The Truth About Katrina

America saw it all: the nonstop days of updates on FOX, CNN, NBC, The Weather Channel... The US and much of the world watched as the massive monster named "Katrina" crashed into the heart and soul of the south. But I lived it. I was an evacuee. I had only been in college for two weeks when Katrina tore through, and I was seperated from my family for weeks. It has now been over a year since the monster storm claimed the lives and homes of so many in Southeastern Louisiana and Mississippi, and people seem to have forgotten that it ever happened. After the one-year anniversary reports were shown on the major news affiliates most of America let the memories and worries fade with the next new hot topic. But those who live there, still wrestle daily with the demons left behind by Katrina.

I was born and raised in a small town north of New Orleans, called Slidell. Slidell is northeast of New Orleans, and took the eye of the storm. I no longer live in Slidell, moving where college deemed I should go, but I visit often. I made one such trip there for Christmas. Normally New Orleans and Slidell are bursting with Christmas spirit... but this year many of the Christmas traditions remained cancelled. People are still living in tents, campers, and FEMA trailers. Some choose to reside in damaged homes covered with blue tarps. Things are so bad, that people have to choose where their paycheck goes to: groceries or repairs. Illness abounds in the area, because of so much black mold, and epidemics of viral infections. While spending Christmas there, I became very ill just from breathing the black mold. Yet in the post-Katrina world there are unsung heros... and unrevealed villans.

The heros: The Salvation Army who was there within days of the storm, offering a warm meal and a word of comfort to those who lost it all. There are also teams of volunteers that travel from all over the US, to help gut houses, rebuild, and offer encouragement. And certainly not least, the churches. My mother and father pastor a church in Slidell that has been a relief site for over a year and a half. They were the first relief site in Slidell, offering a drive-thru for basic supplies like groceries, water, bleach, towels, diapers, and they also hosted The Salvation Army. The villians: The Red Cross. You may have seen their commercials on television right after the hurricane. They had web-banners, commercials, and celebrities asking for your donation. Let me be the first to inform you that the only thing they did for us after Katrina, was give us $200 per person and send us on our way. And in order to get the $200, people had to travel to Panama City Beach, Florida and wait in line. Those who had the means to go, went... but most of those stricken, those who needed it most, never saw a dime. There was one relief center that was made known to us, and it was small and understaffed. So in retrospect, what have we learned from Katrina? That America is unprepared to help those who are devastated by natural disasters. That the biggest heros are the ones without a PR department or an advertising budget. That in times of trouble the greatest help comes from the people you least expect.