The Devastation Continues

By Karen Smith, President Sahs 110 Council and AFT Local 943 Executive Board member

(To view photos taken by Karen in January 2006)HERE)

Preparations for Mardi Gras. Accusations of who was at fault. These are the recently televised images of the areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Unfortunately, the reality is that it is still worse than anyone can imagine without actually seeing it firsthand. I had the opportunity to visit New Orleans as part of the AFL-CIO Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration Weekend held in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I had been told of the devastation by those who had visited the area the day before. However, it was not until I saw the drastic difference in the amount of devastation from one area to the next that it became apparent how much help is needed now and for long into the future.

Areas with slightly higher elevations, such as the French Quarter, had little damage. However, just a few miles away, I saw houses which were completely destroyed. Several houses were just standing in the middle of what used to be a residential street. People’s belongings were strewn about, including Polaroids of a child’s birthday party, an interestingly unbroken bottle of peppers, and a homeless rooster walking back and forth across the street.

A few miles toward higher elevation there were houses that had flood damage to much of the first floor, but the houses remained standing. It was in these areas that I saw masked people hard at work heaping up their ruined furniture in a pile at the curb and ripping out moldy sheet rock in hopes of replacing it someday soon. I spoke to a young gentleman who had just graduated from the University of Louisiana in Baton Rouge. He had been planning on returning to his hometown of New Orleans in the fall. His entire family resided in this area, and since the hurricane, they have had to relocate to several different places as far away as Delaware and Arizona. His father commutes from Mississippi every day to his job as a New Orleans postal worker. He said the most frustrating part is that they have worked hard to salvage what they could of their water-damaged home, but since they cannot move back yet, they are unable to finish what is needed. The courts have said that it will be several months before a decision will be made regarding the time frame of when residents will be allowed back in certain areas.

The AFT has been very busy raising and distributing money to teachers affected by the hurricane. Any AFT teacher in good standing at the time of the disaster is given a check to help with expenses. The AFT needs your help to continue this generous contribution to our fellow teachers. The New Orleans teacher’s union was the largest in the state. Now, the public school system has been virtually shut down with many non-union charter schools taking their place. Please consider donating to this very worthy cause even if you have previously made donations to other organizations. Your donation to the AFT Disaster Relief Fund will directly help displaced teachers. They will need help long after the images fade from the media and the finger pointing ceases. You can send your check made payable to the AFT Disaster Relief Fund to Local 943, or send it to:

AFT Disaster Relief Fund

Attn: Connie Cordovilla

555 New Jersey Ave. N.W.

Washington , DC 20001 .

(Reprinted from February 2006 AFTerthoughts)

  AFT Local 943
  15521 South 70th Court
  Orland Park, Illinois 60462
  (708) 633-0943
  (708) 633-0944 (Fax)

  Kathy Setlak, president

  IFT Field Staff