Jennifer Moses: Losing hope in hurricane-ravaged Louisiana

[question everything]

Losing hope in hurricane-ravaged Louisiana

By Jennifer Moses
October 16, 2005

BATON ROUGE, La. – Nearly six weeks after Hurricane Katrina altered both the landscape of Louisiana and the national psyche, most Americans seem poised for the next news cycle: the fight over the new Supreme Court nominee looks to be especially juicy, as does the fun brewing down in Texas over Tom DeLay. But here in what has become, by default, Louisiana's most populous city, the hurricane just won't go away, and the initial excitement of being the state's primary triage center, and suddenly finding ourselves elevated from Nowhere on the Bayou to the center of MediaWorld, has long since worn off.

For one thing, there wasn't just one hurricane, there were two, and while the national media focused on Houston's horrific traffic jams, Hurricane Rita managed to wipe out most of southwest Louisiana, displace additional tens of thousands and cause huge disruptions in the state's already crippled economy.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, always on its toes, managed to confuse Iberia Parish, where hundreds of homes were wiped off the face of the earth, with Iberville Parish, which had minimal damage, and gave disaster relief to the latter while withholding it from the former. In some neighborhoods, garbage hasn't been picked up in weeks. Local energy rates, already among the highest in the nation, are about to go a lot higher.

Jobs are as rare as snow in August, and thanks to Washington's prevailing ethic of handing out the goodies only to chartered members of the Goodies Club, barely a trickle of cleanup jobs is going to Louisiana businesses or Louisiana workers, and those few that are magically trickling down into the local economy are grossly underpaid. This because the president suspended the Davis-Bacon Act, which requires that federal contractors pay workers prevailing wages on federally funded projects.

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Moses is a writer who has lived in Baton Rouge for the past 10 years. This commentary was prepared for The Washington Post.


Find this article at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20051016/news_lz1e16louisi.html

[sandnsea]

1. Another story

Benevolent Societies played a vital role in the lives of African Americans during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Plagued by high rates of illness, mortality and unemployment, members of such groups were far better able to weather crises than non-members. By participation in such societies, African Americans were able to acquire skills in running organizations – writing constitutions, keeping minutes, and learning bookkeeping. Perhaps more importantly, benevolent societies were aimed at strengthening and unifying the black community.

Few of these associations or societies remain today. Most of the members are deceased or memberships have dwindled to a few faithful older members. In the spirit of the hundreds of benevolent associations which existed throughout the South, a group of friends and I have organized the True Friends of the Flood Benevolent Society, also known as TFFBS or True Friends of the Flood. This non-profit corporation is formed for the purpose of assisting families in general and families affected by the Katrina hurricane devastation with housing, education, childcare, and general welfare. We hope that the formation of the True Friends of the Flood Benevolent Society of Louisiana will be a catalyst for others who want to help friends and families displaced by Katrina.

There are few Red Cross shelters along the Mississippi River and the bayous of rural Louisiana, few faith-based shelters, and many families sheltering families. Many of the families helping families are in need of help. No Red Cross or FEMA assistance is reaching this segment of our community. True Friends of the Flood is helping one family at a time in small ways that count. Those who find themselves homeless throughout rural parishes of South Louisiana appreciate every little bit of compassion and help.

http://www.africanamericanmuseum.org/press.html

[Karenina]

2. Kick!

:kick: