Katrina kid in my daughter's class

[DaveJ]

It's sometime hard to believe or imagine what happened. But sometimes it hits home. I was casually mentioning the situation to my family, and my 13 year old daughter mentioned there was one Katrina kid in her class and more to come. The girl recalled nothing about guns or gangs. What she does recall is being surrounded by people dying around her, and especially recalls suicides by people who could not take the pain of the hunger and thirst. She watched her baby sister die from contaminated water and held her in her arms. She is living in a homeless shelter for children now, not with her parents who are closeby but living elsewhere, and not with a family kind enough to take her in. Bush -- "What problem?" He nor a single man under his administration could airlift water to the victims.

[valerief]

1. How many of these PNACers are taking in evacuees?

Zero.

[bluethruandthru]

2. I heard Harry Reid today refer to an intern of his

whose grandfather died in NO of dehydration. I'd like to know how many victims died from the storm or floods..and how many died from the negligence of this adminstration.

[tilsammans]

3. That is so heartbreaking

What a horror for anyone to have witnessed, but especially a young person. I'd say that's LITERALLY a child left behind.

W and the rest of those SOBs should rot in hell for this.

[DaveJ]

4. Pathetic

We live in a small 3 flat rental on a street with $600,000 homes. Four blocks away this kid is living in a homeless shelter.

[maynard]

7. friends father in-law

The father-in-law of a teacher I work with, died of dehydration while in a hospital in NOLA. It is not right. He did not deserve this.

[DaveJ]

10. I can't get it out of my mind

Sorry for being repetitive, but with regard to the large sites like the superdome and convention center, WHY COULDN'T THEY DROP THEM WATER???? Even if it was only a few days to go without, it was still the same as murder. That pathetic slimebag could not personally get in Helicopter One, or whatever, and drop them a palette of water????? So they were sentenced to die by either dehydration or contamination. I was also surprised to learn about the suicides.

[HoosierClarkie]

5. I have signed up to take in

evacuees. How is the word getting to the people? I am not alone. In my state their were 600 homes, not beds, homes that were signed up. Are the people getting this information?

[DaveJ]

12. I don't know but...

From this experience it appears they are being placed into homeless shelters so quickly that they get lost in the mix with all the other homeless.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

6. Diasporas Ripple Effects

Thanks for the confirmation of my thoughts.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4704084

[Island Blue]

8. I hope this child is receiving some counseling

for grief and Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Unfortunately I'm sure that won't be possible for all of the victims of this storm (and the neglect that followed) seeing as how so much funding for counseling of all types has been slashed over the past couple of years. Hopefully she will make some good friends at her new school and that will help her to cope.

[DaveJ]

9. According to my daughter she is...

Around here we have excellent counseling services and I heard she is receiving it.

She is also very well received and treated very kindly by the other children. They children do not quite understand the magnitude of the situation, but hearing she only had two pairs of pants and shirts, they are giving her small kid-sized contributions like clothes, hairbrush, a toothbrush and toothpaste. From what I've heard they are very tactful about their questions and understand that she doesn't want to speak in too much detail.

[dweller]

11. bless those children, and yours.

hope she is reunited with her family soon.

this is all so sad.
dp

[Blue_In_AK]

13. We even have a Katrina kid in Anchorage...

He and his mom were lucky. They had lived here before and had some family here, but they did have to spend time in the Superdome, and the 10-year-old boy also saw the suicides. When the TV reporter asked him yesterday what he liked about it here, he said "it's peaceful." Broke my heart.

[applegrove]

14. Dems need to remain silent. Let the kids talk about it. And the families.