Left Behind Then Left Out

First they were left behind - the poor, the old, the ill, the black and brown. Flood waters rose killing no one knows how many, trapping thousands for days in deteriorating conditions. Then they were dispersed, those who survived, across the country. Families separated, no stability, little support. Eight months out, many of them are still displaced, still in temporary accommodations, still separated. Mean while, New Orleans get reconstituted and rebuilt. The rebuilding is slow. There is no place for those who were left behind when Katrina hit. The rebuilding is painfully slow, outrageously expensive, and in the hardest hit areas virtually nothing has changed.

This is the first time that a large U.S. city has been destroyed and rebuilt. This particular city is renowned for its history and distinctive culture. However, it is seen as an opportunity of unprecedented proportion. It is an opportunity to make New Orleans anew - without those who were left behind. While tugging on the heartstrings and nostalgia of the country for the New Orleans lost, the one being rebuilt is likely to be more of a New Orleans theme part, rather than the rich and rooted place it was before Katrina. However, the history and culture of New Orleans is made of the blood and spirit of those who have lived and died there. Not just the rich ones, not just the white ones, not just the healthy ones, and not just those looking for a business opportunity.

The first round of voting has occurred for Mayor of New Orleans. Nobody won, but Nagin and Landrieu are the finalists. Landrieu is the son of a former NOLA Mayor and brother of the current Senator. Nagin, also come from a name Cajun family, though I have never seen that detailed anywhere. Nagin won the 2002 election with the White NOLA vote, but he lost them in this election. Perhaps because he to clearly aligned with Blacks and his remarks about New Orleans being "chocolate" again were not palatable to Whites. Regardless, it seems that no matter who is Mayor that forces are combining to make NOLA a "better" city. That "better" seems to be defined as both richer and whiter.

Before what marginal cleanup ever started, there were those who asked whether New Orleans should be rebuilt. That answer seems to be both "yes," and "no." Yes we will rebuild, but it won't be the old New Orleans. Regardless of generations of roots, there is clearly no plan to being most of the NOLA diaspora home again. I am sure that many hope the evacuees quietly disappear. However, they likely will not. NOLA roots (heck Southern roots) run deep. Missouri may have the mule as state animal, but the deep south takes the cake for ties to place and history. The displaced will not quietly be moved stage left.

The poverty of many of those who were evacuated is not aiding in their hopes of returning home. It seems increasingly clear that their needs are not being met. The chart below from the NY Times shows the differences between the health of children displaced by Katrina to other urban Louisiana children. It is clear that there are significantly more health issues (and those not being addressed) among the children who were displaced. While it is likely that the numbers were higher even before Katrina due to the concentration of poverty in New Orleans, the fact that they are not receiving needed medications now is significant. It means that necessary services - including basic healthcare - are not reaching the displaced.

This graphic is from th April 18, 2006 NY Times

There is an ongoing disaster happening in front of our eyes. It is happening on many levels, and the racism and classism that played such a devastating role in the original catastrophe is happening on multiple levels as the "recovery" continues. We can stand by and watch, or we can pressure the government(s) to do the right thing. The poor have just as much right to return home as those with resources. The ties of heart and heritage runs as strong in the veins of the brown as the do in the veins of the white. If the Gulf, and New Orleans, are to be rebuilt, then they must be rebuilt for all - not an elite. If it is not, then it is not only immoral, it is the cosmetic Disneyland that will stand - a sham and not the truth. The "unpleasantness" of racism and classism, of generations of structured inequality will be conveniently "lost" in the forced diaspora. For the winners, New Orleans will be "reborn" washed clean in the waters of Katrina, and the blood of the dead sunk under the rebuilding. But the collective consciousness will bear the unspoken and ugly truth.