The View from Lafayette, Louisiana

[StJacques]

I am just stopping by as a Freeper who doesn't get in here too much to pause for just a moment and share with all of you a view from close-in to the Katrina disaster, since its impact on all our lives here in Louisiana has been profound and not all of you may be seeing everything we do.

First of all; I live in Lafayette, Louisiana which is located some 160 or so miles due west of New Orleans on I-10. We were not severely touched by the winds and other foul weather that came ashore with Katrina at the beginning of last week. But we have become a major evacuation and relief center for the hurricane evacuees. I heard a figure spoken recently on the local news that our local population has grown from about 125,000 to 200,000 in the past week alone. I don't know if that's entirely accurate, but in one way or another the whole town has changed overnight.

The situation in New Orleans has been particularly heartbreaking for us because practically everyone here either has relatives or good friends located in the greater New Orleans area or has a personal history associated with it. For my own part, my Mother was born in New Orleans and I had about sixty or so cousins and in-laws living there when the storm hit. Unfortunately, we have not yet been able to account for one of them, my second cousin Ken Gaudet, who we continue to look for as I write. But just about every one of my relatives has either been totally wiped out, nearly wiped out, or severely impacted financially by this storm. And my story is not much different than most others in our city.

The presence of the evacuees in town is quite heartbreaking for everyone because, for the want of a better phrase to describe it, "they are us." I cannot put into words what it was like to go into a local Wal-Mart two nights ago to pick up a few things late and to see no fewer than five groups of people ranging from couples to five at a time who all were crying, right in public. They were all there to purchase basic necessities of life such as shaving cream, toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, and snack items; having been brought there from the Cajundome athletic complex -- the evacuation center -- by mini-bus. And the things we heard them say were crushing in nature. Some of them had lost touch with loved ones and feared they were dead, others knew for certain that theirs had perished, one woman practically broke to the floor crying for having to leave her two pet labrador retrievers behind to die, and again and again the cry "I've lost everything," which usually refers to their livelihoods and property. It is simply awful to see, because it is everywhere and your heart breaks again and again. That is what these past few days have been like for us in Lafayette; one heartbreak after another and right up close, minus the separation and detachment of television and other media. It's real life and it hurts you.

Almost everyone in this town, including myself, has done something to help out. I was at a local Catholic school gymnasium helping to prepare food for the relief workers who have been running relays to the New Orleans area, and particularly south of it in St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parishes, to rescue evacuees. There are no fewer than twenty-five larger shelters in our area and I am certain that there are no fewer than twenty-thousand homes that have been opened up either to receive evacuees or house temporary residents coming in from elsewhere to provide relief. Go to any supermarket in town and you will likely be presented with donations being loaded for delivery while you are there. Almost no medical personnel have gone without working extra hours. Though it is declining now, there were buses and buses of evacuees everywhere coming through town the past few days, since we have been a major triage center for evacuees en route to Texas, where they have really stepped up and opened themselves up to help. I can't imagine that anyone in this town has failed to be affected.

And finally; we are asking some different questions down here about what went wrong than are spoken of so frequently in the national media. We are particularly incensed that Governor Kathleen Blanco sealed off the New Orleans area to the degree that she did at the start of this crisis, while not simulataneously moving more quickly to establish a police presence in the city, something she waited until Thursday to do, four days into the crisis. There were instances, as General Honoré has stated publicly, when local Louisiana residents organized themselves in groups and attempted to bring their boats to the New Orleans area to assist in evacuating people and were prevented from doing so by the State Police, so we question what the intent of the Blanco administration was because we just don't understand it. But I promise everyone we will get to it, once we get past the rescue and early relief stages.

That's about all I have to say for now except to say that we continue to do everything we can to help and I hope that all of you will hold a good thought for us and give where you can to support the relief effort.

[madison10]

Thanks for the update. Truckloads have been going down and will be going down to Louisiana from up here (Toledo, Ohio area). As much as we're sending, still seems to be too little.

[tarheelswamprat]

Thanks for the timely information, StJaques, and remember that people all over the country are praying for you and your fellow Louisianans.

I spent an entire summer in Lafayette a few years ago, and will always treasure the warmth and cordiality with which I was received. Lots of wonderful folks there!

[Treader]

Please know, you & yours are present in our prayers and by ongoing actions of rescue/relief. Ken Gaudet will included in our prayer groups, today. May your serenity continue to preside over these circumstances...All the best to you & yours, StJacques.

[jdhljc169]

Thanks for the words and we are praying for you! I wish there was more I could.

[TotusTuus]

Thanks for your post at this tragic time. Prayers for all of you down in LA. Especially that Ken is alright.

In the mean time the rest of us will do whatever it takes to help out. We even have evacuees here in AZ.

[StJacques]

I'm just sending you a ping here Patrick to let you know what I've been up to the past week or so.

[PatrickHenry]

Thanks for the update. I lived through Andrew, a dozen years ago, so I have some idea what's happened to Louisiana -- but New Orleans is a special case. My father was born and raised there, the third generation of his family in Louisiana. I've still got cousins there. I managed to contact the one cousin I'm close to; she and her family are okay. They live in Metairie, but they're staying temporarily in Lafayette. It's going to be a long time until things get back to normal, and they won't ever be the same.

[Shazbot29]

Thanks for the update and prayers are going your way.

I also donated to the Red Cross and my employer matches.