George,

[Here's the text of a letter to Karen Waters]

Dear Karen,

I was passionately moved by your article, "Hurricane Katrina: Ain't that a Shame!" that appeared on the "George Loper News" website. First, I want to extend to you my compassion and love with regard to how people in your immediate family have been painfully impacted by Hurricane Katrina. You mentioned that the adult children of your father's broher and members of their family are homeless and scattered across East Texas with only the clothes on their back. "Ain't that a shame!" as you said, in your quoting of Fat Domino, who himself was located among the New Orleans destruction for several days before he was rescued or discoved. Yes, it is a shame. And it didn't need to happen.

Certainly, we cannot prevent Hurricanes, but the warning was made, in advance, that Katrina would be a category five when it hit the city. All indicators showed that it would hit New Orleans. So, the only thing to do is to leave the city, get away from the danger zone, was the directive. Many people heeded that warning. But many poor folk in New Orleans were not able to leave the city. They did not have transporation. The Government could have provided transportation and got them all out of the city but instead the Government chose to direct them to take shelter in the Superdome, that was not super at all when struct by a category five hurricane. What nonsense! Even though Hurricane Katrina did not hit New Orleans directly, as had been predicted, no one could have known that until after it came to land. Even at that it was a close call. It just missed hitting New Orleans with a direct blow.

But then the second blow hit the city. It was not an "act of God" but a "man-made act." Man built a levee to protect the below-sea-level City of New Orleans from flooding. But when the levee broke, a levee that, predictably, could not withstand the wrath of a category four or five hurricane New Orleans became flooded with water that rose 25 feet high. Entrapped by the high water were mostly black and poor folk who had not been able to leave the city and who, unlike having been warned about the Hurricane, had no advance warning that the city would be flooded. It came as a shocking surprise. Many of these people climbed into the attics and onto roof tops of their homes and other buildings where they in desperation cried out for help. But for five days no help came, especially from the Government ... from those who should have been helping these people, many of whom are employed by the taxpayer. From them we heard we are afraid of the looters, some people are shooting, it's too dangerous for us to help these desperate people, to even take them water and food. Yet, we could see on CNN and other TV channels news persons going to some of these people, some of them taking these desperate people food and water. Of course, our young men can fight on the front line in Iraq. I asked myself, "Where are our young black men?" The answer came, some of them are fighting in Iraq but a greater number of them are in prisons, including Angola Prison that is located 60 miles northeast of Baton Rouge and situated on 1,800 acres of land. A tent city could have been erected on that land for the flood-engulfed people in New Orlenas. The state of Louisiana has more people in prison than any other state and that includes California that has a population that is seven times that of Louisiana. More than 75 percent of the prisoners in Louisiana are black.

Perhaps some of the so-called looters were black men who had spent years in prison but when let out of prison given a $10.00 check...with no place to stay, no job, and no prospect of getting a job because they are labeled felons, who can't get employment or vote. Maybe, they will not behave like some other people who have jobs and can vote. But when we think about the fact that in the United States 4,919 black males are in prison per 100,000 in contrast to 717 white males in prison per 100,000 we can hardly expect black black males to behave like the rest of us or white males, although some of them may behave better than the rest of us. I do believe that if they had not been in Louisiana prisons they would have helped to serve the people in need in New Orleans during this ordeal. This society that sytemically promotes poverty and racism must take responsibility for much of the misconduct of some of her citizens. Personally, I think allowing and encouaging an ex-felon to vote would contribute to that person behaving positively and responsibly. But in the states where the ex-prisoners are mostly black that is a no/no. New Orleans is protrayed as a happy-go-lucky and fun city. Most of the tourists never see the poverty wards in the city or relate to the ex-prisoners residing in the city. Some of these people were unjustly put in prison to make the city safe for tourists. Some on preemptive charges, the kind that got us fighting in Iraq, i.e, you may do such-and-such or have such-and-such.

The question can be asked, "Who is going to be able to escape?"

Five days of hell in New Orleans and about the third day all we could hear from the Government was "help is on the way." It was no time for the Government to be talking about help is on the way. The Government should have been in New Orleans even before they held a press conference on what they plan to do. The message should have been, and much before the fifth day, "Here is help for you." God is present help in the time of trouble and He has empowered us to be present help in the time of need.

Our Government failed the hurting people in New Orleans. In the days ahead we can expect, and the press conferences can already be seen staged and heard by those who have been derelict in their duty to cover for each other.

We must not accept their excuses. No excuse will be accepted for their dereliction of duty in responding to the New Orleans devastation that has resulted in deaths, a number that will shock us when the count is revealed, and human misery. The blood of those who needlessly died is on some people's hands and they are identifiable. No line-up is needed to determine who they are. They must be held accountable. We dare not be silent. For if we are silent we will dishonor those who died and the hundreds of thousands who suffered needlessly, particularly, because they were not given the help that could have been given.

Yes Karen, I know how you feel. When people in a person's immediate family are the victims of a tragedy it hurts even more. It was exactly a year ago that I was in Mobile visiting members of my family when Hurricane Ivan hit land. On the night Ivan came to shore I took refuge in the basement of a home about forty miles north of Mobile. There was damage in the area, but nothing to be compared with Katrina, especially, with the flooding of New Orleans and the havoc that followed.

Let me add, we share with all the people who have been victims of Katrina.

However, it is true that New Orlans presents a different set of concerns because of the destruction that resulted from mostly man-made doing and misdoing. Man built the levee that broke and man waited five days before responding signifncantly, even practically, to help the desperate people who were engulfed in 25 feet of flood water.

Karen, know that I share with you. I weep. I care. Let us pray and be guided by the answers we get to our prayers. May we have the courage to be directed by the dictates ordered by the Higher Power who is ultimate in charge of this world. May we never forget that He is a present help in time of trouble. Both our individual and collective responses are needed in a time like this. The misery from this horrendous catastrophe will linger on and on. This we know. But the faith that has brought us this far will sustain us in the days ahead.

In Mutuality,

Uriah J. Fields (u.j.) (electronic mail, September 7, 2005)