Editor's Desk: A Letter from New Orleans

By Michael F. Flach
Herald Columnist
(From the issue of 9/22/05)

Who is responsible for the human tragedy that took place in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina? The "blame game" has become a nightly television staple. Fingers have been pointed, to varying degrees, at President Bush and FEMA, the governor of Louisiana and the mayor of New Orleans. Indictments have already been filed against the owners of a nursing home who reportedly abandoned their patients during their hour of need. There will be an extensive federal investigation, just as there was following 9/11. Washington is full of Monday-morning quarterbacks who find it easy to cast blame after the fact.

The negligence has shocked even the most seasoned reporters. Jay LaMonica, a producer for ABC News Nightline and a member of St. John Parish in McLean, couldn’t believe what he witnessed during his 11 days in New Orleans. "I have covered wars and famines in Africa and the Middle East, but I never imagined I would see sights like this in our country," he said.

Here is a partial list of what he saw:

— Elderly people and babies dying of thirst and sickness while just a few feet away American soldiers with leveled guns stood by.

— Entire blocks of apartment and houses smashed to rubble by storm surge in Biloxi and Gulfport, body after body being pulled out.

— People dying because of lack of medical care, baking for days on end in the open without food and water, without sanitary facilities.

— Ill people from hospitals in wheelchairs and stretchers under a highway overpass expiring while they waited for medical attention

—People waiting for up to 36 hours, standing on the highway, while hundreds of buses idled down the road waiting for the proper authorization

LaMonica is encouraged by the generous response and desire to help the victims along the Gulf Coast, especially among religious groups. But he emphasized that much more needs to be done. "I feel obliged to tell you that what is being done in New Orleans is simply not enough," he said. "Much more is required of each of us at this time of the greatest disaster in our nation’s history. Our government has utterly failed a large number of our fellow citizens in their time of need. I implore you to step in and fill the gap."

He encouraged people to be creative. "Mount a caravan with supplies and hit the road as soon as possible," he said. "I guarantee wherever you go along this coast you will save lives and help people. This is the time to seize the moment to do for others in dire need.

"Don’t delay," he said. "Don’t wait for someone to tell you what to do. You can figure it out on your own. The government has been utterly paralyzed and ineffective. On this day in New Orleans more than a week after the hurricane, unless your need is having a gun pointed out at you, it is almost certainly not being met. The resources of the doctors and nurses and others who are willing to help can be particularly helpful - there is plenty to do for everyone who wants to help.

"The time for talking is past," LaMonica said. "Please act and continue your prayers. Anywhere you go on the Gulf Coast with supplies and medical care, you will be welcome and you will be helping people and saving lives. Keep up the prayers."— M.F.F.

Copyright ©2005 Arlington Catholic Herald.  All rights reserved.