NEW ORLEANS TWO YEARS LATER

- by Jim Scott

I thought it would be useful to reflect on my observations of New Orleans Two Years After Katrina. It’s easy to see, through the media and indeed firsthand, the socio-economic challenges that plague this city. But these existed long before Katrina. And they are not that unlike those that are faced by many other major cities in the United States where there are high percentages of poverty, unemployment, crime, drugs, poor government, poorly performing schools and administrations. Indeed these exist, to some degree, in Concord, Oakland, Richmond, Pittsburg and Antioch. This is a blight on our country, one that needs to be addressed and corrected. A huge mission field for us to consider.

I don’t want to deny the problems that exist in the hurricane recovery effort. There are still huge opportunities to improve and to help. At the current rate of recovery, some people are estimating it will take 15 years to complete the task. I visited New Orleans after my first mission to help rebuild in Pascagoula, Mississippi, in November 2005 (just two months after Katrina). There were very few people in the residential areas because they were largely without power or other utilities, there were cars that had been flooded left abandoned all over, rescue boats had been left on approaches to some of the freeways, there was a brown film left by the flood waters all over everything giving an appearance of an old fashioned sepia photo. Huge mounds of debris covered many of the medians. Signs of recovery were slim to none. There seemed to be more police in the French Quarter than visitors. Few places were open for business. Trees appeared dead, grass and shrubs were all brown. There were no public schools open and no children to be seen. The airport was deserted except for recovery volunteers and home and business owners coming and going to assess damage and start plans to recover or just give up. The suburb of Metairie, west of the infamous 17th Street canal, was a hubbub of recovery activity. It’s easy to understand that I left very discouraged.

But two years later here are some of the bright spots I’ve seen:
The recovery activity in Metairie is essentially complete; the area is back to normal. The rebuilding activity has shifted to New Orleans (a much larger task to be sure). There are many contractors and volunteers providing services. Many trees have recovered, there’s green grass and many flower gardens. The French Quarter is crowded again, most businesses are open. The levees have been repaired and the flood gates and new pumping station on the 17th Street Canal are complete and operational. The airport is busy again with people on business, conventions and visiting. The Marsalis Family and Harry Connick Jr are funding and Habitat for Humanity are building a Musicians Village that will provide housing for musicians who lost their homes in the flood. Music is a key element of the spirit of New Orleans, so bringing the musicians back is very important. Worship services at Holy Ghost Catholic church are full once again. All the debris , cars and boats have been removed from the medians. Many public schools are open again, and children can be seen in most neighborhoods. The people we served are very grateful. They know they have not been forgotten.

Considering where it has come from and the conditions it’s had to operate in, the recovery could be considered remarkable. I feel much better about the prospects for complete recovery in New Orleans.

But those who haven’t been helped yet fear that the rest of the country will forget them. Indeed, the number of volunteers is declining. Even the United Methodist Church who have provided heroic efforts both in terms of monetary contributions and volunteers is seeing a drop in teams scheduling recovery missions. We, as a nation, can’t let that happen.

There seems to be considerable interest among the last team members as well as their churches and friends to go again. Pray on it to see if the Lord is calling you to join us.

In Christ Service,
Jim Scott