Accommodations
Once again I found myself in a church, but the dig’s were quite different. Last year I shared a gymnasium with 50 students snoring and squeaking away on FEMA cots. This year at the First United Methodist Church in Gulfport it was cushy couches instead of cots and we were afforded the luxury of cable TV. I schooled Janos (1L) on the Ping Pong table, but Anamaria (3L) proved to be a bigger challenge.
Running on the Beach
We arrived in Gulfport on New Years Day at night on the main drag, so we did not really see any of Katrina’s Damage (We ate in the hippest McDonald’s I’ve ever seen with Kara and Andrew from Michigan). On the morning of the 2nd I woke up to cool weather and beautiful blue skies so I headed out for a run. To my surprise when I stepped out of the church the beach and the gulf were only blocks away and in clear view. Humming “Eye of the Tiger” I headed to the sand for a run.
I ran east on the beach towards Biloxi. It was then that I realized the extent of the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. Back inland, across the road from the beach, all I saw was destruction. There were mangled trees, sidewalks covered in sand, buildings with the complete first stories missing, and severely damaged houses. It was troubling. Here I was running on the beach more than 15 months since Hurricane Katrina, and it appeared little had been done to reconstruct the damage inflicted by the storm.
Wind & Waves vs. The Flood
The damage I saw in Mississippi was somewhat different than from what I had seen New Orleans a year ago. New Orleans dealt with severe flooding from the breaks and breeches in the Levees. In contrast, in Biloxi and Gulfport it was easy to see the extent of the damage due Katrina’s storm surge. The wind damage in those areas seemed more extreme than in New Orleans. Trees were broken all over the place, dilapidated business signs dangled by wires and windows in taller buildings were still covered in plywood (15 MONTHS LATER!!!!).
Biloxi is a very flat city, and there really are no dunes or seawalls to slow down any onslaught of the gulf waters. Some spots (although few and far between) of town were protected by the large Casinos that are built right up on the beach. There were 2 or 3 story buildings where it was clear that the gulf waters just pounded straight through the first floor. On the third day of the trip we ventured further inland into some neighborhoods, and there you could see the water high mark near the roof of some houses.
FEMA Trailer
On this trip I stepped into a FEMA trailer for the first time. This was a trailer that a family of 3 grown adults had been sharing for almost a year. It was incredibly cramped with only enough space to shuffle from a bench to a bed or to a table. I’m just over 6 feet tall, and looking at the bed (which stretches the width of the trailer), I knew that there was no way I could sleep with my body completely stretched out. I am amazed at the patience and restraint of Gulf Coast residents after living in such tight conditions for over a year. I was happy to leave the trailer back into the fresh air, but I bumped my head pretty bad on the doorway on my way out.
When will aid arrive?
On Wednesday January 3rd we had the opportunity to work with The Mississippi Center for Justice in Biloxi (http://www.mscenterforjustice.org/). With a fantastic group of students from American, Michigan, Kansas and Vermont Law Schools we canvassed some neighborhoods to find out about the assistance residents had received (if they had received any at all). The neighborhood I ventured into was scattered with several houses that had been boarded up since the storm.
There are different phases in the assistance offered by the federal government. “Phase One” was for houses that were located outside of the “flood zone.” Must folks I spoke with were inside the zone, so they only thing the government sent them relating to “Phase One” was a rejection letter. “Phase Two” funding is supposed to be for all residents who apply regardless of their location in our out of the “flood zone.” Everyone we spoke with had applied to “Phase Two” but no one had received a check, or indication any help would be coming soon.
Where did the help come from? The only aid people seemed to talk about was from churches. Anyone with a house that had been repaired gave much praise and thanks to church groups that came from out of state to help rebuild their lives. Everyone was sure to emphasize the fact that the churches that gave them a hand were not from Mississippi.
McSploitation
On the last day of the trip we were privileged to work with the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance (http://www.yourmira.org/) and the Mississippi Workers Center for Human Rights (http://www.msworkerscenter.org/) as well as with students from CUNY Law School. Through its work with local immigrants MIRA uncovered a scheme being used by a company running the local McDonald’s franchise to recruit workers from developing countries.
This company would recruit students from Latin American countries to come to the U.S. on a Cultural Exchange Visa. Students were guaranteed to have a place to live and a 40 hour a week job. When they arrived students quickly found out they were being cheated. Money was deducted from their pay checks for unexplainable services, they rarely ever worked a 40 hour week and they were crammed into substandard apartments. Most of the two bedroom apartments lacked heat, and housed up to 8 students at a time. Each of the students were charged $250 every two weeks to live under these conditions. Hearing about the problems the students encountered made me regret my “hip” McDonalds experience earlier in the week.
Final Thoughts
It was good to get back to the gulf coast, and to have the opportunity to see Mississippi. As I indicated earlier, my biggest frustration with the problems in the Gulf Coast is the state that everything is still in. There has been much improvement and reconstruction, but there is still destruction everywhere. It is hard to believe that after such a long time it is acceptable to leave homes and neighborhoods in such dilapidated conditions. I would recommend traveling to the gulf coast to see what it is still like, and to listen to residents and hear their stories. Make sure you try some of the Crawfish Etouffee!!!
Thanks to Guy for the photos!!!!
On the last day of the trip we were privileged to work with the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance (http://www.yourmira.org/) and the Mississippi Workers Center for Human Rights (http://www.msworkerscenter.org/) as well as with students from CUNY Law School. Through its work with local immigrants MIRA uncovered a scheme being used by a company running the local McDonald’s franchise to recruit workers from developing countries.
This company would recruit students from Latin American countries to come to the U.S. on a Cultural Exchange Visa. Students were guaranteed to have a place to live and a 40 hour a week job. When they arrived students quickly found out they were being cheated. Money was deducted from their pay checks for unexplainable services, they rarely ever worked a 40 hour week and they were crammed into substandard apartments. Most of the two bedroom apartments lacked heat, and housed up to 8 students at a time. Each of the students were charged $250 every two weeks to live under these conditions. Hearing about the problems the students encountered made me regret my “hip” McDonalds experience earlier in the week.
Final Thoughts
It was good to get back to the gulf coast, and to have the opportunity to see Mississippi. As I indicated earlier, my biggest frustration with the problems in the Gulf Coast is the state that everything is still in. There has been much improvement and reconstruction, but there is still destruction everywhere. It is hard to believe that after such a long time it is acceptable to leave homes and neighborhoods in such dilapidated conditions. I would recommend traveling to the gulf coast to see what it is still like, and to listen to residents and hear their stories. Make sure you try some of the Crawfish Etouffee!!!
Thanks to Guy for the photos!!!!
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