Playground, Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans
"On Wednesday, the men tried and failed to gain access to Mr. Calhoun's neighborhood. Mr. Calhoun, an inspector of nonfederal airports and a Baptist minister, was stunned. He had repeatedly toured the area since the storm, both when it was unguarded and after troops began blockading the northern half of the Lower Ninth Ward. At a time when the rest of New Orleans was reopened, he never expected to find that the National Guard had sealed his beloved neighborhood so tightly that even Mr. Willie, as he calls himself, could not sweet-talk his way in.
"They're treating us like we're already dead," Mr. Calhoun said after he was turned away at three checkpoints and took his leave of a local police officer - "All right, then, brother" - who informed him that he needed an escort from a City Council member. There were no council members present."
Longing for Home in a Sealed New Orleans Ward - NY Times
6 comments:
Great images as usual!
Its strange for me, a person who heard about the wards only in rap songs before katrina, to see them now in such vivid contrasts.
But what will the 9th ward be in 10 years? I just wonder.
R2000
Bathroom Review
You take piercingly beautiful pictures that seem to capture both the pain of a city lost and the beauty of future hoped.
After reading the entire article, I was struck with a sense of hope, yet I see that all of this is going to take a lot of time. We can't disregard the fact that a large group of the poeple who live(d) in these demolished areas don't have large savings accounts or "big names". They are ordinary people who were (before the storm) and still are just trying to make it day by day. Regardless of their income, they are PEOPLE who have just as much right to live where they want and how they want in America as anyone. But, because they don't have the income to just go "start over" they are becoming frusterated and discouraged. My hats off to those who are trying to help their communities by taking it upon themselves to rebuild and organize their neighborhoods. This is how we will see the south be rebuilt!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9803363/
I just read on MSNBC about more flooding in the 9th ward. Just wanted let pepole know they are probably keeping people out because of this recent flooding. It seems the drainage systems are backwashing so it would make sense to keep people out for safety and health reasons.
I still think they need to let these people take stock of what they have left, if anything, so they can move on and start working on what they need to do next.
I heard the same thing CrackHead, they said up to a foot of water had seeped back in via the pumping stations today, and that they were indeed keeping people out so they werent in danger.
Driving and walking through the Lower 9th on 10/21, we were blocked from heading further West(or was it North) by National Guardsmen and told that this was due to home sweeps for bodies. No one mentioned more water. But then, there is a pervasive vibe in New Orleans that no one really & truly knows what's going on. The sole person we came across in the neighborhood was asking US if we knew anything. He had heard a rumor that the whole lower 9th would be razed. That's a hell of of scary rumor. It was devastatingly sad there.
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