Going to the Presbytere Museum in Jackson
Square today was nice. The first exhibit
that we toured there was a Hurricane Katrina memorial exhibit. Walking into the entrance of the museum I instantly
knew it was going to be an emotional experience. The first thing I seen when while walking in
were glass bottles and hands symbolizing those who died, or was stranded on their
roof top for a week, before the government finally thought it would be a good idea
to sent in help. Which is just strait up
ridiculous, and making me a little ashamed to be an American.
Going further into the exhibit they
had Fats Domino’s Piano. Fats Domino’s
was a local musicianth ward, which was an area
that was left in complete devastation after the breach in the water walls. After the storm Fat Domino wasn’t also
located till about three days after the storms had passed. But to much of everyone’s surprise he has survived
the storms and the floods!
Going further into the exhibit you
were overwhelmed by the many news reports playing in the back ground. As you listened to the coverage about the storm
before it hit mainland, I thought to myself what would I do in that situation. Why didn’t the government act sooner know? It is depressing to know that they had the
knowledge of the beast of a storm coming, why didn’t they evacuate the city sooner,
why didn’t they do more?
To help those that were stranded and
effected by the storm, American citizens started to join rescue efforts to help
those in need. They were coming in
flocks, bring boats of all sized to go out and assist those in need. There were hundreds of individuals from the
Acadiana region that came and helped. Doing
this would soon earn them the title of the Cajun Navy. Other people that were not trained to use a
boat assisted in relieves such as caring for the ill, and providing food to the
hungry. It was amazing people that had
no personal ties to the city were coming to help. Yet it took the government so long to do
anything. I personally feel that it was
due to the poverty level here. I think
the government deep down didn’t care because, what do these people have, or
what do they have to give. It is depressing
because as Americans we don’t have a class system so people are just people
despite what they have. You even had celebrities
join in to help. You had people like
Brad Pitt that donated millions of dollars to help rebuild people’s houses. Harry Connick Jr. also assisted by supplying
places for local musicians to live to help maintain a city that is so rich in the
music culture.
One thing that amazed me was that
the natives here, still went about their traditions, despite the clean- up they
persevered to give the city what it needed, life. The people that are from here are so strong. Despite having such a traumatic experience, they
persevered and pushed on. Doing this showed the world despite major devastation,
you must continue life and not let the past hold you down.
