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Katrina
Hurricane Katrina -- Your Thoughts, Messages and Stories Blog
by Special Editorial
Saturday September 3, 2005
Katrina
I live in Virginia now but Louisiana is my HOME. My children were born there - I lived there, went to school, got married, had a family and ultimately moved away. I lived there when Camille came thru and remember the utter devastation. This is a cruel reminder. On Monday I stayed glued to the tv and finally gave up and got online - believe it or not - there was more info online than anywhere else - found out on the Baton Rouge newspaper that my brother-in-law had been killed in his home. At that point, I really panicked and frantically dialed every family member I could find - no phone service. On Tuesday afternoon I was able to reach one of my sisters on a cell phone. They had fled to Shreveport and were driving home. She was hysterically crying - along I-10 they had come along a scene where a small child under 2 was floating on a mattress - cars had stopped and were screaming for him to remain still - used crowbars and sticks to carefully pull the mattress to the bridge and rescue him - when he was picked up the mattress flipped - 2 small children were dead under it. They frantically called the police and were told to bring the child to any police station or shelter but could do nothing for the dead - but leave them there. Am I crazy or is that cruel? The scenes on tv are breaking my heart and leaving me ashamed of my government. There are so many people opening their hearts, wallets, homes and giving to these people. Why can't some of the states not affected open their schools, military bases, civic centers and sports centers to house the homeless? Why can't the airlines offer free transportation and let the government compensate them? We can help foreign countries within hours of a disaster but our own citizens - our family and friends - are left for a week - with NO food, water, medicine, or a way out. And what really scares me is that I could be next. Virginia is not immune to hurricanes - we have had our share - not as bad - but when is our turn?
Saturday September 3, 2005 | # | comments (2)