Katrina – by Tim Kirkpatrick
Just this morning there was a story in the New York Times about Hurricane Katrina – it is clearly the largest natural disaster in this country’s history and we will be touched by it somehow for years to come. Today the story revolved around one woman’s struggle with poverty, children, HIV and getting back to ‘normal’ and the link is http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/29/us/29trailer.html?_r=1
A little history of New Orleans is best suited to begin and it is unfortunately an area that is one of the poorest in the country and certainly one that has the highest of illiteracy rates with some of the weakest public educational systems and a soaring welfare ratio; not to mention the scars of racism which are still prevalent and quite painful. I recall a time just four short years ago when me and my human resources team, all black and all from New Orleans; and all the most caring, wonderful people I have met, did the Breast Cancer walk along Lake Pontchartrain in front of the University of New Orleans campus. As we passed this one point in the park, they made comments about it seeming odd to be on ‘that side’ of the park. I had asked why and they said it was not until the late seventies that they; black people, were allowed on that side of the park. Although I came from a relatively small town outside of Buffalo, New York, it was unimaginable that people were not able to be at a park or drink from a fountain or try clothes on in a department store based on the color of their skin.
When there is social assistance to provide basic living; housing, food – the necessities; there is a social responsibility to care for those in need in the event of a catastrophic event such as Katrina. We had lived there for Ivan and the city was dodged by that hurricane and spared. When Katrina was headed toward New Orleans, there were plenty of people who chose to ride out the storm. There were plenty of people who did not have a choice. When the state provides rentals, food, etc. each person has limited means, no transportation, no gas money there is no option other than to stay put or try to find shelter. That is why the news showed so many people stranded on highways, in the Super Dome, in front of the Convention center waiting to be picked up and rescued.
The government in New Orleans suffers from years of corruption and the administration during Katrina was not much different. To this day, there is no clear understanding of where Mayor Nagin was the first few days of the storm and Governor Blanco simply lacked leadership skills in the time of crisis. Pride, corruption or plain old stupidity with a touch of stubbornness kept the local government from reaching out to the federal government for assistance. The laws work in such that the local government has to reach out to the federal government first and neither Nagin nor Blanco did. He disappeared and she cried. And the nation watched an entire community suffer.
I will not soon forget when we returned from Texas to our home nearly five weeks after the storm hit. I worked for Marriott and it is a company that acted quickly, responsibly and with heart. The first mission we had was to find everyone, make sure they had means, create a central receiving place, and ensure each person had a place to work and live and move toward re-building and getting our Marriott/Ritz-Carlton families back home. The first drive in to New Orleans was eerie. There were very few civilians on the streets, mostly army personnel. I had to show my id at check points in order to drive in. There were still many underpasses that were flooded and driving down Canal Street, you could see the 8 foot or greater water lines on the buildings where you could see how high the flooding was when the levees breached. In the center of the street were torn down power lines, trees, boats, cars, debris, dead animals and the stench was so overwhelming you could not breathe the air.
We rallied, acted quickly and had most of the hotels re-opened in one month. Most of the associates lived in the hotel in which they worked while we had a dedicated housing team put together to find suitable housing for each family. Luckily, all of our associates survived the storm. Marriott was very generous and supplemented FEMA payments with grants, including an influx of funding personally from the Marriott family. In the wake of this massive crisis, it was so rewarding to be able to help people re-build, get back to work and find homes. It was not without loss. I remember one elderly lady who worked with us in housekeeping attended a training class and emotionally could not stay through. Her husband had not been found and it had been eight weeks at this point and finally, six months later, he was found deceased in a neighbor’s attic. Because they were black, old and poor did not make it hurt less for her; she still suffered great pain and loss but on some level, a bit of relief that her husband was at peace.
The question of whether or not it is fiscally prudent to re-build New Orleans is what I believe to be the purpose of this inquiry. After befriending many people there, people I consider friends and some family, the question is can we put a dollar value on a life? And by life, I mean, where you grow up, where you fall in love, where you make a living, where you have your own children, where you laugh, cry, pray, celebrate; where you make your home. I shudder to think that the people whom I have grown to love would not have a home. So – yes, it is worth whatever it takes to build a community that so many beautiful people call home. As a nation, we need to do it and do it right with love, passion and caring and without pause.
