LEAST WE SHOULD FORGET! THE SURVIVORS AND VICTIMS OF HURRICANE KATRINA!

(Image of Katrina from The Weather Channel)

Four years ago a national disaster struck the southern portion of these United States. Hurricane Katrina made landfall for a second time and the end results of that storm left this nation and the rest of the world in shock.

I saw Katrina forming out in the Atlantic Ocean while I was in Miami, Florida. I remember that day very clearly. We were in Miami to render a full gospel concert at a local church. It was Saturday afternoon and I decided to go out onto the beach behind our hotel.

The first thing I noticed was the sky. Over the Miami skyline it was a picture perfect summer day. Then I looked out over the ocean and that picture disturbed me to depths of my soul. The sky was a solid wall of dark black clouds. That seemed to spread endlessly. The people of Miami had been talking about Katrina making landfall there in the next few days. We had been given instructions on what to do in case things changed for the worse. After viewing those clouds I had no doubt that I was going to be heading straight for the airport when we finished singing. There was no way I wanted to be caught in a weather event that I have never seen or experienced before. Those clouds looked like they contained death. It began raining and the drops felt like needles on my skin. As I ran back towards the hotel I couldn't shake the image of what I saw. I only knew that whatever a hurricane brought with it-I wanted no parts of it. I'm from the O-State. We have scary thunderstorms, blizzards and tornadoes. That's enough for me to endure.

After Katrina made landfall in Florida, I learned that our friends there had made it through all right and I went on a television fast for the week. I received a call from a friend of mind who was very frantic about the storm's second landfall. I honestly had no idea that Katrina had hit the southern portion of the nation for a second time. I turned on my television and switched to CNN. I stood in front of my television looking at all the water that was flowing through New Orleans. I felt tears well up in my eyes and I saw people on top of their roofs pleading to be rescued.

By the fifth day after Katrina had hit, I found myself growing angry and impatient with the lack of organization on the Federal Government's level. I wasn't anywhere near the areas affected by the storm, but from my viewpoint it seemed that sincerely idiots were in charge of the rescue effort. I knew then that if this nation was ever truly attacked by terrorist again-there was no need in any citizen believing that the Feddies had their act together enough to help afterwards. The Bush Administration was no less that totally inapt in this situation. I don't know how he could sleep at night knowing that there were people who were still waiting to be rescued. Or that citizens of this nation were barred from moving about the country freely to escape to safety. To hell with all the excuses that have been given about Katrina rescue efforts. A government is supposed to help its citizens in time of disaster. Not be a second disaster happening!

Unlike 9/11 when the nation takes time to honor the people who lost their lives during the attack, there was no national moment of recognition for Katrina victims or survivors. There was a memorial service held in NOLA. But no national day of recognition for the people who were terrorized by an act of nature.

We cannot forget what happened during Katrina! Never! There are people who are still looking for displaced family members. People who want to return to NOLA and elsewhere because it is home to them. Our tax dollars were wasted by the government and no assistance came in a timely or sane manner. These are lessons about life in these United States that we should learn from and adjust our attitudes accordingly.

Related Links

Electronic Village Katrina Four Years Later

BlogHer We're Still Here by Nordette Adams