|
Thursday, May 18. Posted by Sara Almqvist.
Someone once described Savannah as a beautiful woman with a
dirty face. When we arrived in New Orleans, I was stunned by the
similarities between the two cities; however, if Savannah is a woman
with a dirty face, New Orleans is a gorgeous lady, who has just
thrown-up and whose face is scared by leprosy.
Today we had the chance to encounter a very special person in New
Orleans – Ms. M.
Ms. M is a grandiose woman in her 50s. She uses a lot of spices
when she cooks, collects shoes and adores colors. Her house is
bright turquoise, and her clothes range from burned earth to mold
green. Ms. M knows how to enjoy all good things life has to offer;
she even eats chocolate chip cookies in bed.
We never actually met Ms. M, although we learned much about her,
just by cleaning up her abandoned house. Someone had written on the
outside wall that Ms. M was safe with her family in Houston. I hope
that is true. I also hope that Ms. M has started a new shoe
collection and that she continues to indulge in cookies at bedtime.
Thursday, May 18. Posted by Udara Soysa
Today was an enriching experience for all of us. After a hard
work day, we organized a grand presentation with an ACORN director
and two other community activists at Delgado Community College right
across from our camp. Nearly 50 camp members from different
universities participated in the event, and we gathered emails of
interested participants for a national student movement.
The presentation by Steve Acorn was fascinating. He spoke about
the lack of awareness among the general American population and the
social issues prevailing in the society. He took the plans for New
Orleans as an example. He also said that massive ethnic cleansing is
indirectly taking part in New Orleans, forcing African Americans
from New Orleans.
The community activist Babatunji stressed the need for workers to
come back to the city for the rebuilding. He had also proposed a
5-year pilot plan, which he has presented to the relevant
authorities and is now seeking student support.
The other activist, Sherine, spoke about her Katrina experience
related to racial issues which was touching to most of us. Her
experience had been shocking. The presentation was an eye-opener for
most of us.
Back to Katrina Blog Home
|
