Water, water everywhere

By Edmund W. Lewis
Editor

Eleven years ago, the Crescent City was hit with the greatest man-made disaster in U.S. history. More than 80 percent of the city was immersed in toxic floodwaters; more than 3,000 people lost their lives and tens of thousands of residents were displaced.

Eleven years later, there are still tens of thousand of people — mostly Black and poor — have still not returned. Some by choice, others by new ordinances, policies, and economic trends designed to make it difficult, if not impossible for them to come home.

As we reflect on their plight and continue to deal with the lever changing political, social and economic landscape in New Orleans, we are compelled to turn our attentions to the plight of those hit hard by the Great Flood of 2016.

With the 11th Anniversary of Katrina approaching, we could talk about ongoing challenges, but we won’t. We could talk about the inequitable inept and duplicitous practices of elected officials and members of the business community after the storm, but we won’t. Now is not the time for any of that.

Tens of thousand of Louisiana residents are suffering and literally fighting for their lives and their future. We can either sit on the sidelines and watch them suffer and struggle or we can get in the game and do whatever we can to help them. That might include everything from participating in a food, clothing or blood drive, delivering words of encouragement to flood victims, meet or supporting fundraisers for flood victims.

Some of us who went to college in Louisiana may have fond memories of friends, former classmates and their loved ones who became a part of their extended family of the years. Katrina survivors who lived for some time in one or more of these towns may recall the warmth and kindness extended to them by complete strangers and the friendships forged in the wake of Katrina.

The 2016 flood is a great opportunity to reach out to these individuals and their families and reconnect with them. Who knows better than we do that sense of helplessness, that feeling of being lost, dazed and confused in the early days of taking steps to rebuild lives, homes and communities after a disaster?

We should make it clear to them that we have been here before and stand with them as they begin the recovery process. This is a chance for those of us who were blessed with the kindness of strangers, to show our gratitude and for others to pay it forward.

One of the things that will never change is how much we need each other. We need that human touch, human interaction and the human connection. There was a woman from one of the flood-impacted areas that said she has lived in her community for 20 years but only knew five people outside of her family.

This is her chance to re-connect with her neighbors in her town and those in neighboring parishes.

This article originally published in the August 22, 2016 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.