A World Turned Upside Down - My Katrina Photo Essay

[intheflow]

Hello, Folks. I'm just back from working relief on the Mississippi coast, and I need to let you all know just how bad it is. The entire Mississippi coast if GONE. If I didn't know for a fact Katrina happened three months ago, I could have sworn it happened last week; the damage is that severe, the clean-up and rebuilding almost non-existent. We hear about NOLA--I went to Louisiana and it is bad there--but lost in the politics about Blanco vs. BushCo. is the fact that Mississippi is faring no better at all under Barbour. In fact, the only normalcy for miles is in the French Quarter, an acute irony given it's reputation before Katrina. Here's a small sampling of what I witnessed on both the Mississippi and Louisiana coasts.

When the hand of God scoops out
your house,


and livelihoods are strewn about like
God's bath toys.


When clothes and linens drape playgrounds
like Spanish moss,


and your past seems to mock your present.


When every house for a hundred miles of
coastline has a search date and a body count,


and your country has forgotten you,


at least the Café Du Monde is still open
for business.


In New Orleans, art...


and artists survive.


Still, in a world turned upside down,


skeletal trees punctuate sunny beaches,


and gathering storm clouds aren't quite
so picturesque any more.


When your neighborhood becomes a
"Where's Waldo" puzzle,

(Can you find the classic VW Bug in this picture?)

Thanksgiving at home


becomes reality unhinged.


The surreal becomes the norm;


doors become street signs;


and Jags and school buses achieve
equality among the trash heaps.


When stairways lead only to heaven,


and armadillos move into your
shattered home,


what else can you do but


This is devastating reality of Katrina
three months after.

*Edited to remove family identification from one of the photos by cropping the shot.

[slackmaster]

1. Nice work

Recommended.

[AuntPatsy]

2. kick, they must not become yesterday's headlines.

[Don Claybrook]

3. this is a wonderful photo essay

Really good stuff, thanks for posting it.

As people have been saying in recent days, I think much of the nation has forgotten about the Gulf Coast, and the White House would love to forget it.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

4. Speaking out on Cspan2 now...

Dyan French is truthtelling!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[intheflow]

56. I don't have cable!

Any online link to that?

[Viva_La_Revolution]

90. here

http://www.c-span.org/homepage.asp

scroll down a little to recent videos.

It won't stay there long

[5X]

5. Very nice, K&R n/t

[Midlodemocrat]

6. Dear God. How can Bush and Co look at themselves in the mirror?

The devastation is so horrific...so many innocents.

[madokie]

8. The fact they can says volumes

[AuntiBush]

72. Is sure does, madokie.

It sure the hell does.

I want to ask why this isn't on the news day in, and day out, but we all know the answer to that one.

[nini]

47. vampires don't have a reflection

[MissB]

7. Touching

and well-done.

[DURHAM D]

9. Thanks. n/t

[KamaAina]

10. That is absolutely the best!

You might want to put some of it in the picture gallery at

http://nola.us

a rebuilding board run by the same people who blogged from 650 Poydras throughout the crisis. If you run across "Ignatius J. Reilly", say hi (it's me).

By the way, your country has not forgotten you, only its pathetic excuse for a government. Just today I convinced Mom (in NYC) to send some $$ to a family resource center in La. As for me (former N.O. resident from '89-'91), I am spending so much time on the various rebuilding boards these days that it's cutting into my DU time!

[PA Democrat]

11. Thanks for sharing intheflow. One of my neighbors recently returned from

doing relief work in Mississippi and also was stricken by how little had improved for people desperately struggling to begin rebuilding their lives. He was angry that the media has moved on to the next big story and in the meantime there was still almost no help for Katrina victims.

[intheflow]

58. It's very stange being back.

I was driving around today thinking the lamp posts looked weird here in Denver. Then I realized they looked weird because they were undamaged; standing straight, not leaning.

[CC]

12. Great pics though heartbreaking.

Some of us haven't forgotten at all. How are you doing after being there and seeing so much devastation? It is hard on the volunteers too.

[spindrifter]

13. Thanks for sharing your fantastic photos--they

make me stop and think.

[ewagner]

14. Up North, here in Wisconsin,

we know that Winter has arrived.

Eventually, Winter will arrive in Biloxi too.

I fear for everybody living there. It will NOT be a happy winter...it will be deadly.

Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn....this is the reason we need a well-organized Government and strong, wise leadership.

[hunter]

15. Every day I don't see this in the news I am shocked.

I visited many of those places this summer before the hurricane. Now entire towns I visited are gone, and the people who lived in them dispersed. Yet by the national news accounts, it's as unimportant as if it had happened on the other side of the world.

We've become one of those bumbling corrupt nations we used to make fun of.

[Leopolds Ghost]

26. All part of the plan to turn US into a Second World Nation

So we can better compete with India and the Chinese on the world markets.

See the movie "Darwin's Nightmare" for another example of where we are headed.

[barbtries]

16. eloquent

wish everyone could see it

[merh]

17. 100 days later and we are still in ruins.

Thank you intheflow for caring so much and for helping so many.

[fooj]

19. ...

(((((((((((((((((((((((((hugs)))))))))))))))))))))))))))

[Surya Gayatri]

18. Breathtaking and heartbreaking album, inthe flow...

This shameful national tragedy must not be allowed to slip out of the collective conscience. Thanks for your photo work in keeping it up front and center. While we fiddle in Fallujah, one of America's most historical and creative regions disappears into the mud. The ultimate judgment on this criminal and incompetent government will be unforgiving. Shame, shame, shame. SG

[Leopolds Ghost]

24. Don't forget what the Feds let happen to the Iraqi National Museum

To "break the back" of the infidel Iraqi culture.

They did the same thing when they defunded the levees and waited for NOLA to disappear (white power enthusiasts in Louisiana said so, years ago... they were waiting on the levees to be overtopped and all the black people would be trapped inside... this was all common knowledge that racist local politicians wanted this)

Whenever they hear the word "culture" they reach for their revolver...

or their oil exploration toolkit.

And the New Urbanist Institute (builder of Celebration, Florida, the Disney-owned victorian resort featured in the movie _Truman Show_) has been hired by Gov. Haley Barbour to promote a plan for displacing all poor people from the areas "south of the Railroad Tracks" all along the Gulf Coast, and moving them to the "other side of the tracks" on the theory that historic coastal areas will only be rebuilt by the rich because only they can "afford to safely live in the danger zone" near the scenic beaches and gambling meccas.

[Surya Gayatri]

32. Interesting details

which serve to underscore the reality that the Gulf Coast devastation has been wrought more by unbridled greed and rampant racism than by a force 5 hurricane. And this corrupt regime goes on spewing out justifications and lies. SG

[Lisa]

20. astounding, horrifying photos

The pictures -- and your firsthand account of conditions -- are better than many of the professional news organizations have shown us. Thank you for posting.

[mcar]

21. These are wonderful and heartbreaking

Thanks for reminding us -- people are still suffering there.

[Leopolds Ghost]

22. Kick... and the Nation will continue to do nothing until

The Republicans and the Beltway Elite find a way to profit off the rebuilding process, like the Washington Post endorsement of the "Louisiana Recovery Corp." to buy out everyone's mortgage and use the profits from new development with rich coastal settlers to pay for rebuilding the levees.

This is a plan endorsed by the Urban Land institute and the New Urbanist Institute, sadly. They stated it is only worth it to ensure endangered coastal homes if the residents are wealthy. Everyone else must be inevitably displaced to inland areas and replaced by wealthy residents who will "know how to take care" of our newly rebuilt areas.

This according to our nation's leading architects.

They only differ on the nature of the removal/redevelopment.

Multi-story concrete and glass condos, or quaint Disney-style development? Let "the people" decide!

[hunter]

27. The removal of indigenous people is a U.S. tradition...

[Clara T]

23. Brings the tragedy to life-Wow

nominate

[Al-CIAda]

25. wonderful...perfect.

good job.

[malta blue]

28. Thank you for not letting anyone forget. eom

[Tommy_J]

29. Thank you for that

[troubleinwinter]

30. Thank you. This issue MUST be kept FRONT and CENTER!

[F.Gordon]

31. Welcome back (((nominated)))

While I'm appreciative of your photographs I'm also angry that a large "chunk" of this country is fucking gone and no one seems to give a crap. Certainly not the media or the federal government. Maybe "they" think it would be a holiday downer if attention is focused on this.

I can understand that rebuilding will take time... what blows me away is that there appears to be no apparent cleanup going on.

Excellent photos. Who knew you were such a good photographer.

Again. Welcome back.

[intheflow]

59. It's hard for me to say how well the cleanup is going.

There are signs of rebuilding, blue FEMA tarps on roofs being the most striking geographical feature when flying into Gulfport. Restaurants and shops are opening inland, and roofing is a booming business.

But I can't help but think if it's this bad NOW, how bad must it have been in the first two months? I know they had to blow up a casino barge that was sitting in the middle of Route 90, God only knows what or how much else they had to clear. So at least the streets are passable, and rubble is often cleared from the center of lots. Still doesn't seem like much progress for 3 months.

Thanks for the welcome back. It's good to be back on DU.

[BlueEyedSon]

33. K&R (kicked and recommended)

[Catherine Vincent]

34. :-(

[Generator]

35. Brutal beauty there

Very powerful..and that's just a tiny bit of the story.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

36. Thank you.

Thank you for your work, your photographs, your words, your insight.

Kicked and recommended.

[justabob]

37. Great work... 'thanksgiving at home' really got me

but that is an incredible essay. Thank you

[BJW]

38. thank you!!! We need to stay focused on KATRINA

and aftermath, and stop worrying about silly war on war on Xmas crap.

[in_cog_ni_to]

39. *sigh* Those people. My heart breaks for them.

It's so damn sad.

Your pictures are great....the subject is heartwrenching.

I wonder what the hell is going to happen to NOLA and the rest of the Gulf Coast?

[donheld]

40. Has America lost it's soul?

How else can they let this go on?

[Nothing Without Hope]

41. kicked & recommended with thanks n/t

[HeeBGBz]

42. Beautifully photographed

My stomach is in knots looking at them.

As soon as I can get my shit together I'm heading back down there. I don't know what I can do, but maybe I can do something.

[Swamp Rat]

43. .

[Olney Blue]

68. Swamp Rat.....

[merh]

44. intheflow - may I use this image?

That is how it feels - that is the way it is here.

[intheflow]

46. I love that shot because it shows such a great resiliancy of spirit..

That shot, and also the resiliancy of the family gathering in thanks. Both shots show incredible optimism, a will to overcome overwhelming odds.

As to using it, I'll pm you on that.

[merh]

45. In today's paper - one of my favorite homes

Posted on Tue, Dec. 06, 2005 BEFORE AND AFTER
The Denton house was leveled by Hurricane Katrina.
JOHN FITZHUGH/SUN HERALD

The Denton House, Biloxi

The Colonial Revival house at 1378 Beach Blvd. was built around 1910, probably as a summer home for a New Orleans lumber businessman named Capt. John Smith.

Ownership included interesting local families, including the Frenches and Pringles, but more recently the family of Will Denton. Denton, who died a year ago, was a colorful Biloxi attorney and his wife, Lucy, is known for her civic activities.

In 2001 both appeared - along with their house - in an episode of "If Walls Could Talk," a popular program on the Home & Garden Television channel.

"We talked about things we'd discovered during the renovation of the home," said Lucy Denton. "In the upstairs north wall, we found heart pine, the kind used to build the house. It was left over and they'd stacked it. We had a table and seats made out of it."

(snip)
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/special_pac...

[intheflow]

60. Thanks for posting this, merh!

There was a special about Katrina in Mississippi on tv the night before I left, we all gathered to watch it. It's was overwhelming, but the thing that made me weep was seeing the before/after footage. I'd never been before the storm; I already thought it was so, so beautiful even with the ruins. But to see what had been in it's glory... that was brutal to watch.

[0rganism]

48. At least the armadillo seems happy with the situation

Perhaps W can forge a new GOP base by enfranchising the smaller gulf coast mammals?

[In_The_Wind]

49. OMG! So many lives were shattered!

[RevCheesehead]

50. wow. very profound and moving.

Thank you for making it real for us.

Kick, and nominated....
and this had better be on the front page by now.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

51. hello down there

you all look so little from waaay up here. hope you're doin fine and enjoyin your freedom. merry xmas everyone!

[SlavesandBulldozers]

52. k&r

bumped

[usedtobesick]

53. Thank you for these pictures and your passion to be used to help others

nominated

[RazzleDazzle]

54. My GOD! That's a highway all crumpled up.

Unbelievalble.

Exquisite photos. Thanks for sharing them with us. Great copy, too.

[HeeBGBz]

79. That's Hwy 90

The main drag between the cities of the coast.

[RagingInMiami]

55. Awesome shots

And I loved the commentary.

[uppityperson]

57. Thank you for the photo essay and for taking the time to go help

Everyone wants to go, thank you for going. Now, make sure you take care of yourself once back home also. The devastation is incredible. Anyone who can go help, or witness, go. If I were in my 20s or 30s I'd pack a tent and get my butt back down there, and help wherever. And meet some of you gulf-coast DUers. Write, call, your congress people.
Peace

[LynzM]

61. Damn. No words for this.

I cannot believe, every time I see pictures like this, that more is not being done. Please, please send these to every media outlet you can... pictures say more than thousands of words, and people need to hear this...

[bridgit]

62. kick...

[applegrove]

63. Such a tragedy. You either invest in important things for all people -

or you pay.

[DeepModem Mom]

64. Wow, just wow. Thank you. nt

[texpatriot2004]

65. "...When the corpses of American citizens are floating in toxic

floodwaters five days after a hurricane strikes it is time not only to respond directly to the victims of the catastrophe but to hold the processes of our nation accountable, and the leaders of our nation accountable, for the failures that have taken place." Al Gore

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0912-32.htm

[intheflow]

66. Thanks for the quote.

And the link. Another bookmark in my Katrina file. And another reason why Gore was voted in over the pResident.

[Crazy Guggenheim]

67. K & R

[Anita Garcia]

69. Thank you for drawing attention to the devastated region

Katrina and Rita devastated a region covering four states.
Track the path of Katrina.
Do you recognize any of the towns?
We should, they were destroyed.

[Crazy Guggenheim]

70. None of them. I've never been in the area.

[FreedomAngel82]

71. Simply amazing

Why isn't anyone helping them??

[femrap]

73. Well...I guess it's time to get up and

FIGHT.....

[Piedras]

74. Not forgotten by all

intheflow, thank you for your photo essay. The devastation is unimaginable. Each picture is truly worth a thousand words and your words bear witness.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo architecture students are producing and sharing concepts for rebuilding New Orleans. It was a news feature on KCOY a Santa Maria, CA TV station.

[intheflow]

78. I worked relief with someone who works at Cornell's

architecture department, who said they were doing the same thing. Of course, the cheapest (and I mean that quality-wise) plan will be chosen by this adinstration--unless they can figure out a way to keep all those poor people from moving back into the area. If they could just assure rich people alone would be there, that'd be another story.

Ack! I'm getting cynical in my old age! Still, it's good to know that so many people are working to solve New Orleans' problems.

[mogster]

75. Very touching and very sad

Thank you, InTheFlow.

[BamaBecky]

76. Heartbreaking

[raccoon]

77. Great photo essay. Thanks for posting it here. nt

[Lisa0825]

80. Incredible essay! Thank you for posting it. nt

[Stockholm]

81. Very strong picture thread

Thank you intheflow for sharing.

Stockholm

[lebkuchen]

82. The MSM has done an excellent job of containing public outrage

by not reporting.

Thanks for doing their job. Somebody has to.

[qanda]

83. You did a wonderful job

I hope your work raises everyone's awareness. Thank you for sharing.

[Avalux]

84. Your photos are amazing! Great work.

It's difficult to imagine the devestation without actually being there but you've managed to capture things we haven't seen on TV. Thank you so much for sharing these with us, and it's great to have you back again!

[savemefromdumbya]

85. Bush thinks we've moved on from Katrina - we haven't!

Everyone should make sure the southern states hit by hurricanes are not going to be forgotten.

[CottonBear]

86. Thank you. This photo essay is beautiful and tragic.

The last time I was in New Orleans and Mississippi was for my brother-in-law's funeral in November of 2004. That summer we had flown down to Gulfport for one last visit while he was still alive.

I remember seeing all of the lights of the coast and the darkness of the ocean before the plane turned and headed inland over the vastness of southern Mississippi. It was so beautiful.

We went to Cafe du Monde and visited the Cathedral and Jackson Square in New Orleans. We toured Old Towne Slidell and enjoyed the relaxing with family and good food at their home in Lacombe. It is so hard to grasp what has happened. My in-laws still have a blue tarp on their roof and relatives living in RVs in the yard.

[Rebelry]

87. What devastation!

[Patiod]

88. "I'm tired of hearing about Katrina"

It's all just the blame game, and Blanco couldn't handle things - she estarted crying, and Nagin wasted any money he did get, and Clinton cut funding for the levys.

Exact quotes from my client for today.

Much easier to argue with friends and relative than with client who may opt not to give you further business, or may report negatively on your work.

I knew I was in trouble when I heard the hackneyed phrase "blame game" (and wasn't Rove in charge of trashing Blanco? - I give the man credit - he does effective evil work)

[earth mom]

89. That brought tears to my eyes...

I haven't forgotten.

[BreweryYardRat]

91. Moving, and saddening.

[Serial Mom]

92. Wow!

Our thoughts are with all of you! What devastation!

Speechless!