How Quick We Forget

In eleven days we will celebrate the birth of Jesus. Jesus brought joy to the world and I hope that some of this joy is somehow spread to the areas affected by hurricane Katrina.
To some of us with a short attention span, Katrina might seem something that is past and everything is now OK because we made our token feel-good contribution, but to the hundreds of thousands of people impacted the nightmare continues.

For some, just because the news media stops reporting from these areas in order to pick up and report on new disasters, the thinking is that everyone has been taken care of. The sad fact is that the aftermath has brought with it an onslaught of mental health problems, including anxiety, depression and yes, even suicide.

These poor souls have lost, as one psychiatrist calls it, “the way of the world.” They have lost their families, their neighborhoods, and their communities. They are dealing not with one issue but several at the same time and it has been overwhelming for many. One woman lost her home, her church, her supermarket, and her three children have been displaced to three different states.

Just imagine how you would feel locally if this had happened here and destroyed, South Boston, East Boston, the North End and Charlestown. Look at the history and culture that would be lost forever. The Old North Church gone, Bunker Hill Monument gone, Castle Island washed out – the place where you grew up left totally devastated- how do you think you would cope in the aftermath? How would you feel about being housed in a temporary shelter on Camp Edwards with your son housed at the Worcester Centrum and a daughter sent to the Springfield Armory? I wonder what your Christmas would be like under these circumstances.


Grief and despair have set in. People feel betrayed at the non-reaction of a nation to their plight. Instead of trying to take the necessary action to help our fellow citizens we are debating whether to do anything about the area. How would you feel if FEMA won’t give you a housing voucher?

Before Katrina, the National Suicide Prevention hotline averaged 3,000 calls a month, since then, the calls have doubled, with most new calls coming from the affected areas.
One doctor at a New Orleans clinic said that he had written more antidepressant, sleep medications and anti-anxiety prescriptions in the last seven weeks than he had in the last seven months."

It’s at times like these that I get angry when I think of the trillions of dollars spent to send a monkey in space, men to the moon, building a space station, yet we can’t give someone a pittance in comparison to the aforementioned to put a roof over their head in time of need. For all intents and purpose these people must feel like they’re out in space.
What’s happened to us? There seems to be quite a difference on the help the victims of 9/11 received versus the help or lack of the people of Louisiana and Mississippi are receiving.

I pray that the Lord shine a light on our elected officials and everyone else to make them take the necessary action that will give these people a sense of hope. Instead of giving more tax cuts and incentives to the rich, do what has to be done to take care of the victims of Katrina.