Desire and Will

I went there with the expectation that all would be laid to waste. But that is not so.

Nature has recovered fine. It is the man made infrastructures, physical, social, economic, and political, that seem to be suffering.

It has been a year since hurricane Katrina did her damage.

It has been a year since hurricane Katrina did her damage. Though she certainly caused a lot it was the breaking of the levees that caused the most devastation. The areas near my grandmothers house were hit hard, though she was lucky enough to escape. These areas are called Lake Shore and Lake View. However, they were not hit the hardest. The 9th ward was, and I did not see it.

I went and took a look around in Lake Shore and the entire neighborhood was empty houses. A gated community, with all the buildings still standing, was abandoned. The vegetation has taken over wherever it can and there are piles of trash every where, waiting to be cleaned up. The trash at this point is largely the interiors of houses that have been gutted by their owners in order to begin the process of cleaning. But there is a long way to go.

It seems that though the desire and will to recover of those who have returned (not much over half the original population) is strong, the political situation has not yet provided them with what they need. Both local and federal governments seem to work against the people. On top of that those who have worked hard to recover are penalized by continued looting and less governmental support because they have already taken care of some of the work. All in all there is much to be done yet, and though the city is not a ghost town it is not the bustling city I always knew as a kid.

I hope for the best. This is a great opportunity for New Orleans to make positive strides in many important areas, specifically infrastructure and moves towards reducing the racism caused by the lack of education among all citizens there. But I fear that the corruption and lack of unity will only further the divide, and continue to weaken a once great international port.