Zeitoun: Part 2

Hurricane Katrina finally hit. Zeitoun was ready for it, putting all his valuables and more on the second floor of his house. Then he put buckets and garbage cans under leaks in the house to gather the water. Besides a few windows broken, some shingles lost, and a fallen gutter, Zeitoun's house was in pretty good shape for being in a "category 5" hurricane. The truth was however, that the hurricane had not directly hit New Orleans and the damage was less than anticipated. The next morning, Zeitoun realized the worste was not over. He woke up to the sound similar to that of a river. That sound was the water from the levees escaping due to the lack of structure needed to hold back water from a category 2 hurricane.This is another issue; why was something built by the government and paid for by tax payers and was supposed to save many lives and property, built so poorly? The people of New Orleans were dependent on the levees because the city is 6ft below sea level! They expected the levees to hold back the water like they were supposed to, but they didn't. For this, many people were unprepared for the event including Zeitoun. "It made him sick, the anguish this would cause. Know one, he knew, had prepared for this, adequately or at all." (Eggers 95) This is why hurricane Katrina was such a catastrophe, because no one expected the levees to break and flood the city, so no one was prepared. As a result, it cause immense damage and the lives of many.

One might think, in an incident like this, that the government would send federal troops there right away saving all sorts of people, but they seemed to take their time. As Zeitoun was patrolling the neighborhood in his canoe, he saw some type of armed government force driving by in a fan boat. He and Frank waved for their help to save an elderly woman in her house. The soldiers gave no attention to them and drove past without helping. Zeitoun was thinking, "Where were these boats going, what were they looking for, if not residents of the city asking for help? It defied belief." (Eggers 101) These are questions I am pondering as I read through this book. Perhaps one reason for the governments slow response was an issue with race. Most of the people that needed help in New Orleans were black and they had been described over the radio to be in a "third world" state. "Residents were being referred to as refugees." So when Governor Blanco said, "I have one message for these hoodlums, these troops know how to shoot and kill, and they are more than willing to do so if necessary, and I expect they will." To me, it seems that the Blanco is saying that the people in New Orleans are hoodlums because they are black and because they are looting. I think Blanco, along with the media was blowing the crime way out of proportion to make it seem like they have to send in armed forces to stop them rather than helping them. I recall seeing an article about two instances about looting. One instance was a black person being described as looting a grocery store, while the other was a white person described as searching for necessary belongings. I will tell you, based on the pictures I saw, they both were taking essentials for surviving in that city. You cant tell me that the New Orleans situation had nothing to do with race.