Posted on 09/02/2005 9:05:29 AM PDT by ContemptofCourt
This is a post from another board regarding a conversation with a red cross vol. who is inside the Astrodome. I am posting this in toto, but I ask you to ignore the political comments, and focus on the facts....and the problems that we are now facing.
10,000 here… more on the way, where are these people going to go? No space. I don’t know what they are going to do, might open more shelters. New shelters are opening all the way north into KY. AR/MO and other states will open shelters in the coming time. I would estimate over 1 million refugees… it’s really like the day after tomorrow.
If it was my family, I would relocate and get out of here. They are telling us these people will be here for 4-6 months. I don’t know what to do. It’s organized chaos. There are not enough volunteers, you walk 10 feet and someone gives you a problem. Refugees are coming in with no clothes, no shoes, some were still wet. Last night was just a triage… people were bleeding, had broken bones, etc. We are sending many to the hospital.. Big board of missing family members… it’s like what we had in NYC, but 10 times more.
Red Cross says this is 9/11 and Andrew combined, with probably over 10k dead. We were told there is an area S of NO of NO where there might 10k dead. We’ve been told by several people, but they will never find all the bodies in some of those places. They are going to have to go by missing reports for final tallies. In the richer areas, it will be easier to count… In the others, some people don’t even know they exist. We heard from numerous people that there are bodies floating everywhere… most people in shock. It’s a little more, “reality” maybe. People coming in last night were literally in shock. I’m supposed to be going to LA tomorrow… my DR (?) is LA, they sent us here to check in… we got stuck when they opened shelter. We are going to Baton Rouge, it’s doubled in population. I don’t know how that is going to work out. I don’t even know the words for it… truly something you see out of a movie. I saw CNN and it looked bad. I don’t think the government is doing enough. If these snipers are causing problems, come in and kill them. Why are they letting this happen? I don’t understand that. Why doesn’t the military go in and shoot. You are going to loose lives either way. Wall to wall coverage around the world… Talked to people in Canada, the BBC is running nonstop news, as are their stations.
We need volunteers and money. You need Red Cross training to come here. All of these volunteers will need to be rotated… it’s going to take a while, it’s worth getting trained. This will be a long event. Come for a few days once trained, we need people.
Money… the money will come. It’s hard to get people the money though. This part is going to be 6-12 month project. We will be here for months and months. Volunteers tired, and emotionally wrecked.
Something I never thought I would see. We watched people trying to leave, so many people. This is a tiny fraction of people, this is a small city.
Call local Red Cross, Salvation Army, any agency, if you want to come. We do need more people, but most need to be trained. It’s overwhelming. The worst is the upcoming. Those who could afford hotels have taken all hotels. Some checking out, because they can’t afford to stay at hotel for weeks. I don’t know how many shelters are here in HOU. Churches are taking in people, lots of people being taken in all around the city.
Simple things like dropping water, they should just do it… should be a priority. It’s a simple no brainier. Someone should be dropping food and water in there. I think this is really going to hurt the government, I don’t see how they are going to keep this calm. The race card is being played down here as well, so that might grow. When more people start dying the next few days, I feel for whoever is in charge… this will haunt them forever. I might be wrong, but this is going to be a bitter thing for a long time. Maybe things can change… maybe we are stretched.
I think the government should give people money, tell them to start over. This has to happen. Incorporate them into new cities, wherever they want to go. Get the families into shelters; after the head of the family relocates, and gets a job… move the families out of the shelter.
No one is going to sit here for 6 months.
It's not like these people were not "getting money" from the government before. Start over? They were not even at the starting line before.
After watching all of the footage on TV and listening to all of the reports I seriously doubt this is still not happening.
For living quarters has anyone considered the recently closed military bases which may have sufficient housing that can be made livable by connecting utilities and Sal.Army donated furniture?
I am sure the dislocated able-bodied adults would be grateful to have employment by helping to renovate the homes.
JMHO
sp
Why, oh why am I thinking in a few months that we will see something like the refugee riots in Scarface?
Just stop herding thousands of desperate people together - that only causes chaos. Break up this mass of humanity into small family/neigbor groups, otherwise there are going to be rebellions/riots.
Fear is feeding on itself.
sp
mark
Frankly I think the worse idea is putting them all in Individuals homes because of all the dangers, and I think placing them in places like the astrodome or reunion arena is also a bad idea they need to open all national guard and military bases and put them all in there where they can be ID'd and the rest of the citizens in the affected cities will be safe.
For individuals and churches who are taking them in they should be made to report to red cross so that there will be an accurate acct of how many there are and how many will integrate into the general public and you know just like there are those in N/O. there will be those in major cities taking advantage of the situation and crimes and chaos will result in Texas.
And I hold the mayor and governor at fault for this.
You're right about that. If you check my posts on this subject over the last few days, you'll see I've been working myself up into a psychotic frenzy over this.
The biggest problem this country faces right now is that a large mass of people who were incapable of fending for themselves in New Orleans will now be incapable of fending for themselves somewhere else.
I have been wondering where these people are going to go for the next few months as New Orleans is rebuilt. The Astrodome seems more like it should be a staging center and not a mid-term solution. Then, I remembered an article in Time, I believe, talking about how Kansas, Wyoming and the Dakota's were paying people to relocate. It seems the exodus of young people from those states was leaving entire communities as ghost towns. Maybe they can be relocated there killing two birds with one stone?
Average 20,000 each to the 25 largest states.
There haven't been any military bases closed in the US for three years now. Those that were closed have already been converted to industrial or other use.
The bases that were recommended for closure under the current BRAC round won't be closed for another 3-4 years.
Your question is based on a fallacy and, unfortunately, many people suggesting this are just plain wrong.
the head of a Houston church with 30,000+ members says, "Each week a different group of religous denominations will be feeding the people who are in the shelters. We plan to raise $9,000,000 to feed them for 2 months. We are not going to be forcing our faith on people, but we will allow them to find faith in our work." He went on to say that the AstroDome is a mess and that dozens of places are being opened to care for the folks on the buses.
One of the first concerns of the federal government was to tell the federal employees of NO that they will continue to get their full paychecks, not that the Homeland Security people there should get a dime for what they did prior to Monday's storm. The second big announcement was that all the thousands of welfare recipients could access their welfare checks through the states where they were evacuated to. First things first...
Uh, how do you drop food and water into the Superdome?
You may be able to put a few into National Guard armories, but as I said earlier there aren't any military bases to put them in. Folks need to get that erroneous idea out of their heads.
I've been thinking along the same line... BUT what kind of work would there be to do in those places?
This is going to be SO monumental... the numbers of people are staggering...
Old Kelly AF Base in San Antonio will be utilized.
Does anyone know if they are cataloging these people as they arrive? They should be trying, as quickly as possible, to get them broken into smaller groups and sent to either individual homes or smaller shelters. It seems that it's a really bad idea to have thousands and tens of thousands of them all in one relatively small area. It's only a matter of time before discontent and anger set in and violence erupts. But then, I'm a great armchair quarterback. :o)
But they are now........with other peoples stuff.
Just talked to my mom in Baton Rouge. Finally got through. All circuits busy for days. They got power back on. Mom's church was asked to take in about 100 refugees, so they said yes. Mom says these people are scary. Young thugs came in with liquor bottles and low hanging pants so you could see their underwear, (illegal in LA). My sister is a teacher at the church private school on grounds and she is more than a little worried about these 'wandering around' the school kids. Kind of hard to keep them under control. While places like the BR Convention Center has security, there is no one provided by the government to watch at these churches. It is a volatile situation.
No kidding? That's good news.
I had heard that we didn't have any excess military space...I'm glad to see I was wrong.
read later
Relocation seems a good idea. Parcel thems out to the communities in Washington , Oregon, and Massachusetts.
You are absolutely correct, no one is ID'ing or as you said cataloging them. But putting them in individuals homes is a bad idea. There will be chaos on the streets in Texas with 85,000 angry people. Just a matter of time.
This is a temporary fix..There is such a need for medical psychological care at the Astrodome..That has been a bigger problem than expected..They are asking Gov Perry of Texas to declare a medical disaster..
Then I misunderstood the following report.
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05614.pdf
Implementation of Previous
Recommendations and
Status of Property Transfers
DOD reported that as of September 30, 2001, it had taken all required actions to implement the recommendations of the BRAC Commissions for the four rounds.11 Currently, of the approximately 504,000 unneeded acres available for disposal external to DOD, 72 percent have been transferred
either to other federal or nonfederal entities, while 28 percent, including leased acreage, remain in DOD’s inventory. A breakdown of the currentstatus of unneeded BRAC property shows that as of September 30, 2004
(1) 52 percent had been transferred to nonfederal entities, (2) 20 percenthad been transferred to other federal agencies, (3) 18 percent had beenleased but not transferred, and (4) 10 percent was untransferred and is
awaiting future disposition (see fig. 2).
I agree with that.
I totally agree with not expecting people to live on a cot for 6 months. That is not going to work. Tempers are going to flare and it will get just as ugly as it was in NO. All efforts should be made to get these people with relatives around the country. Pay their busfare, trainfare, airfare and move them out. Relocate as many of them as possible to permanent new locations.
Am I correct that the church folks can't carry guns either?
I am just beginning to fully comprehend the scope of this disaster....anyone who thinks that the effects -- social as well as economic -- will not be felt throughout the US is kidding themselves.
On another forum I read of this man who went and picked up a family out of a shelter and they have already found jobs..she is an RN and he is working for the host's FIL business.
It would not work for some..but it is being done. Oh, and the son is picking out a school here..They lost all and probably will become new citizens of Texas.
Get over it people! Reassess your priorities!
The best idea I've heard so far came from a person right here on FR. He/She suggested one option is to start a GI-Bill type arrangement for refugees who want to sign up to become border agents (after they are properly screened of course.) Sounds like a win/win situation to me.
That is a great story, and I hope there will be a lot more of them.
I heard this morning on local radio that DC is going to do just this. They are sending 10 buses to NO to pick up about 400 people and bring them to the DC armory.
I think the idea of empty military bases to house the displaced is an excellent idea.
"Mom says these people are scary"
Some of the men in the congregation need to stand guard with weapons. Anyone causes a problem, first offense they are kicked out, family and all. After the first couple of troublemakers are shown the door there shouldn't be any more problems.
Sorry...should have pinged you to 24...
"Relocation seems a good idea. Parcel thems out to the communities in Washington , Oregon, and Massachusetts."
Don't forget Howard Dean's lily white Vermont.
We could keep put them up in the office space that were once used by all those jobs that moved to India(?)
I guess humor helps...
The fact is that we will have trouble absorbing workers in our current economy, given that we are told that unemployment is running around 5% nationwide.
In the Southwest and much of the South, daylaborers stand around begging for work...that tells me that those without jobs are not going to be able to find steady employment all that easily...
Hi-rise public housing didn't work. Cramming these folks into the Astrodome won't work either.
My Mom is in Baton Rouge also - population doubled. I fear for the town. However the mayor and police chief there are already coming out very strongly that there will be zero tolerance. They sound mad already. I don't believe the African-American community there will tolerate it either.
2 excellent Christian relief organizations:
Southern Baptist's NAMB: http://www.namb.net/
Samaritan's Purse: http://www.samaritanspurse.org/
An article from May 2005
http://newstandardnews.net/content/action=show_item&itemid=1809
I hope you can link -very timely for this situation.
sp
I live in San Antonio, and one of the news reports said that Kelly is being prepard to be used and that it has the capacity to house 18,000.
Don't keep giving them fish...let them do the fishing.
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