"how could this happen?": from the lower 9th witnessing tour

When I first saw the news coverage 2 years ago of hurricane Katrina when it hit, I was at complete shock. It seemed like a complete failure by the government to protect their own people. Since then, I have been deeply interested in how the people of New Orleans would recover from this massive amount of devastation. I felt the only way to understand what they’re going through was to experience it first-hand and take a tour of the lower 9^th ward, an area in New Orleans that was hit particularly hard by the storm. We’ve all seen the pictures of this devastation in the news, however, actually seeing it in person was an unreal experience.

When we first came upon the area I was filled with so many emotions- sadness, anger, frustration, and confusion. I just could not believe the amount of devastation and the lack of restoration nearly 2 years after the storm hit. Why was it taking so long to get the people back into their homes? Why was the government discouraging people from returning to the only home they know and an area they have lived in for generations? The government is clearly ignoring the people and it is not right. 14,000 people used to live in this area and more than 1,700 died as a result of the storm. Currently only about 20 families live in the area.

I learned many things about Katrina that the media does not tell you. I’ve always heard from the media that the levees failed, but with little explanation. The residents there said that during the night of the storm, they heard explosions, which eyewitnesses say was the government blowing up the levees in order to re-direct the water away from the wealthy and tourist areas and directly into the lower 9^th ward. Since it was the middle of the night, all the families were sleeping and had little to no time to evacuate. The water rushed into to their houses and rose to 20 feet within minutes.

I was also shocked to hear that it took one year for this area to get FEMA trailers for the residents that wanted to remain in their community because FEMA and the city were arguing over whether or not the water was okay. Also, after 2 years, these people still do not have land lines for their homes. This is just inexcusable and a completely racist act by the government.

This whole experience left me even more inspired to help communities like the lower 9^th ward to fight the system and demand that they be treated fairly. I am currently majoring in environmental justice & policy and hope to use all of my knowledge from school as well as my experience on the People’s Freedom Caravan to put all my energy and effort into helping people that our government chooses to ignore.

- Debbie Moschak, 21