U.S.

REBUILDING

New Orleans: A Tale of Two Cities

By George Thomas
CBN News Sr. Reporter

CBN.com – (CBN News) - NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana - It has been almost half a year since Hurricane Katrina struck the city of New Orleans.

Many who managed to survive are still struggling to put their lives back together again. Some are handling it better than others.

New Orleans is today a tale of two cities.

"It is a tale of unfathomable devastation, but it is also a tale of remarkable recovery," said Stephen Perry, president of the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau.

And that is where this story begins.

Spend an evening in the French Quarter and you get the feeling that New Orleans is back -- almost like it never went away. From the corners of this historic neighborhood, you hear the sounds and see the sights of a city alive and kicking.

"It is really nice,” said one New Orleans resident. “It is like coming back home again."

The French Quarter suffered some minor damage but no significant flooding during Katrina. After a few weeks of cleanup, most of the attractions are open for business.

Perry stated, "More than 95 percent of the tourism areas everyone knows and loves are open, thriving. The businesses are open, the restaurants are back, and the hotels are open."

Also back by popular demand is this year's Mardi Gras celebrations, which kicked off this past weekend.

Blaine Kern, who designs many of the floats and props for Mardi Gras parades, hopes this year's activities will go a long way to rebuilding the city.

"It actually generates $30 million for the city,” Kern explained, “and more than that -- $30 million for the state."

But another world exists just a few blocks away from the parties and parades in the French Quarter. Here the tale is not about rebuilding, but about widespread destruction: a shoe covered in mold, a broken vacuum cleaner, and one very soggy pair of jeans.

Six months after Hurricane Katrina blew through this city, it sure looks and feels like it happened just the other day.

The Lower 9th Ward, a predominantly black area, was the worst-hit section of the city. Heavy rains from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused a section of a levee to collapse twice in the 9th Ward, causing catastrophic flooding.

Almost half a year later, that place still looks like a war zone. Trees are toppled, cars tossed onto fences. Boats that were supposed to be in the water sit mangled on sidewalks. There are clothes hanging from trees. A pair of tennis shoes hangs from a power line. Homes were literally picked up from off their foundations and tossed into the middle of streets. And trash is everywhere.

But what many here don't understand is why it is taking so long to clear up all this mess.

Albert Lee's home sat right next to the levee that broke in the 9th Ward. CBN News asked Lee about the remains of his home and belongings.

CBN NEWS: When you look at what you have left of your home…you have your grandfather's car (pointing).

ALBERT LEE: My dad's truck, my car.

CBN NEWS: I mean, there's nothing salvageable here?

LEE: No.

CBN NEWS: It's all gone?

LEE: Everything is gone.

Now he wonders how he's going to rebuild, pay the bills, and send his kids to school.

CBN NEWS: Do you feel like in some ways the country has forgotten about what has happened here?

LEE: Yes, yes, yes -- I feel that way. But yet, we still have to live with this reality that no matter how many times we come back here, we still have to face the same reality that we have nothing.

Others say it is time that politicians stop playing the blame game again and instead do what needs to be done to rebuild this city.

"Everything they (politicians) said they were going to do, they are not doing,” laments New Orleans Parish resident Kay Bordenhermer. “And when they do something, it takes a year and a day. They procrastinate too much.”

And what about those levees that were supposed to protect the Big Easy from a devastating hurricane?

Army Corps of Engineers spokesperson Stuart Perry remarked, "I've personally walked all these walls, as well as members of my team, and I feel that what repairs we're making to these walls will be solid, come hurricane season."

But by most estimates, those repairs won't be enough to protect the city from anything higher than a Category 3 hurricane.

“It's not to be trusted. I can't trust that levee anymore, and I won't live over here on this any more,” said Lee. “Never again!”

In the meantime, some 150,000 residents have returned to New Orleans and the surrounding parishes.

"Born and raised in the 9th Ward, and proud,” stated New Orleans resident Carol Geraci. “And I wouldn't do anything but be here."

But two-thirds of the population before Katrina are still missing, scattered across the country.

Yet those who have returned face a city that is under a lot of strain:

Where there were seven working hospitals before Katrina only two are open now.
Just three of the city's 115 public schools are operating.
Parts of the city are still without electricity.
Firefighters are struggling to put out fires, because the water pressure is low in some places.
Police officers are still living in cramped conditions on a cruise ship.
Thousands are still waiting on trailers promised by FEMA.

Tracey Carlton, a St. Bernard Parish resident, remarked, "All of my family lost their homes in St. Bernard Parish, and I don't think any of them have gotten trailers yet."

Those lucky enough to get one are forced to re-arrange their lives from inside a 240-square-foot trailer.

Susan Kippers explained her bathroom arrangements. "You know, to have a bottle of shampoo (shows big bottle) is almost too big. You are better off with the small samplers you get for free at Wal-Mart. (She shows toilet.) It's a little bitty ole' toilet."

Susan Kippers' new trailer sits a few steps away from her Katrina-destroyed home. She now lives what she calls the "micro-life."

"Everything is micro-size,” Kippers said. “You buy medicines small, you buy everything in a small way, because you have no way to put anything in a big way. You wish you could buy (only) a half loaf of bread, because really there's no place to put a whole loaf of bread in there (the trailer). There's just no room for anything."

And the sights of this upside-down world are beginning to take their toll.

Kippers remarked, "I am on medication. I mean, you go to the doctor, and the first thing he says, 'Oh, you are from St. Bernard Parish, you are going to need medication,' because this is definitely post-traumatic stress disorder and there's nobody who didn't suffer from it."

Lee was asked if he thought he would ever come back to this place.

“Yes, I do want to come back. Yes, I do,” Lee said. “This is home. I've been here -- I'm 46 -- I've been here all my life.”

And despite his losses, Lee clings to the one person that he knows will never neglect or abandon him. He declared, “I put all my trust in the Lord, and He is making a way each and every day."

New Orleans may be battered and bruised, but here in the birthplace of jazz, the music goes on.

And so too, the efforts of thousands of people to try and bring the Crescent City back -- one sheet of drywall, one nail, and one roof tile at a time.

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