in search of new orleans
New Orleans Traveler (c) Cynthia Williams
29th august, 1:05 am. a friend showed me the link to hurricane katrina. the forecast revealed a frightening tropical cyclone with a speed of 250 km. i wondered how i could possibly shake off the jitters? i got down on my knees to pray. i live several states away from louisiana but i knew the aftermath would affect many lives in different parts of the US. "I'm not doing too good right now," Chris Robinson said via cellphone from his home east of the city's downtown. "The water's rising pretty fast. I got a hammer and an axe and a crowbar, but I'm holding off on breaking the roof until the last minute. Tell someone to come get me, please. I want to live."
an acquaintance who lived in new orleans for 10 years and still maintains close ties to the city, tearfully criticized the sluggish federal help they've been receiving. before the national guard arrived, watching the news conjured up horrible images of women being raped in public bathrooms, and civilians walking in the sts with shotguns and M-16 rifles. "We are out here like pure animals. We don't have help," the Rev Isaac Clark, 68, said outside the New Orleans Convention Center, where corpses lay in the open and evacuees complained that they were dropped off and given nothing. whether the disaster was prophetic or bs, the question is how do we reach out to those who suffered a grievous blow? i don't think my conscience could take it if i didn't help. it's impossible to have fun without feeling a sense of guilt. i'm not saying we should wallow in the dark but i guess, if we feel guilty it only means we've missed out on doing good. i believe what the bible teaches, but as God said, the one thing that is greater than faith or hope (or a thousand prophecies ever written) is love.
So I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well. If I love you more, will you love me less? -- 2 Corinthians 12:15
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