Monday, November 5, 2012


BLOG# 4

Lower ninth ward and how money affected people during hurricane katrina

 Hi everyone I am Mahanaj Sultana. In this I am going to discuss about how money played a complex role to make choice limited for the residents of New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward during hurricane. After Hurricane Katrina, the majority parts of New Orleans faced lots of damage, but the city's Lower Ninth Ward was hit hard. Before 29 August, 2005 few Americans had heard of the Lower Ninth Ward. After Hurricane Katrina, extensive flooding in the lower nine ward drew national attention among USA government and people. There was no word to explain the cost of this devastation.  That was known as most demolished place in New Orleans. According to the “The drive” video in you tube “Blocks after blocks miles after miles in lower nine ward the devastation never appears to end”. Among the 20,000 people most of are African Americans who lived in the Lower Ninth, and majority lived below the poverty line (Katrina & Beyond, New York public radio 2005). Those who had money they moved their houses in other places but poor residents could not move because of insufficient money as well as neither there were own transportation which was helped them to move out from that place. So they had to stay there as a part of that disaster. Few residents said, “Everyone seems to think the poor, lower income people that don’t do anything [live here],” one resident claimed. “But they’re hard-working people down here” (Juliette Landphair, Journal of American history 2007). Residents who lived they faced suffer so much. The whole city was intertwined with water surrounding it and lower nine ward faced horrible devastation because some of areas were flooded with 20 feet water which means water covering entire home. Residents needed evacuated due to rising water. As the water level dropped and properties landed as an unmerging destruction. That’s means that poor people lost everything whatever they had before hurricane. On the other hand, Zetioun who had money, he wanted to stay his home during hurricane. He wanted to save his house, took care his business and also he got a purpose of his life. He thought why he bought canoe because of “God’s will” and he could save people lives. (Zetioun 124)
         
 Still there were some people who loved their place more than their life. They did not leave their place. Corey Robinson is one of them he is resident of  New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward it never crossed his mind to “leave New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward”  not even after Hurricane Katrina. (Tim Padgett, Times Lists 2010). He continued that we all loves our place and we want to give another chance to Lower Ninth but “you don't see too many of your neighbors anymore. It hurts a lot". (Tim Padgett, Times List 2010). Already six years left but still lower nine ward looks like a “ghost town” and the grass has growth taller just like people’s houses. (Cain Burduea,  Black Voice 2011). This is proving that how money affects to making people’s decision. Those poor residents of lower nine ward faced that disaster because of lack of money. They could understand that they were standing in front of death but they could not shift their places. They were going to lose everything their houses, their properties even though their lives. But they were helpless. They were nothing to do unless facing the monster hurricane Katrina. If they had money they could survive from that and led a happy life which they deserve to do.

                                                                    Bibliography

                                                       The YouTube video "The Drive"
                            Black voice article “6 Years After Katrina Lower 9th ward still Bleak” by

                                                                  Cain Burdeau

                                                      Journal of American history

                                                       Tim Padgett, Times List 2010

                                     Katrina & Beyond, New York public radio 2005

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