I recently visited New Orleans for the first time since hurricane Katrina hit the city. It is where I grew up and have made many return visits, including a year ago so those memories were fresh. This trip was for the twenty third French Quarter Festival, a wonderful event I have attended before. Unlike the more well known jazz fest that follows it, this music festival features mostly local artists who play at local clubs. It also occurs right in the city in the Quarter and along the riverfront. We stayed at the Soniat House in the Quarter. The people were very welcoming and the inside courtyards were a peaceful retreat from the busy festival. They continue to provide rooms for some of the displaced. It has become our residence of choice for the festival and we plan to return next year. I will write more about the festival this Sunday.
I want to first describe the condition of the city, itself. It has become two cities. First there is the “sliver by the river” as many refer to the parts that were not flooded. These areas include the French Quarter, Warehouse District, Garden District, Magazine Street and Uptown. Here there was some storm damage, mostly wind related, like roofs blown off. The Columns Hotel on St. Charles, for example, had its roof blown off and the top two floors destroyed from incoming rain. My grandmother ran this hotel in the 50s and I have many childhood memories of the place. Louis Malle used it as the site for his movie. “Pretty Baby,” These areas have mostly been restored. The Columns has rebuilt and it is now open for business. One of my childhood homes appeared untouched at Riverbend and another, further away from the river, was undergoing a total rehab, gutted back to the studs.
The sliver by the river contains the areas where most tourists visit. Most, but not all, music and food places are reopened for business. They really need the visitors to help rebuild the economy. The food and music are just as great, if not better. Many of the people who work in this area lived elsewhere and lost their homes. A number of people we spoke to are doubling up living with friends or family or commuting great distances to come back to work in the city they love. Now more than ever is the time to visit New Orleans, have a great time and feel good about spending money there. This is important for the short term viability of those trying to make it and the long term viability of the entire city.
So one message is that New Orleans is back and open for much needed business. But this is not the whole story. There is the rest of the city. Many areas, like mid-town, have massive damage remaining. Mid-town seems to be a transition area between the recovering and the totally devastated areas of New Orleans. One such contrast was found when we went to the Rock N Bowl for zydeco dance night. This place is a second floor bowling alley that provides great live music. The heavily damaged shopping mall on the ground floor remained boarded up and fenced off but the parking lot was full on Thursday night with people coming to dance and listen to the music on the spared second floor. Many seemed to be regulars who knew each other. Some I saw there a year ago. But this area is still relatively lucky.
There are even larger areas like the Lower Ninth Ward and some parts of the lake front that are totally devastated and appear to not have been touched since the hurricane driven waters receded. Large areas look like the aftermath of a war, with blocks and blocks of empty shells of homes or completely flattened buildings. The messages painted on the sides of homes after the initial searches about the status of the people and animals inside remain on many homes. Many of the people in these homes who survived likely lack the resources to rebuild on their own.
At first I was not planning to go to the devastated areas as I did not want to “tour” other people’s misery. But then after talking to so many people affected, I decided that I should see these areas first hand. The people that we talked with afterwards appreciated the fact that we took the time to do this and see the state of their city. It certainly has an impact as the vastness of the destruction cannot be conveyed through television or pictures. I am appalled, ashamed, angry, and saddened that a city in this country is allowed to remain in this condition.
So it is a disservice to the side of New Orleans trying to recover to say the city remains totally devastated. It keeps much needed tourist money away, money that supports people at all levels trying to rebuild their lives. However, it is also a disservice to the devasted areas and the thousands of people left homeless or worse to say the city is recovering. I have heard that there about 150,000 people out of the original 450,000 people living in the city itself. This has many implications including the make up of the voting population. Many of those that are most likely in need of help are less likely to remain to vote on the future of the city.
I am very glad that I went to New Orleans. I encourage you to go and have a good time and support the economy. Your visit will be welcomed and appreciated by many. If you belong to an organization, encourage them to have their next meeting there. The American Psychological Association meets there this August. The program will offer special sessions on performance art and music related to the city and regular session themes will include culture, diversity, and behavior. Kudos to them. I also encourage you to reflect on the continuing loss of those displaced and do what you can to help them by conveying your concerns to the politicians who are inactive. You can also make donations to support those affected.
Some donation options include the The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation which administers grants to agencies that support affected families. The Louisiana Family Recovery Corps has a goal to “coordinate and mobilize a network of providers, organizations, and government agencies to deliver comprehensive humanitarian services to displaced Louisianans within the state of Louisiana. In addition, the Corps will reach out to displaced Louisianans wherever they might be temporarily sheltered across the country to assist them in returning to Louisiana.” All worthy goals. Other organizations can be found at the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation and the Foundations for Recovery site lists a large number of grant recipients that are helping with the recovery. These donations will help but the money of the Federal government needs to be brought to bear here to both help with the recovery and to ensure a disaster like this does not happen again. Here are two others:
Habitat for Humanity – Helping victims rebuild, house by house.
America’s Second Harvest – Provides food and financial relief for victims.
Tomorrow, Saturday, I will write about the restaurants we visited and on Sunday I will cover the music we heard.
Comments