Fire and Water: Remembering Katrina

As the whole world knows (or ought to), I'm a big fan of 'Sailor Moon'. In my opinion, there's no better line to throw at your enemies than "tsukini kawatte oshiokiyo!" - which translates as "in the name of the moon, I will punish you!" When I was still living in Wycombe, my friend and neighbour Becca and I would play at being sailor scouts. Being little and blonde, she got to be Sailor Moon, while I was Sailor Mars.

So I've used Sailor Mars and her alter ego, Hino Rei, as my muse for a new skin, entitled Hino Hime, which should translate as "fire princess" if I've got my words the right way around. I've taken two of Takeuchi Naoko's original manga drawings and worked them into a new design which is a little different in style from Caramela and Purplitude. Hope you like it.

But enough about me, as today marks an important anniversary. A year ago today, the city of New Orleans suffered a disaster - not just on a natural level, but on a political one as well. I've never visited New Orleans, and I've don't know anyone from there, but I know a screw-over when I see one. The citizens of New Orleans were left for dead by their government and their supposed "aid" agencies. A year later, the full extent of the disgraceful abandonment of these people is still all too clear to see.

Firstly, some important questions remain unanswered.

This disaster was predicted in early 2001. Why was nothing done to prevent it?
The National Guard was serving in Iraq when Katrina struck. The troops were not called back to the States to help out. Why?
It took four days for some semblance of aid to reach New Orleans. What caused this atrocious delay?

But most importantly, why has it taken Bush an entire year before starting to take (or should that be fake?) concern in this lost city? The New York Times reports this part of his visit:

"It’s amazing, isn’t?" he told a gathering under a sweltering sun. "It’s amazing what the world looked like then and what it looks like now."

(source: New York Times: Bush Sites Progress in Gulf Coast Visit)

How dare he? Tell that to Poppy Z. Brite. Tell that to the 250,000 inhabitants of a city without police coverage, without medical assistance, without garbage disposal, without power or water, without homes to go to, without things that Bush has never had to take for anything but granted. That's hardly "amazing", George.

Let's compare this to another disaster: 9/11. Like Katrina, it was predicted in early 2001. Like Katrina, nothing was done to prevent it. Like Katrina, thousands of Americans died as a result.

But that's where the similarities end. The emergency services of New York were all over the World Trade Center even before the second plane hit. Many people were rescued. The cleanup operation began straight away. And today, almost five years on, a memorial is under construction. The people of New York still have electricity, running water, medical facilities and waste disposal services, the ruins of the two towers swept away long since.

This is not the case in New Orleans. The city remains in ruins. Bodies are still being recovered. Garbage gathers in the streets with lethal consequences. Yet Bush continues his hypocrisy. He was more concerned with his occupation of Iraq than the tragedy facing his fellow Americans. Had Bush deemed the aftermath of 9/11 "amazing", there would have been uproar.

There are two countries who care more about citizens of foreign countries rather than citizens of their own. One of those is the United States. The other is the United Kingdom, but I'll save that for a later post.

On behalf of the citizens of New Orleans, I've got a message for those that think they're okay: they're not.

(Read my September 2005 post on Katrina and New Orleans for more info.)