My oh my, what a difference two years make.
Remember when people were trapped in the Superdome and at the New Orleans Convention Center in the days after Hurricane Katrina with no food or water and disgusting, overflowing bathrooms? Remember after Hurricane Rita, when there was basically no response to affected regions because our state and federal governments were too busy trying to clean up the literal mess they made in New Orleans?
According to CNN, California residents who have been affected by the wildfires that are plaguing the state are not suffering from the same life-threatening conditions as New Orleanians were two years ago. In fact, the evacuees were being treated to rock bands, extravagant buffets and free massages inside Qualcomm Stadium courtesy of local donations.
Naturally, conditions are different. San Diego is not surrounded by high water, and basic utilities are still functioning for the most part. It was a bit disconcerting, however, to hear news outlets referring to those affected by the wildfires as “evacuees.” Those of us affected by Hurricane Katrina were referred to as “refugees.”
In all honesty, it was probably an appropriate label for those of us who survived the storm. We weren’t evacuating an area; we were escaping an iconic American city that had been degraded into a dung filled hellhole that National Guards told me two months after Katrina made them feel like they had never left Iraq.
I “moved” to New Orleans the Friday before Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, beginning what I thought was the start of my collegiate career at Loyola University. I say “moved” because I ended up driving home late that Friday night to retrieve the last of my clothes with Hurricane Katrina seeming to be only a distant threat. When I woke up the next morning and heard how bad the storm had become, my mother and I decided not to return to the city until we saw what would happen.
It was October before I went back.
I was fortunate enough to get out of the storm’s direct path before it hit.
Thousands of other New Orleanians weren’t. The problem is it was not the fault of just the federal government nor Gov. Kathleen Blanco nor the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
It was everyone’s fault.
The federal government’s crowning achievement was President Bush’s promise in front of Jackson Square days after Katrina that the United States would do all it could to aid us in our time of need, and it would “never forget” us. Funny how our ongoing struggles didn’t merit any mention in Bush’s 2007 State of the Union address. I have heard Bush say the same thing to the people of California, and I desperately hope he intends on staying true to his word this time around.
Of course, the magnitude of the devastation in California, while tragic, cannot be compared to the devastation wrought by Katrina. Federal Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Mary Margaret Walker said, “There are significant differences in the Katrina and Rita hurricane events and the wildfire events going on now in California. The hurricanes of 2005 were the most catastrophic events this country has had to deal with in modern times, if not forever. The size and scope were incredibly different.”
FEMA, while responding better than it did to the 2005 hurricane season, is still mangling its response to the wildfires. As reported by the Los Angeles Times on Oct. 27, FEMA employees staged a faux press conference, having themselves ask questions of Vice Administrator Harvey E. Johnson Jr.
The “press conference” is so disturbing to those in the media because it completely violates the integrity of a press conference. Reporters have open access to these press conferences so they can ask both the easy and the hard questions of government officials. This is the only way for us to keep officials accountable. If no one is asking the tough questions, as the “reporters” at the FEMA press conference surely would not do of their boss, how can we know what’s really going on?
It seems to me that while there is greater cooperation between federal and state officials this time around, FEMA and the federal government are still unsure of how to do their jobs. And while it is comforting to see those affected by the California wildfires treated better than Katrina and Rita survivors because of better cooperation between state and federal officials, one has to wonder if it is a result of party politics.
Either way, the federal government is making strides toward improving its disaster response. But unless a major overhaul of the system occurs, I hope the people of California won’t rely on the government to help them. If the “progress” shown in Louisiana and Mississippi is any indication, you may be compensated by FEMA and the insurance companies by 2010 – If you’re lucky.
——Contact Laura Bratcher at [email protected]