As dependent on mainstream media as anyone, I thought I'd be spending my spring break putting the finishing touches on restored homes in New Orleans. After all, the reports I saw said that the government had gotten its act together after former FEMA Director Michael Brown's initial missteps.
What I didn't understand, though, is that even the largest of American tragedies can quickly fall out of the ever-shifting American purview, especially when the majority of victims are second-class citizens.
The disparity between what I had been told and what I saw, between what the people of New Orleans deserve and what they're getting, is the sort of divergence that can truly challenge a man's faith in his country.
Whatever you've heard, to this day, the 9th Ward and other hard-hit areas of the Gulf region remain in shambles. Massive piles of debris remain as they fell. Abandoned cars still litter the streets. Most were destroyed by weeks spent under the toxic flood waters. Others never escaped the initial devastation of Katrina's winds. They remain piled on one another, a testament to both the sheer power of the storm and the government's ineptitude. And then there are the surviving victims, the thousands of men, women and children who remain domestic refugees more than six months after Katrina.
These individuals were cast to all parts of the United States by an ill-conceived post-Katrina evacuation. Some have refused to return to New Orleans, choosing instead to make new homes in their adopted cities. But for those thousands who have decided to return to the Crescent City the hardships have continued.
At every step, federal and local authorities have done little to aid homeowners trying to return to damaged but structurally sound homes. In fact, government agencies have continually fought for the courts to allow demolition crews to destroy those homes still standing without needing to give notice to homeowners. Electricity and water have yet to be fully restored. Tens of thousands of children still wait for their schools to be reopened.
In the months since Katrina, a prevailing, and increasingly accepted theory in New Orleans is that the government has maliciously created roadblocks to stop the return of thousands in a clandestine attempt to industrialize and commercialize the poorest residential areas.
That the validity of this theory is, for now, improvable, is irrelevant; the poor of New Orleans believe they are being victimized again and have quickly developed a strong aversion toward what little government help there is.
With the government's failure to serve the immediate needs of Katrina's victims, religious groups, non-profit organizations, and charitable individuals are left the responsibility to do so.
College students have, thus far, played a substantial role in the relief effort. Thousands of students flocked to New Orleans over spring break, hundreds from this campus alone. Anyone who has seen the devastation first-hand understands that our efforts must continue and increase.
The opportunity is yours. I'm asking you to give your time to serve our brothers and sisters in need. If it requires forfeiting an internship or summer vacation, so be it. True service lies in sacrifice.
There are, of course, plenty of both to be had in New Orleans. Walking with a victim through his or her home, collectively realizing that nothing-pictures, home videos, beds, furniture, televisions-escaped the destructive waters, and then having to take it all to the trash heap is as challenging an experience as I've ever had. Likewise, the endeavor is extremely taxing on the body. In only five days, I lost three pounds; I showered once and slept in a parking lot.
But I would do it again-I will do it again. No internship can offer a greater experience or larger reward than the opportunity to help someone rebuild his life.
I spent most of my time in New Orleans working side-by-side with a young man fighting to save his father's home. This young man worked harder than any of us to restore what Katrina had taken away, and he did it with a smile. This was a week for me, but it's his life, and yet he was the one taking the time to comfort me, to thank God for the opportunity to save his father's home.
He-like so many New Orleanians-is the best that we have and deserves the best that we can give.
Thank you to all the Duke students who spent their time in New Orleans. Please share your experiences with all.
Daniel Bowes is a Trinity junior. His column runs every other Monday.
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