Hello comrades, friends, family, allies and strangers
I am writing on this day of remembrance and tears, struggle and
concerns of the disaster from Katrina in the Gulf Coast of three years
ago in 2005.
We cannot let history as told by those who assume Power forget. Forget today, forget 2005 or forget the 500 years of neglect, abandonment and indifference that lead to the slow disasters on communities like those in the Gulf or anywhere in our world.
New Orleans today is still dichotomies on the ground; hope and sadness, emptiness and return–beauty and distress. Lives still need to be rebuilt but hope still resides in many areas.
I had just been learning to sleep better again since 2005, but with Gustav approaching I—like many of you—have been watching and thinking of the past and of today. I still carry
that time and Gustav becomes the reminder of the fragility of it all.
Some of you may be aware there is a hurricane named Gustav that is working its way into the Gulf Of Mexico as we speak. It has already left devastation in its wake upon small Caribbean countries whose people have suffered under Power and now natural disaster.
It
is predicted to become a category 3 by landfall in the u.s. It is also
has indications of heading for the New Orleans area–at this point most
likely Morgan City west of NOLA. Of course these are only predictions.
But with predictions and memory come concerns.
Why would I care you may ask?
Good question. A couple of reasons, remember Katrina and the levee
failure in NOLA? Besides the travesty of indifference and arrogance from
the government and the Red Cross that we remember, there were many
other places along the Gulf Coast that suffered in silence. Now on the
third anniversary many of these communities are under direct threat from
the storm as well as indirect threat of being ignored and forgotten
again.
Vigilance and deeds
We of Common Ground Relief are asking that you all remain aware. Aware that the potential
for history to repeat in response to disaster or really to anything. Also not forget during this time of remembrances. New Orleans has still not been rebuilt, and the progress is slow. The levees are only 20% completed and millions of dollars over budget. The coastal areas which include First Nation and other small towns and Vietnamese and Cajun fishing villages; these people are still in disrepair and vulnerable due to major wetlands loss of human cause.
We at Common Ground are making preparations to again be first responders through out most any region in the Gulf. We will need people, material aid and ways to keep the story visible. We have supplies and coordination to mobilize quickly and efficiently but we also need you. We are monitoring the situation, preparing ourselves and others to be ready to act
should it be necessary.
Stay alert and prepared to support those in the Gulf Coast if necessary. It is we–in civil society–and those affected directly who will face the real needs head on. Governments and
large bureaucratic agencies will raise money, will do little and often will not do it well.
There are many small grassroots groups throughout the region that will need support. Find them, and do what you can from your home with what you have access to. Don’t let corporate media and complacency forget. Don’t let the pageantry and fireworks of systemic corrupted Power distract us from immediate needs. All empires fall and theirs despite pomp and circumstance will be no different. On this third anniversary of remembrances tell and retell the stories to move us all into actions again.
We are the ones we have been waiting on. With Hope and determination
From the concrete jungle in the Gulf Coast Basin
scott crow
Co-Founder of Common Ground Collective
On behalf of Common Ground Relief
