As some of you know, I have been here now a couple of times in the past year, and was also here just after the storm in February of 2006. During that trip I was in Biloxi and Gulfport, Mississippi, which is about an hour from New Orleans. The damage there was different because what we saw there was the result of a 14 foot storm surge wave that basically swept away miles of homes, businesses, and other buildings. What we saw on that beach on the first day we were there blew my mind. It was so vast and I never thought we could make a difference in a week or that the work would ever be done. It was so much worse than anything I had seen on television or could have imagined. My heart broke and most of our group spent a tearful afternoon and evening taking it all in. It’s crazy how I can remember it like it was yesterday. In appreciation and honor of that experience, I wanted to share one picture from that trip. There are so many images from the trip, and few of them available to me right now, but I think this one summarizes so much of my experience there in Mississippi and here in New Orleans. I think that a lot of this experience is about brokenness. Broken systems, broken plans, broken people, broken dreams. I think structures in society are so close to falling. I think that what the storm did was rip the walls off to show and expose the mess of oppression and corruption for what it was and still is. I think I often feel so small when I stand up against it. But you know what? I don't feel alone in the fight. Just like the picture shows things that are broken, structures that aren't sturdy, walls exposing the inside of things, I also am not alone in it. If nothing else, being here with other people has reminded me in a powerful way that, though the fight and the mess are huge, there are so many people doing this together and it can change.
Since then, I have been 3 other times, all within the past year, and have seen New Orleans and how this city was affected by Katrina, which was a little different. Here, there was excessive flooding and water that sat in the city for weeks. When we went on the tour yesterday, there were very few places I have not seen before. So, here are a few images from that and the scoop on what we saw and how I processed all of it. Again, a reminder that it’s my blog so I write the truth and do my best to leave it uncensored because it doesn’t do anyone a favor to sugar coat the truth.
These are two images from the same area. I remember in Mississippi how saddened we all were to see people's belongings strewn about - clothing, photos, shoes, toys. All of the material things people owned, all over their homes. This time, there are clothes still hanging in closets in one of the condemned housing project in the 9th ward near the lake. The sad thing is that since poor people seem to have no value to those in power, the project was originally built on sinking sand anyway, and after the storm, officials never let families go back in to get their things. And now, the brick walls are gone because buildings are falling apart and people's belongings are so close and yet, so far from reach. Thinking about it, another photo worth a thousand metaphoric words for the experience of many here: there is wealth, success, and power to be had in this city, for sure. Even for individuals of color. And yet, just on the other side of the highway, so many individuals live so far out of reach of those things that there might just as well be an ocean between the two.
We started the tour in the Seventh ward, which has been my stomping grounds with Pastor Bruce throughout this year. As we drove a few blocks from the church we saw a group of people looking very touristy, walking through a yard taking pictures of a home that hasn’t been touched since the storm. My reaction to that was “really?!” It was as though I was shocked and offended and angered that people would get out and walk all over someone’s yard and take pictures of their destroyed home, as if to put their pain on display. That being said, a few minutes later, when people in my own group did the same thing, I didn’t have that reaction at all. I knew that people in my group were in the area to do good work and were taking pictures to share with those they know to keep telling people about the stories of the storm and show how much work still needs to be done. And, I got out a few times to take photos myself. I don’t know why it is important to share that, except that it was an odd sort of lesson about what is perceived and what is intended and how it matters.
Related to that, I didn’t feel like a tourist at all. I felt more like a tour guide finally getting to share in person with others what I have been looking at and experiencing here this year. I so much appreciate how much everyone at home will look at my pictures, read my blog, and hear my stories during and after my trips. However, there is an element about all of this that is just hard to explain without being here with me. I was surprised at the ownership I felt of the city, especially the Seventh ward and how I felt like I was sharing my neighborhood with others. Now, don’t get all fired up – I know that I am still so far removed from the storm experiences of the individuals who live here and the issues of oppression that they live through. However, I think each time someone shares their story with you, it becomes a part of you, and the distance between the lives you lead shortens. I have heard so many stories and seen so much that I feel incredibly connected to the neighborhood and for that, I am very grateful. I am always amazed at how quickly and easily people invite me into their lives, revisiting such a traumatic experience in order to share it with me. And it’s because of that that I find myself with this incredible feeling of ownership of part of the city.
On a less serious note, Deborah thought it was okay to pick kumquats from a bush/tree we saw when we got out at one of the levees..photo op? why not..
After a lot of touring, the group dropped myself and two other students back off to visit again with the woman we saw the day before. We did not do a lot of intense talking or “social work” but it was good to see her and I think it meant a lot to her that we followed through on our word that we would be there. Again, when we left she embraced us, thanked us for coming, and walked, beaming, out of the house to say hi to Pastor Bruce. After that we came back to the hostile for dinner, had our check-in, and then some free time. It is amazing the work that God is doing here in me and through the individuals we have been able to meet. The faith of the people of New Orleans blows my mind every time I am here.
Because there is so much more to write in order to play catch-up, I think that is all for Thursday. Again, thank you for reading, supporting, talking, listening, and praying. God is at work here in so many ways and I am so blessed to be part of it.
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