You've got Jesse Jackson squawking on TV, but I've got him in my backyard, so to speak.
The England AirPark tent city he's referring to was originally set up because the Alexandria area only has 2,000 hotel rooms and couldn't accommodate the incoming crush of military personnel. Who the hell is he to come in and criticize the quality of the shelters set up in Alexandria and Pineville, anyway? This story really made my blood boil.
Read this from http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050904/NEWS05/50904001
Web extra: Jackson says evacuees must be in 'livable' conditions
By Andrew Griffin
agriffin@thetowntalk.com
(318) 487-6390
Complete Local Coverage
The Rev. Jesse Jackson rode into Alexandria late Saturday night with three buses of evacuees from storm-ravaged New Orleans and demanded that England Airpark be made available as a temporary home for them.
Jackson traveled to Central Louisiana with on one of three buses provided by the Louisiana Leadership Institute, carrying approximately 200 evacuees, many of whom had endured five hellish days in the Louisiana Superdome. The caravan first stopped at the Rapides Parish Coliseum in Alexandria, where the civil rights leader met with people and listened to them, many of whom were upset about how their situation.
“We are working diligently to evacuate people from New Orleans who are under threat of death,” Jackson told The Town Talk, as he was surrounded by a large crowd outside of the Coliseum. “Many of these people have been in there for five or six days and are just now being relocated.”
The buses, meanwhile, idled nearby, the evacuees visible through the windows.
But the stop at the Coliseum was brief. As it turned out, the final destination for the evacuees was a shelter in the old Wal-Mart building in the Kings Country shopping center in Pineville. The local chapter of the American Red Cross, along with local police and fire officials, were awaiting the buses when they arrived at the 84,000 square-foot Kings Country building a little after midnight Sunday.
The process of disembarking was slow, as the belongings of each evacuee was sorted through by emergency officials and the evacuees were processed and physically checked over once inside.
“Our concern is that they get inside and get food,” said Leann Murphy, CEO of the Central Louisiana Chapter of the American Red Cross.
Jackson, who was waiting outside talking to victims as well as local and national media, made it clear that the term “refugee” was inappropriate since he said these were really victims of a calamity and still Americans, not foreigners fleeing a distant land.
“These are citizens, not refugees,” Jackson said. He added that breaking up families and sending them to shelters in distant states like Utah and Minnesota was not a good idea when there were suitable military bases in Louisiana that could be utilized to house these evacuees.
“We want the military bases to become relocation centers,” Jackson said. “We want them in livable, family-friendly conditions.”
Pointing to the Kings Country shelter, Jackson stated that it was unacceptable for a long-term shelter.
“This is a weigh station. It’s a good thing, but only the bare essentials are here. There is no plan beyond survival,” Jackson said, adding that the local officials of Alexandria, Pineville and Rapides Parish have “been very generous.”
Jackson was critical of President Bush, whom he felt was “too late” in arranging to save the thousands suffering and dying in the New Orleans area.
Bush, he said, offered “a lot of platitudes but no programs” that would expedite the recovery for those affected by Katrina. He was also outraged that the Department of Homeland Security would not allow the Red Cross to gain access to the victims languishing in the Superdome and Convention Center.
And some of those disembarking the buses had horror stories to share. Luz Merlo and her adult daughter Sara Merlo, both of New Orleans’ Mid-City neighborhood, said their stay in the Superdome over the past five days was horrific and that they constantly felt as though they were in danger.
“I have no words,” Luz Merlo told The Town Talk. “I felt like I was in a concentration camp, like a a prisoner. Women got raped, fights were going on every second, there were people shooting guns and men were exposing themselves to us. We were suffering in there.”
The Merlos fought for survival and told of making a barricade next to a beer and soda machine in the concession area of the Superdome in an effort to protect themselves and a couple from California.
Luz Merlo said she just retired from working many years at the Orleans Parish Prison and had seen some rough characters in her time, but nothing like what she’d seen in the Superdome.
The Merlos, once in Pineville, received hugs of support from Jackson. They were then greeted by Alexandria resident Amanda Drago and New Iberia resident Shelly Comeaux, both of whom were going to help them. After a night of sleep and a much needed shower at Drago’s home, they would then go with Comeaux to relocate for the immediate future in New Iberia.
As for Jackson and his entourage he said his next stop before leaving the area was England Airpark, where they intended to demand that it be open for permanent housing for the evacuees now staying in Cenla shelters.
Originally published September 4, 2005