Granted, most folks aren't playing Rambo this time and trying to simply hunker-down and ride out the potential store moving across the waters of the Gulf. Evacuating ahead of time for some hurricanes proved to be unwarranted, but when they decided to stay, Katrina packed a punch no one was prepared for. I'm glad to see the State government moving in a more pro-active manner this time. With Katrina, while they say they had ample plans in place for such an emergency, communication lines were gone virtually immediately and that's how things fell (so far) apart. Not much a plan to my way of thinking...a huge storm hits and you have plans in place to make it alright and help folks, but you never think about what happens if there's no communication lines available? That's like waiting on a pending blizzard and not bringing a woodpile up from the back-40 to the cabin door. Just silly and poorly thought-out.
There were (are still, 3 years later...) communities that have not been reached for rebuilding. That should be something totally unacceptable for folks. But, it's not. No one hase really given much thought to Katrina since the first anniversary passed. Twenty-eight hundred FEMA trailer families....still? I don't understand that at all. Three years pass and there are still those living in FEMA trailers?
How does something like that happen in a country who touts prosperity as we do? We load families up after a disaster such as this and then walk off and forget about them? Worse yet -- we place them in formaldehyde-loaded trailers?
Because of chemical contamination, “it’s probably a good idea to get people out of trailers,” said Joseph Rich, a lawyer with the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in Washington. “But not at the expense of making them homeless.”Gee...ya think? I'm sure some would argue that there are, among these trailer families, those who simply won't move on. Those who would prefer to live off the State until such time as they are forced to move on.
I imagine that's true in some cases. Some folks are like that. But still...these trailers aren't safe and that's been known for over a year now. There is no reason whatsoever for any family to still be living in them. The government could very easily move them to safer housing and finish the Katrina issue. It's been 3 years. You either take steps or you don't. I really think it's that simple.
Guess Big Brother can't be everywhere afterall, heh? Sad. We could have used him in this instance.
Our prayers go out to the counties under the watch of pending Gustav. May The Lord protect you and keep you safe. Please don't wait on the National Guard or some government group to come help you -- make your own plans and evacuate yourself.
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