Today Carlos spoke to a Latin American studies class in the morning, followed by an early afternoon presentation to law students at Loyola Law School.
Latin American studies class
At dusk we participated in a prayer vigil and sendoff event for Loyola students travelling to the SOA protest this weekend in Columbus. A powerful event. Have a safe trip, Loyola.Earlier in the afternoon we were given a two-hour tour of the damage done in New Orleans by Katrina. I'll let the pictures say the rest. We toured Lakeview, Gentilly Woods, the Upper Ninth, and the Lower Ninth Ward. Keep in mind that Katrina hit over TWO YEARS ago. While some have remodeled and rebuilt, many have not been so fortunate. Katrina was only the beginning of the disaster for most; political and economic corruption and greed have exploited and marginalized thousands upon thousands of New Orleans residents.
Lakeview Area:
Rubble is all that remains of demolished homes
Shopping areas still sit, vacated
Residents who can rebuild, do. Many have lived in trailers since the storm. The wealthier neighborhoods have recovered faster.
Gentilly Woods:
Tour Guide Jocelyn points to the floodwater level in a now-gutted home
Lower Ninth Ward:
The city hasn't even replaced street signs in the lower ninth. The few brave remaining locals have erected their own. Grass and bushes reclaim land on which hundreds of homes once stood.
The lower ninth is on the right. A quarter-mile stretch of the levy was destroyed.
The Upper-Ninth
The Projects, still abandoned. As of today, the city has not rebuilt a single one of its projects. Thousands of units remain uninhabitable.
Today was a somber day on the Journey for Justice. While we speak about human rights in Central and South America, we cannot ignore the fight for justice on US soil. Please visit the following links for more info about the case of New Orleans...
http://www.peopleshurricane.org/news/
http://www.justiceforneworleans.org/
http://thinknola.com/instiki/wiki/show/Citizens'+Road+Home+Action+Team
http://abc26.trb.com/news/wgno_111407roadhome,0,3586947.story?coll=wgno-news-1)
2 comments:
Thank you so much for taking the time to speak to our Latin American Studies class early this morning - i really appreciate it and was so glad to feel Carlos' passion for justice. I was reduced to tears at the back of the classroom, but trust that they were tears of solidarity! I am with you all on your journey to Fort Benning! (p.s. I am in the red coat in the photo!)
Thanks for speaking at the Law school on Thursday, we really appreciated it. I'm grateful you guys also took the time out of your journey to understand the city after Katrina, because it shares much of the corruption and injustice that you all fight against.
Good luck at Fort Benning, I'll be with you all in spirit. (If I didn't have law finals I would have joined the caravan!)
Post a Comment