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The Welcome Mat
Sep. 2nd, 2005 08:49 amI finally got word that my Uncle Brian is safe in Hattiesburg MS. He and his wife rode out the storm there with her mother, but now they have no power or water. They had gotten word that their home in Kenner LA, a New Orleans suburb, was destroyed. They had ridden out other storms in Hattiesburg before, but I suppose they didn't expect that Katrina would be coming in so close with so much fury. I'm sure they would have tried to come into Houston or go to Dallas instead.
Houston is full of refugees. I know that some people balk at the use of that word, since there isn't a foreign country involved here, but I can't come up with a better word. Evacuees? These people are fleeing danger and really don't have a place to go back to. I noticed when I came back the other night I noticed plenty of signs in town offering specials to Louisiana and Mississippi residents. I guess one of the more humorous ones was free admission to La Bare, the women's strip joint for those displaced by the storm.
As you may know, hotels are full, families are taking in other family members, and shelters are also full here. The Astrodome is overcrowded, beyond not only what was expected, but what organizers are able to hose and help. The parking lot is full of even more people who have come hoping for shelter. Perhaps they will be sent on to San Antonio, Huntsville and dallas, right now it isn't know. What's even worse is most of these people only knew about the Astrodome as a shelter, but really don't know about the situation at home, don't know about family members and aren't getting much more info when they get here.
The Tulane football team was invited to come to the University of Houston, but chose to go to Dallas and SMU instead, which gave me a chuckle, as UH got turned down. Of course SMU being a private school like Tulane seemed to be a better fit, and since the team rode out the storm in Jackson MS, made an easier drive. Still, I know that UH was just trying for the publicity. Still, they did open up the doors to last night's football game to the people staying at the Astrodome next door to Reliant Stadium. It's not known how many people took them up on it.
In a way you can say that Texas' welcome mat is open, but there's a rumble in the back ground that says that people are worried about the situation, witch could go on for months. How does a region take on a whole city? What happens as more and more people run out of money being without jobs? Will many of these people just decide to stay? People are worried about taking in people who have been looters and have acted out in their destroyed city. Already the situation at the Astrodome has gotten tense. Of course, a racist vibe is also taking hold. People are worried that we are taking on another city's existing problems, as well as a host of new ones.
One has to wonder how many new residents we will get from this tragedy. Who will go back to the new New Orleans, and how many will just give up on the city and stay here, or go on to other places? What happens to a city destroyed? They rebuilt San Francisco after the 1906 quake, but will we be able to do the same in a state like Louisiana?
It's a difficult situation, separated families, people in desperate situations and a city struggling to figure out how to take care of their needs with little direction from FEMA and the rest of the government. It's a disaster the likes we have never seen, and it's going to be with us for a while.
If you wish to give to those here in Houston and elsewhere in Texas, I'd suggest giving to the Red Cross, who's running the Astrodome shelter and other shelters in the area. There are links to donation sites here.
Houston is full of refugees. I know that some people balk at the use of that word, since there isn't a foreign country involved here, but I can't come up with a better word. Evacuees? These people are fleeing danger and really don't have a place to go back to. I noticed when I came back the other night I noticed plenty of signs in town offering specials to Louisiana and Mississippi residents. I guess one of the more humorous ones was free admission to La Bare, the women's strip joint for those displaced by the storm.
As you may know, hotels are full, families are taking in other family members, and shelters are also full here. The Astrodome is overcrowded, beyond not only what was expected, but what organizers are able to hose and help. The parking lot is full of even more people who have come hoping for shelter. Perhaps they will be sent on to San Antonio, Huntsville and dallas, right now it isn't know. What's even worse is most of these people only knew about the Astrodome as a shelter, but really don't know about the situation at home, don't know about family members and aren't getting much more info when they get here.
The Tulane football team was invited to come to the University of Houston, but chose to go to Dallas and SMU instead, which gave me a chuckle, as UH got turned down. Of course SMU being a private school like Tulane seemed to be a better fit, and since the team rode out the storm in Jackson MS, made an easier drive. Still, I know that UH was just trying for the publicity. Still, they did open up the doors to last night's football game to the people staying at the Astrodome next door to Reliant Stadium. It's not known how many people took them up on it.
In a way you can say that Texas' welcome mat is open, but there's a rumble in the back ground that says that people are worried about the situation, witch could go on for months. How does a region take on a whole city? What happens as more and more people run out of money being without jobs? Will many of these people just decide to stay? People are worried about taking in people who have been looters and have acted out in their destroyed city. Already the situation at the Astrodome has gotten tense. Of course, a racist vibe is also taking hold. People are worried that we are taking on another city's existing problems, as well as a host of new ones.
One has to wonder how many new residents we will get from this tragedy. Who will go back to the new New Orleans, and how many will just give up on the city and stay here, or go on to other places? What happens to a city destroyed? They rebuilt San Francisco after the 1906 quake, but will we be able to do the same in a state like Louisiana?
It's a difficult situation, separated families, people in desperate situations and a city struggling to figure out how to take care of their needs with little direction from FEMA and the rest of the government. It's a disaster the likes we have never seen, and it's going to be with us for a while.
If you wish to give to those here in Houston and elsewhere in Texas, I'd suggest giving to the Red Cross, who's running the Astrodome shelter and other shelters in the area. There are links to donation sites here.
