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Returning to New Orleans again, five years on, is an exercise in the surreal, as some neighborhoods appear as if Katrina never occurred, while others remain essentially abandoned. One of the hardest-hit sections of the Lower Ninth Ward is now scattered with eco-friendly homes built by the Make it Right Foundation. Farther north, the landscape quickly metamorphoses into untamed vegetation as nature reclaims the land man has abandoned. To see fields of wild grass where dozens of families once lived is unnerving. But the city’s soul is intact. I spent Sunday afternoon marching through the streets of New Orleans with the Valley of the Silent Men Social Aid and Pleasure Club during its annual second-line parade. The classic brass music was hypnotic and the people bounded through the city in a gorgeous moveable street ballet. Second-line parades are one of the countless examples of the living history embedded in this city. The parades are basically jazz funerals without a body and represent a history of economic, social and political empowerment, community solidarity and cultural pride within the African-American communities of New Orleans. I'm optimistic about New Orleans, in spite of the recent oil spill, because of the astonishing resilience of the people. They have suffered wars, slavery, fires, riots, yellow fever, cholera, segregation, poverty and 27 major floods over the past 290 years. Their spirit, their dignity and their resolve will carry them through once again, as it always has.
Back in 2005, I photographed a man known as ‘Cowboy’ as he waded through the Katrina floodwaters on Columbus Street with a house fire raging behind him. I was always curious about his story, because I didn’t get to speak with him. I returned to Columbus Street a number of times over the years and asked about him, and rumors always swirled when his name came up. Some said he burned the house down intentionally (he was renting a room there) and fled the city. Others said he was dead. Monday afternoon I began to photograph Columbus Street again. A resident asked what I was photographing and to my utter surprise he said nonchalantly, "You wanna meet Cowboy? He's sitting over there under that tree." I went over and sure enough, it was him.
I told him I had photographed him on that day back in 2005 and he was slightly taken aback, but he said he thought he recognized me. He then began to tell me his story. His real name is Robert Fontaine. He stayed in the Columbus Street house during the flooding to care for some dogs that were left behind. He was using candles for light, due to the lack of electricity, but one of the dogs knocked over a candle, causing the fire. He said he nearly died trying to rescue the dogs as burning pieces of the house collapsed around him. For two years following the storm, he lived in a FEMA trailer in Baton Rouge. Fontaine has developed a brain tumor and has been given 3-6 months to live. He suspects it may have been caused by the fire or toxic floodwaters. He appeared to be about 20 pounds thinner. He said, "My whole life, my whole world crashed, for everyone, not just for me."
Photo courtesy of Umbrage Editions
Mario Tama's book, 'Coming Back: New Orleans Resurgent' will be published by Umbrage Editions, Sept. 1, 2010.
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The United States helps everyone in other countries.....we're one of the first to come to their aide. Our government fell way short for the people (OUR PEOPLE) of New Orleans after Katrina. Shame on US!
You are so right. Not only that, it is my understanding that our govt actually refused help from other countries. See my answer to MTaS.
Thank you to both of you! It breaks my heart to see what has happened to New Orleans, the Gulf Coast, and our country. I used to believe the U.S. could actually accomplish things if we needed to; I lost all faith after seeing what happened with Hurricane Katrina. The disaster in the Gulf Coast only reinforced my position. Shame on us is right!
So right! I went twice, once with Red Cross and once with Habitat for Humanity. The government wasn't there, and the FEMA trailers that were delivered in the Biloxi area all went to the upscale white housing areas, not the poorer areas. Bush has a lot to answer for.
Bash Bush again!!! The mayor let the people down, the govener let the people down!!! What about all the buses in the parking lot under water after the fact? The buses could have moved a lot of people to safer ground!
Not true. My husband was involved in setting up these trailers some of them went to under poorer families.
John-1233568
Watched Skike Lee's doc about katrina and you are co right, the mayor and governer knew that storm was coming right at them and having people come to the superdome was a mistake, and the buses we saw in 10 feet of water should have been used before the storm hit to get people out., but we can't let Bush off the hook, it took him 4 days to get troops in there, if the media could get there then why not the largest military on earth. he got to bagdad in 2 weeks but it took him 4 days to get to new orleans, what a joke.
Obviously you have no idea what it take to deploy the military. First a declaration by the GOVENOR. Learn the facts first. My fellow soldiers and I got there as soon a swe were deployed
You can't put all the blame on Bush. I was in the Gulf during Katrina. The GOVENOR first has to declare a State of Emergency BEFORE fedral aide can start, military troops can deploy, etc. HE FAILED TO DO SO. He made a poor decision and unfortunately the uninformed public (i.e. the people that don't know because they don't deal with these types of disasters on a regular basis) don't know the typical protocol. I know from experience that a good govenor will declare a state of emergency before the storm hits so that the military, FEMA and other state and fedral aide will be standing by ready to step in and help where it is needed after the fact. Hopefully, the government in the city of New Orleans and in the state of Louisanna have learned from this tragic incident and will be more prepared if a situation like this is to arise again and will take the proper precautions before hand so that the aftermath isn't so devistating.
Been there many times--wife from New Iberia--so sad to see the city this way then and now--BUT why are we spending millions to rebuild in the bottom of the bowl again--it could and probably will happen again. Let's move all of these people to higher ground--Why should the American tax payer keep footing the bill bill for flooding here and all other places in this country??? We need an injection of COMMON SENSE--we are broke and and yet we continue to make the same mistakes year after year.
How ignorant are you? Great idea. While we're at it, let's move people from California to places where no earth quakes can occur or wild fires start. And I guess we should go through the middle of the country and move people out of areas where tornado's occur. And while we're at it, let's get to the South and Eastern coasts and move everyone out of the potential path of a hurricane. Give me a break. Our disgusting representatives are so worried about lining their own pockets and those of their donors they won't commit to rebuilding anything. We can send billions to help other 3rd world countries but do nothing for our own.
Poet -- you have a good point. Why are we REBUILDING in places that will just flood again. Everyone will have to pay for it in taxes and insurance rates.
As to Jack, name calling will get you nowhere. If you KNOW a place will flood, as has been proven by history because it's BELOW sea level and it floods on a consistent basis, then don't rebuild there. It's not exactly the same as having the CHANCE of a hurricane or the CHANCE of a tornado. No, you can't move everyone out of the possibility of ALL natural disasters, but you can use a bit of common sense as well.
And if you DO decide to rebuild there, rebuild houses that can stand up to flooding and storms -- stilt houses for example. Poets point was to stop making the same mistakes over and over again.
New Orleans is undoubtedly the most special and magical city in the world. Moving it is NOT an option!
Having seen MANY other cities around the world, I wouldn't go quite that far. However, it is a great place. BUT, if parts of it keep flooding ... does it make sense to keep building there? Or at least building the same kind of houses?
Jack - How ignorant are you! The premise of the post you reference is that it makes no sense to keep rebuilding in areas that will experience continuous flooding or other natural disaster. And it makes even less sense at a time when the Nation's financial resources are nil and there are numerous other needs to be met with what little there is!
Why do you call this premise ignorant?
If you live under sea level, what the hell do you expect?
I have to agree. You just cannot do one up on nature - levees are manmade, the Gulf, well the Gulf is what it is. I never could quite understand the "bowl" effect until Katrina hit. I could never live there, below sea level.
Ask the Dutch. 75% of that country is below sea level. The Dutch offered their help when Katrina struck but it is my understanding that the govt refused their help or their advice. We are so darn arrogant, that even during overwhelming problem, we refuse to check and see how other countries may have solved similar problems satisfactorily. Ignorance is bliss????
The entire city is not below sea level; most of the older neighborhoods are built on the natural levees that formed along the Mississippi River and the bayous that run through the city. Some of those levees have been heightened for additional protection, especially those along the lake and the major drainage canals.
Unfortunately, the Bush administration stripped the USACE of the funds necessary to maintain and upgrade the levees that ultimately failed during the aftermath of Katrina; that money was funneled into the newly formed Department of Homeland Security soon after 9/11. USACE construction projects in progress had to be halted, and, well, you know the rest of the story.
The levees along the river are there to protect the city, but are also in place and maintained by the USACE to control the river to maintain shipping access to upriver ports. The river did not flood the city, even though most of the city is below river level for much of the year depending on seasonal flow.
I've lived in New Orleans my entire life and have never had one drop of water come into any of my homes. There are area's that flood when an enormous amount of rain comes down in a short period of time; like most cities. Government made levees broke during the storm and caused the overwhelming majority of flooding. Those homes that flooded have never been flooded before. New Orleans has numerous pumping stations that work fine now, and if no other anomalies occur should be fine. We had arguably the worst combination of Mayor and Governor any state had at that time.
Suzie, Holland does not get hit by hurricanes. Having been there, I can say their levies are not significantly better than what we had/have. Take a look at
http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/File:Tropical_Storm_Map_png
You'll see nothing in the North Atlantic near Holland. Your typical North Sea storm, though impressive, is nothing like a hurricane. And if you are going to say: (1) the Dutch offered advice/help, and (2) we refused said help, please post your sources, or it is worth nothing but inflamitory heresay.
Just ONCE I'd like to see a story about Katrina and New Orleans that doesn't mention THE NINTH WARD.
Newsflash - the 9th ward was a small portion of New Orleans that was affected. Why not do a story on Lakeview? Oh right - mostly middle class republicans. Can't show those responsible people who worked their tails off to rebuild - nope - let's just show the gimme crowd.
Most of the 9th ward was government sponsored welfare recipients that Houston luckily accepted. Sad part is, their crime rate went up 60% since then. Always a silver lining.
I can't believe this. I goggled the ninth ward this morning trying to find an article like this and could find nothing. If you look at the photos it should remind you of everything wrong with this country. I call it collaps of governance. Here a charity has to rebuild a city because the residents can't. In the background you can see prosperity and commerce, but in the Ninth Ward only the strongest survive. I have never been to a location of a natural or in this case man made, (Army Corps of Engineers) calamity where the residents didn't prosper over the rebuilding. But now we have a different form of government. The INS and Labor Department aided by a disfunctual IRS allowed illegal alien contractors to make most of the money sent to New Orleans and Mississippi. I went to New Orleans to see the rebuilding and if your name was not Hispanic then you need not apply. The locals were almost completely dealt out of their own rebuilding by lack of enforcement of labor and immigration law by the federal agencies. I didn't want a job but have in gthe past taught building trades, and I get offers to teach building trades but nowdays it is usually some crackpot program because the graduates can't find jobs in the building industry because of the illegal contractors. The collapse of governance is national and being coppied by state and local bureaucracies. It is killing the middle class, ruining people's respect for law, and doing away with patriotism. I wrote Jessie Jackson volunteering to come in and teach the peoples of New Orleans to rebuild their own homes and civic buildings but didn't even get a hello out of the Jackson camp. The AFL-CIO and NAACP are part of the rediculous abandonment of the middle class in backing wallstreet. The Tea party is wrong some of the time but they are the only force, in this country, that is right most of the time about governance. I just wish that they would declare as a third party because the Repubs got us here and are trying to half join the solution party.
Any verifiable facts to back this up, or is it just racist bullchips?
The 9th ward was a ghetto and will be again. Let's have a story on St Bernard Parish where the Gov't abandoned the residents.
I agree. I grew up in New Orleans and love the city. My husband was born and raised in Arabi [St Bernard Parish] . We have lived there for 33 years now. We are 5 minutes from New Orleans. St Bernard Parish is a hard working group of middle class people. We pay our taxes, try to raise our children properly. Our WHOLE parish was wiped out. About 20,000 homes and businesses were totally lost. Our house have 14 feet of water. We have 2 children [ a college graduate and a mentally handicapped child]. We lived in Baton Rouge for 5 months then a Fema trailer for a year while our house was rebuilt. It was two weeks before the water drained out, then Hurricaine Rita hit and reflooded us with 5 feet of water. It was 3weeks before we could even see our homes. The 9th ward is only one section of New Orleans. The city still had the quarter, uptown, marigny and bywater dry. Lakeview [the tax base] area of New Orelans was also totally lost. But, you don't hear about that either because they are also people who pay their own way. The lower 9th ward was crime ridden. Very few people who lived there owned homes. WE did have flood insurance but, not enough. Who thinks you will have your entire house almost covered with water? St Bernard Parish is coming back because it's residents worked together to help one another. I don't mind helping people less fortunate but, I want them to help themselves. I just wish the media would tell the whole story. This is just a little bit of what I could tell you. The whole story would take a book.
It is a sad sad thing for ALL who lived there but I have to agree that people forget about the middle class....the ones that pay their taxes and bills without welfare or Medicade...many times make too much for any kind of assistance...they work hard to keep their kids in school or daycare many of them have two working parents who work hard to provide health insurance, school, and daycare costs, and extra activities as well as higher education such as college for their family and children. Its not just the poor that had it rough! People shouldn't put down the middle class folk for working so hard for what they want. Almost everyone (and I say almost) makes a personal choice to be in the situation the are in. The economy isn't making things as easy these days but we all have choices on the path in life that we take.
Just my thoughts
The Ninth Ward had 62% home ownership. Even you from New Orleans don't have the statistics right because you turned a blind eye to the suffering brought on by the Army Corp of Engineers who never built the levy's up to standard anyway. Also, it was Donald Rumsfeld that DID NOT allow our troops to go in for FIVE days although the Air Force was in Thailand WITHIN TWO DAYS after the Tsunami hit there in late 2004. I agree with Kanye West "George Bush (and I will add Rumsfeld, and all the rest an that sorry, criminal administration) don't care about Black people." But he really should have said poor people, down trodden people and people of color.
The government has our votes. Now they are after the worlds votes. Why should they care about their own people? Its in the news everyday. You just have to pay attention. Its usually right in front of your face. The government has one rule they know they can bend and that is the constitution. It favors both ways in any given argument. In God We Trust? Really? The question is, Where do I find the real history books? No not the ones from high school! Just something to think about. Not that it really matters. They own you.
So people in the ninth ward are not important???? So it should all be about the one's that rebuilt for themselves, huh...... Well come to Nashville and we will show you a town that is rebuilding with the help of each other, the poor help the rich and the rich help the poor. I love Tennessee...
Having traveled a bit in my long life it was a conversation with a Brit a short while ago that seems to sum us all up.
He said: "You know is is a strange thing about you Yanks, you rush into countries all over the world giving them aid and assistance and ignore the deprivations of your own citizens who ultimately pay all of the bills for your adventures."
Pretty much nailed it for me!
I aggree FlNutmegger!
And they rebuilt right in the same place that flooded before.
/facepalm
It's hard to feel sympathy when people are just that dirt stupid.
What would happen if a class three hurricane the size of Ike would hit New York tommorrow? Would we pump out the subways? Would we forget about replacing the drainage and sewer systems? How about all that wiring under the city that would become garbage? Those tall glass buildings would become junk. Would you bunch of Yanks want to move the city to Pennsylvania. Better think about global warming and watch the Atlantic....here it comes!
To blame Bush entirely is not right. We as a people failed them. When Bush cut taxes and spending the cuts had to come from somewhere. While we are all happy we had cuts and lower taxes did we consider where the cuts were coming from? So remember when you blame Bush, you might as well look at those fingers pointing back at you while your pointing at him. We as a people failed and what are we as a people doing about it but complaing and blaming? Instead of blaming and complaining do something about it. raise funds, join in and help. stop blaming and complaining. be productive. That's what has set us apart from so many other countries in history. We lift each other up when there has been trouble.
I disagree with you, it is entirely the governments fault. We (the us) need to quit sending billions to other countries (that want us dead) to help their people caught in the middle. We have so many in this country that need help, but Washington and Local officials have always turned a blind eye. They know someone will do a telethon, but HELL I am tired of giving and it goes overseas and down south.
Movibuff, if we weren't down south taking care of your energy needs you would be freezing in the dark. We have to live where we work. Personally most of the people pay there own bills and repair there own properties. As far as "your money" going down south I doubt that you contribute as much as the average southerner to the washington give-away programs. The south is where the jobs are!
I realize that New Orleans was damaged and because of it's history has received most of the attention after Katrina, but it sickens me when that's all you hear about. My husband's family is from Gulfport and we visited in May, before Katrina hit. Our visits always included a drive down Hwy 90 (waterfront) from Biloxi to Bay St. Louis looking at the beautiful old homes along the beachfront. When Katrina hit the Mississippi Gulfcoast it was though an atomic bomb had landed. The entire beachfront was gone. Homes that had survived Camille were gone. This area as well as other areas along the coastline of both Mississippi & LA were completely devastated. Most of these areas are inhabited by people who make their livings off the land and sea. These people (who are from the mindframe that you work for what you get) are still in need of assistance yet all we hear about is New Orleans. We are always looking for someone to blame (and it's always with the other political party even if they are no longer in charge) but how many of us have volunteered our own time and sweat to help?
And Moviebuff, I've lived in a rural area of FL between Orlando and Tampa, if you're talking about sending your money south you better talk to your kin folk that come down here and stay. Let there be an issue in your area and see how quickly Southern companies/churches and individuals respond.
Just to clarify - Bush and the Congress cut tax rates, and tax collections (and employment) increased. Congress didn't cut spending, they increased spending faster than the collections increased.
Now that the rates are going to be increased (because the cuts will expire), tax collections will decrease, employment will continue to decrease and Congress is massively increasing spending.
Guess what the result will be.
No government could have been ready to deal with such a catastrophic event. If you live below sea level you'd better have a lot of home owner's insurance. If you can't afford it, move. It would be nice if we could build everyone a new house but we can't. People have to be held accountable for themselves.
Many of those same people were told to evacuate and refused to do so. I agree with Rob, people have to be held accountable for their actions/decisions.
Not that it really matters but what I am hearing here is that residents of this city should take the responsibility of a natural disaster. I would even go as far as stating that they are being blamed for a natural disaster.
Seriously, even if these people took enough supplies with them for 5 days then what? They were not allowed to return their homes for weeks. What were they supposed to do walk to another state, apply for jobs, sleep on the street and be without food until they found a job to support themselves again? Should they had begged to stay at someone's home? Stay in someone's barn.......what? I am TIRED of hearing people say that these people should NOT be getting a dime of Federal assistance. I can only imagine what people from other nations think when they read this insanity.
Are you saying they should have died due to their decisions? If not, please tell me what is it that they should had done once they were trapped in the Superdome. What exactly should they had done to be accountable for their actions?
I lived in Alabama during Katrina (and Rita and Ivan) and there was far worse damage done to many of the cities in Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. I was angry then and I'm angry now. Why are all of the news articles about the 9th ward? The media plays this sad game every time there is a tragedy in America. They pick and choose who they want to want to show and Americans rely on that information (instead of researching themselves). I'm from Milwaukee and a large percentage of homes were recently damaged in their record breaking floods. Flood insurance is not even an option in Wisconsin (don't believe me, check it our yourselves). There are people there who have lost everything and have no way of getting any of it back.
FEMA is not responsible for rebuilding, they do not give out money to build homes. They simply come in and assess the situation. If your home were destroyed today, and your insurance did not cover it, how long would it take you to save up enough to rebuild? It will be a LONG time before middle and lower class citizens from areas affected by Katrina will be able to rebuild. That's not Bush's fault. Capitalism does not understand tragedy. It is a fundamental flaw of the system that we so heavily rely upon.
Yet here is this country rebuilding Iraq. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100829/ap_on_bi_ge/ml_iraq_us_reconstruction_legacy
I watched television in the week's leading up to Katrina.
the residents were warned to leave. but no. they had it all figured out. then when the authorities were begging them to leave, they still ignored the obvious. I have no sympathy for stupidity. To blame the federal government is wrong. blame your local leaders, the mayor, the governor.
And then they want to rebuild in the same place? under sea level? how stupid can these people be? Not a rhetorical question, I think the population showed just how stupid they are. MOVE YOU IDIOTS. And now there is a huge enviromental disaster in the BP Fiasco. Pre-Oiled seafood, Contamination that will take generations to clean up.
God is telling you people something..............
Many of the people that didn't evacuate did not have the means to leave the city. They didn't own a vehicle and there were very few buses, and those were mostly full.
Many areas of the world are prone to flooding, not only New Orleans, think about how too much rain effects many areas of this nation. I see places like Kansas flooding often. We don't tell those people to leave. How about coastal areas that are often hit by hurricanes nobody bashes the people that live there and berates them for living too close to the shores.
I remember watching on TV the people in the street complaining about no shelter as piles of wood and materials just sit on the sidewalk, not one of these people had enough sense to build a temporary shelter for the elderly? I thought these had to be the stupidest people in the world to just sit and whin and suffer. Then we have all the looting which amazed me, I think maybe mother nature was doing what she does best. Now there is little talk about the other states and townships ruined whose citizens banded together and worked their butts off to make whole again. Just blame the Government that's what most dependant entitlment people do.
Lynn - my point exactly. you are basing your opinion on what you saw on tv. they did build temporary shelters and they waited in line to get inside the superdome. people died of starvation and dehydration (it took 5 days for food and water to be shipped in). up until the night before katrina hit land, the news and weather swore up and down that the storm would PASS new orleans. in fact, new orleans survived the storm. the levees broke afterwards.
you, like so many Americans, now have the opinion that the people left to fend for themselves with no provisions were stupid and lazy. you tell me, if your house was under 5 feet of water, your bank was no longer in service, there were no atms available and your children were cold, hungry and wet, would you break into a store (that will most likely never reopen) and take food/clothing for them? would you break into walmart and steal weapons to defend them? would you consider yourself looting? and demanding the government bring you food and water like they would to any third-world country is not whining nor is it entitlement.
very harsh words from you - mother nature doing what she does best?? wow.
Really? Really? Well let me tell you something. I lived in New Orleans and the local news AND weather channel ALL said the storm was going to the Florida panhandle. The Friday evening 6:00 pm news still had it going to the Florida/Alabama line. It wasn't until the 10:00 pm news that they began saying prepare to evacuate. That was less than 48 hours before the storm hit. But please, don't left facts get in the way of your bias opinions.
Why do people insist on making crap up when they have no idea on what REALLY happened? I suppose they feel this need to justify their petty, bitter selves.
Sick and Tired, those TV being hoisted on their shoulders were for what? Ya, I thought so...
Many store owners openned their door as they knew water, batteries, etc. were needed yes, we saw that on TV news also. Stealing microwaves, TV's, Stero not so good. Why is it that so many other have since rebuilt and cleaned up? It was a disaster that New Orleans living in a bowl was not more prepared. Where did all the levy money go all those grants that afforded the leadership in New Orleans many nice dinners. Buses sat emtpy in parking lots why?
I'll tell you who's ready. The Chinese. 6 weeks after the massive earthquakes they had within the last year, they had 2 million citizens housed in temporary structures. Nothing fancy, but WOW, they mobilized in a way we never could. And those people were grateful and cooperative in a way I'm not sure we would be.
Hogwash.....they have 9 day traffic jams! You must be reading red papers
The mayor and the govener of new orleans fell down.They had no leadership.
Dan
How can my comment say any mowe then what was just writen. Well done and so tue.
So true. Any why don't other countries (especially the one's we have helped in the past) come rushing to OUR aid? The USA needs to take care of their OWN. Let the rest of the world figure out their own problems, the Lord knows we have more than enough of our own. AMEN.
You know I agree with many of the comments on here in regards to helping out other Americans, but the question that hasn't been discussed is, "Should we rebuild in the same location (Flood Zone) again"?
It just doesn't make much sense to rebuild knowing this could happen again.
The inadequate levy system constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers caused the flooding and not Katrina.
It is always stated that living below sea level is the issue and therefore New Orleans should not be re-built. Why is the same logic not utilized for areas in this country who deal with drought, tornados, mudslides, sinkholes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. New Orleans has one of the oldest cities and thanks to the port, oil platforms, and sea food much of this country is supported by Louisiana. I would not live in an area that has earthquakes or tornados but it does not mean that I wouldn't support the victims of those natural disasters when they occur and they do occur. Regarding poor people struggling to get out or not doing enough for themselves, look at any metropolitan area when disasters strike, they are all the same...New York blackouts and looting, etc
regarding "ungyded" comments, we did rebuild in New Orleans to support the return of a great city following catastrophic losses. Then again, watching television does make one an expert. I hope you are listening to God also...don't reproduce.
Hmmmmm....let's see. You say that some of the area has returned to it's natural state and now uninhabited by man. What a novel, frickin' idea!!! It sits below sea level...whey the hell would anyone in their right mind build there in the first place? And to those that have chosen to do so a second time...you're dumber than you were the first time. And we all know, "You can't fix stupid"!!!