Advocacy Through Healing

by Amanda Marcoe

Today was another full day. It started on an early morning trek to the Convention Center for our learning activities today. These included workshops on Bible study, learning centers through study and activity and integrator (arts and culture) activities. One of the studies I went to with a group of our kids was called “Daring to be Different”. We learned from Biblical examples such as David, King Josiah and Samuel that you can stand for the Truth and make a difference even at a young age. We also had a little fun making our own masks out of paper, crayons and glue. But what impacted me the most was watching a movie that was put together from the stories of some of the people of New Orleans who lived through Katrina.

We all knew that Katrina was devastating, there’s no doubt about that. But to hear the stories of the people, to watch their lives go from a normal routine to tragedy in a matter of hours, was almost more than I could take. It was worse than my imagination. I watched a woman pointing to the barge that went through the first levee that broke, saying “those were my neighbors; they lived right there…and they’re still there. They couldn’t afford to leave.” We saw many residents flee to safety in the Superdome who didn’t have the means or desire to leave (from reasons such as no money to the fact that they lived through Betsy in ’65 so they thought they could take Katrina as well). During the beginning stages of the storm they were calm, just waiting it out so they could return home, not realizing that there would be no home to return to. After the initial storm the floods came. Some thought it was over and were caught by surprise as the water rose on the streets and in their homes at a very fast rate. This is why many of them became trapped.

When nature was finished with New Orleans the story had only begun. The most difficult thing for me to watch was the reality of the horror some experienced. Five kids were trapped in their house with their mom. Upon rescue the coast guard was told that their mom was in the back room and couldn’t breathe and needed oxygen. When they reached her she had already passed away, leaving these children alone in tragedy as they were taken in a boat from the house without their mother. One man reported clinging to his roof and yelling for help, only to watch a helicopter tell him no and turn to an alternate route.

The Superdome, being on higher ground, became a “safe place”, so people flocked there if they were able to get out of their houses. The very ramps we have been walking up everyday this week to hear speakers and bands were the very ramps in which people who were stranded filled. After the storm New Orleans experienced the hottest weather they had had in a long time, and these people were left in the blazing sun with no food or water to drink for days. People with children, with infants, the elderly in need of health care. They were all left without resource, without hope for days. People lined the hallways of the Superdome, right where we’ve been running through to get “the best seats in the house”, and they were dying there. People were dying and they had nowhere to put the bodies. There was no electricity or running water or bathrooms.

I found it very difficult to enjoy tonight’s program at the Superdome after watching how so many people had suffered right in the midst of where I was. As we’ve been learning all week about justice and how we can be a voice for those who don’t have one, I began to wonder if I could’ve done something to help the situation when others turned their heads. Call me naïve, but I had no idea how catastrophic Katrina really had been. Four years later I cannot believe how many residents have not returned and the many that have still are not able to live in their entire houses. They are living in the attics because the downstairs, kitchen and all, was flooded to the ceiling. Some still live in cramped fema trailers. Sidewalks and streets are cracked and uneven. Buildings still need painting. There is still a lot of work to be done.

If you’ve read some of the previous LCM blogs (particularly yesterday’s) you may have noted that many of us, including me, were disappointed that our service project was not tangible when there is still so much that still needs to be done here. But as we talked in tonight’s devotion we learned that if we are going to be advocates we must be able to look into the faces of those around us and see Jesus waiting to be served and cared for. Through our interaction with restaurant staff, people we’ve met on the streets walking to and from our activities, and more specifically our museum tour guide we’ve been doing the caring part, the serving. We have all as individuals been conscientious about our manners and thanking those who are working hard to serve us and we have listened to the stories of some of those people, which aids in their emotional healing. They need to be able to share with us where they’ve been and how far they’ve come. And by coming as part of the Gathering, we have contributed in a large capacity to the economic rebuilding of the city.

To be completely honest though, after watching such minute details of Katrina I would not have the strength or courage to come back here. And yet so many of the people have because it is their home, their heritage. And as one of the speakers tonight said, when we care for creation, all of creation (people who are different and people who are the same as well as our environment), we are honoring the Creator. Sometimes this gets us out of our comfort zones, makes it hard to do what we know we need to do. But when we listen for God’s calling and stand up when no one else will, we will be blessed.