those people
who can't do the work themselves you would have to add on an additional
$50,000 to $75,000 to pay a contractor to do the work for you (contractors
are so in demand they can charge whatever they like and people have no
choice but to pay).

My son-in-law was also lucky in that the business he works for was not
affected by the storm and he still has a job. A large percentage of those
people who lost their homes and every single possession they owned also
lost their jobs and any means of providing for their family. So, with at
most $25,000, they have no way to restore their homes and are just living
in a FEMA travel trailer (think *SMALL* RV) - some, as my daughter did,
having 5 people practically in each others' laps - until they are evicted
from even that when FEMA takes the trailers back.

Now... The local government has told residents that if there is no visible
restoration going on in the "abandoned" houses within the next two months,
their homes will be bulldozed by the parish. But best yet, the owners
will be responsible for the cost of bulldozing their homes. If they can't
pay this, the property will be sold on the auction block.

Again, every member of my family has been incredibly fortunate in that
they had the means and the knowledge to restore their homes and their
lives, but *MOST* of the other Katrina victims are not only being
exploited by their own government, but are now being seen by many people
as lazy, slovernly scam artists who are trying to make a quick buck off
this disaster.

Hugs,

CatNipped


What sort of infrastructure does your daughters family have available? Are
the roads useable? Utilities and garbage pick up reliable? What about
grocery stores, gas stations, schools, etc? Emergence services such as
police and medical? Phone and internet?

I can imagine what a hard decision it is to rebuild even for someone who
can. You can rebuild your house, but there isn't much of a point to it if
you can't rebuild your community. And you can't very well rebuild the
community if the homeowners don't come back.

I wouldn't worry too much about FEMA taking back trailers anytime soon
though. They aren't any better about collecting them than they are about
getting them out in the first place.

Jo

"Jo Firey" wrote in message
om...

"CatNipped" wrote in message

You're exactly right. There are so many "catch 22's" going on here it
can make your head spin. As I related in another note, people have
gotten *NOTHING* from the American Red Cross, and all they got from FEMA
is $25,000 for those who couldn't qualify for a Small Business
Association low-interest loan, and $10,000 for those who could. [Those
people who lost their jobs because the business they worked for was also
destroyed by Katrina are not elligible for a loan - the SBA is very
lenient about giving credit to those Katrina victims with a poor credit
history, but you still have to have a means of repaying the loan before
they will allow it.]


As an example of what it costs to restore a home, my daughter and her
husband have so far spent $110,000 to repair and refurnish a *very* small
house - and they did every single job, from roofing to hanging sheetrock,
with their own two hands, so didn't have to pay a contractor (if they
even could have booked a contractor within the next 5 years). For those
people who can't do the work themselves you would have to add on an
additional $50,000 to $75,000 to pay a contractor to do the work for you
(contractors are so in demand they can charge whatever they like and
people have no choice but to pay).

My son-in-law was also lucky in that the business he works for was not
affected by the storm and he still has a job. A large percentage of
those people who lost their homes and every single possession they owned
also lost their jobs and any means of providing for their family. So,
with at most $25,000, they have no way to restore their homes and are
just living in a FEMA travel trailer (think *SMALL* RV) - some, as my
daughter did, having 5 people practically in each others' laps - until
they are evicted from even that when FEMA takes the trailers back.

Now... The local government has told residents that if there is no
visible restoration going on in the "abandoned" houses within the next
two months, their homes will be bulldozed by the parish. But best yet,
the owners will be responsible for the cost of bulldozing their homes.
If they can't pay this, the property will be sold on the auction block.

Again, every member of my family has been incredibly fortunate in that
they had the means and the knowledge to restore their homes and their
lives, but *MOST* of the other Katrina victims are not only being
exploited by their own government, but are now being seen by many people
as lazy, slovernly scam artists who are trying to make a quick buck off
this disaster.

Hugs,

CatNipped


What sort of infrastructure does your daughters family have available?
Are the roads useable? Utilities and garbage pick up reliable? What
about grocery stores, gas stations, schools, etc? Emergence services such
as police and medical? Phone and internet?

I can imagine what a hard decision it is to rebuild even for someone who
can. You can rebuild your house, but there isn't much of a point to it if
you can't rebuild your community. And you can't very well rebuild the
community if the homeowners don't come back.

I wouldn't worry too much about FEMA taking back trailers anytime soon
though. They aren't any better about collecting them than they are about
getting them out in the first place.

Jo

The closest grocery, which just opened up 2 weeks ago, is 15 miles away.
For most everything else they have to go out to Metairie - about 40 miles
away. There is a M.A.S.H. tent in the parking lot of the (still closed)
Wal-Mart about 18 miles away, but there is no real hospital close (and after
what happened to Christine, the lack of a hospital is the thing I worry
about the most).

They are getting mail, (intermittent) trash pick-up, and other public
services, but roads are in terrible shape - there are huge potholes where
the cement was broken and undermined by flood waters. There are areas that
still don't have electrical service and where the street lamps don't work.
There are only two schools open for all of St. Bernard and my granddaughters
have to be bussed 14 miles, two towns away, to attend school.

They just got land-line phones and internet about 3 weeks ago.

You're right, lack of infrastructure is a big reason why a lot of people are
not coming back.


--

Hugs,

CatNipped

See all my masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped/

"CatNipped" wrote in message
...
"Jo Firey" wrote in message
om...

"CatNipped" wrote in message

You're exactly right. There are so many "catch 22's" going on here it
can make your head spin. As I related in another note, people have
gotten *NOTHING* from the American Red Cross, and all they got from FEMA
is $25,000 for those who couldn't qualify for a Small Business
Association low-interest loan, and $10,000 for those who could. [Those
people who lost their jobs because the business they worked for was also
destroyed by Katrina are not elligible for a loan - the SBA is very
lenient about giving credit to those Katrina victims with a poor credit
history, but you still have to have a means of repaying the loan before
they will allow it.]


As an example of what it costs to restore a home, my daughter and her
husband have so far spent $110,000 to repair and refurnish a *very*
small house - and they did every single job, from roofing to hanging
sheetrock, with their own two hands, so didn't have to pay a contractor
(if they even could have booked a contractor within the next 5 years).
For those people who can't do the work themselves you would have to add
on an additional $50,000 to $75,000 to pay a contractor to do the work
for you (contractors are so in demand they can charge whatever they like
and people have no choice but to pay).

My son-in-law was also lucky in that the business he works for was not
affected by the storm and he still has a job. A large percentage of
those people who lost their homes and every single possession they owned
also lost their jobs and any means of providing for their family. So,
with at most $25,000, they have no way to restore their homes and are
just living in a FEMA travel trailer (think *SMALL* RV) - some, as my
daughter did, having 5 people practically in each others' laps - until
they are evicted from even that when FEMA takes the trailers back.

Now... The local government has told residents that if there is no
visible restoration going on in the "abandoned" houses within the next
two months, their homes will be bulldozed by the parish. But best yet,
the owners will be responsible for the cost of bulldozing their homes.
If they can't pay this, the property will be sold on the auction block.

Again, every member of my family has been incredibly fortunate in that
they had the means and the knowledge to restore their homes and their
lives, but *MOST* of the other Katrina victims are not only being
exploited by their own government, but are now being seen by many people
as lazy, slovernly scam artists who are trying to make a quick buck off
this disaster.

Hugs,

CatNipped


What sort of infrastructure does your daughters family have available?
Are the roads useable? Utilities and garbage pick up reliable? What
about grocery stores, gas stations, schools, etc? Emergence services
such as police and medical? Phone and internet?

I can imagine what a hard decision it is to rebuild even for someone who
can. You can rebuild your house, but there isn't much of a point to it
if you can't rebuild your community. And you can't very well rebuild the
community if the homeowners don't come back.

I wouldn't worry too much about FEMA taking back trailers anytime soon
though. They aren't any better about collecting them than they are about
getting them out in the first place.

Jo

The closest grocery, which just opened up 2 weeks ago, is 15 miles away.
For most everything else they have to go out to Metairie - about 40 miles
away. There is a M.A.S.H. tent in the parking lot of the (still closed)
Wal-Mart about 18 miles away, but there is no real hospital close (and
after what happened to Christine, the lack of a hospital is the thing I
worry about the most).

They are getting mail, (intermittent) trash pick-up, and other public
services, but roads are in terrible shape - there are huge potholes where
the cement was broken and undermined by flood waters. There are areas
that still don't have electrical service and where the street lamps don't
work. There are only two schools open for all of St. Bernard and my
granddaughters have to be bussed 14 miles, two towns away, to attend
school.

They just got land-line phones and internet about 3 weeks ago.

You're right, lack of infrastructure is a big reason why a lot of people
are not coming back.


And then to add insult to injury, the press and the powers that be slant
things to look like the residents are apathetic and not doing what they
might to help themselves.

Ordinary folks, the heart and soul of any community can't take the risk of
rebuilding when experience tells them they can't trust government or
business to back them up.

Yes I know for the most part people get the government they deserve, and
business is and must be motivated by profit.

And I'm well aware that a percentage of any aid provided by any source will
be misappropriated, but that never seems to stop us in other countries.

But it is a catch22. You have to have builders to rebuild. And they have
to have workers. And they all want a place to live if they are going to be
there long term to work.

Jo