Posted on 09/04/2005 6:52:12 PM PDT by Lorianne
AUSTRALIAN survivors of Hurricane Katrina told last night of their dramatic escape from New Orleans and the unfolding civil disaster in city.
The group, joyful at fleeing the nightmare of the Louisiana city, lauded one of its members as a hero. Bud Hopes, of Brisbane, was praised for saving dozens of tourists as the supposed safe haven of the city's Superdome became a hellhole.
"I would have to say that Bud is solely responsible for our evacuation," Vanessa Cullington, 22, of Sydney, told the Sunday Herald Sun by mobile phone from a bus carrying 10 Australians to safety in Dallas, Texas.
"I dread to think what would have happened if we hadn't got out. It's so great to be free."
News of the group's escape came as reports said as many as 10,000 people might have been killed by the hurricane and its aftermath, and President George Bush ordered more troops and an increased aid effort for the stricken Gulf of Mexico states.
As the Australians left the Superdome, food and water were almost non-existent and the stiflingly hot arena was filled with 25,000 people and the stench of human waste. Gangs stalked the tourists and women were threatened with rape.
"Bud took control. He was calm and kept it together the whole time," Ms Cullington said.
Mr Hopes, 32, said: "That was the worst place in the universe. Ninety-eight per cent of the people around the world are good. In that place, 98 per cent of the people were bad.
"Everyone brought their drugs, they brought guns, they brought knives. Soldiers were shot.
"It was like a refugee camp within a prison.
"It was full on. It was the worst thing I have seen in my life. I have never been so frightened."
Realising that foreigners were a target, Mr Hopes and the other Aussies gathered tourists from Europe, South America and elsewhere into one part of the building.
"There were 65 of us, so we were able to look after each other -- especially the girls who were being grabbed and threatened." Mr Hopes said.
He said they had organised escorts for the women when they had gone for food or to the toilet, and rosters to keep guard while others slept.
"We sat through the night just watching each other, not knowing if we would be alive in the morning."
John McNeil, 20, of Brisbane, said the worst point had come after two days when soldiers had told them the power in the dome was failing and there was only 10 minutes worth of gas left.
"I looked at Bud and said, 'That will be the end of us'," Mr McNeil said.
"The gangs . . . knew where we were. If the lights had gone out we would have been in deep trouble. We prayed for a miracle and the lights stayed on."
Mr Hopes said the Australians owed their lives to a National Guard Staff Sgt Garland Ogden, who had broken the rules to get the tourists out of the dome, with 60 people being evacuated to a medical centre.
"We did some shifts at the hospital to help nurse the sick to say thank you. It was a real Aussie thing," he said.
As the bus carrying the Australians crossed the Texan border, spirits were high.
"We've had hotdogs and chips and everyone is laughing," Mr Hopes said.
Later, the bus arrived at Dallas Convention Centre, where the Australians were processed.
Family and friends gathered at the Brisbane home of Mr McNeil's parents, Peter and Mary, where they were joined by Mr Hopes's sister, Debbie Browne.
Mrs McNeil broke down when she saw images of her son leaving New Orleans.
"There have been times during this past week when we didn't know if we would see him again," she said.
Mr McNeil said he could see a change in his son.
"They've been traumatised," he said. "I think they've witnessed several atrocities."
The other Australians on the bus were Emma Hardwick, of Sydney; Simon Wood, of Wyalkatchem, WA; Michael Ryan, of Lithgow, NSW; Yasmin Bright, of Newcastle; Michelle and Lisa van Grinsven, of Sydney; and Elise Sims, Tea Tree Gully, Adelaide.
Meanwhile, three Australian couples were safe in Los Angeles, awaiting flights home after being rescued from New Orleans by a Channel 7 news crew.
Tim and Joanne Miller, of Rockhampton, Garry and Cynthia Jones, of Brisbane, and Jack and Gloria Slinger, of Perth, crammed into a four-wheel-drive vehicle with reporter Mike Amor and two colleagues for the early morning dash.
The crew had arranged to pick up two couples from the building where they were holed up and found the Slingers on the streets.
"They were very wary about about coming out of the building. It was a pretty frightening scene -- bodies, shootings, looters," Amor said.
A phone call in the middle of the night gave hope to relatives of Brisbane's Fiona Seidel and her sister-in-law, Katie Maclean.
Mrs Maclean's husband, Andrew, was contacted by a New Orleans police officer who said he had seen the pair get on a bus.
Sick, sick, sick . . .
I'd rather deal with the condescending racism of liberals than the outright bigotry of those I've been unfortunate to encounter on this board.
But thanks for the enlightenment.
I'm a Catholic. Whether I'm a "Christian", I'll leave to God to decide.
What I find "enlightening" is the prevailing "group think" that
a) it would be impossible for God (if He even exists) to be in any way displeased with the behavior of the human race-especially that branch of it located in the USA and
b) even if He was, He'd never attempt to reprove us or rebuke us for our behavior.
If you believe in the accounts found in the Old Testament, especially the account of Sodom and Gomorrah then you have to conclude that God not only judges individuals- he also judges cities and nations.
This is not vengeance. All of God's rebukes are intended to bring us to our senses and bring us back to Him. To bring home to us that sin has consequences, contrary to prevailing wisdom that says we can sin with impunity.
I think it's entirely reasonable to conclude that God is not pleased with our behavior and that we are under a judgement. Don't make the mistake of thinking that this means all Christians believe it's wonderful when a disaster like this comes along. Quite the contrary. It simply means that we don't put God inside a box, nor do we believe that he no longer intervenes in human affairs- sometimes with drastic consequences.
You may think so, but most other people would disagree.
It first applied to Indians but later became common for any young, strong, male persons.
I have never heard it used to describe a young, strong white male person. Ever.
It's a derogatory term and it shouldn't be used (at least to describe young men) on FR. It allows the moonbats on the left to paint us all as racists.
From dictionary.com:
3. Offensive. A Native American or Black man.
-ccm
I have heard it used in connection with whites as often as with blacks, in the way I described. It is used in describing a new wave of athletes entering high school or college. It is descriptive of physical appearance and attributes. The racial aspect is a politically correct straw man.
However, in the unlikely event that others may have ears as tender as yours, those looking for any politically correct reason to take offense, I will take your advice under advisement.
I hope you can see how this unnecesarily neuters our language and our thinking. Racism is no where to be found in what I said.
Where I live "young bucks" means young single adult males of any race. And where I live is more than 90 percent white folks. It is not an offensive term.
This constant sniping for politically correct effect gets wearying after a while. Who cares what the left thinks? Their "approval" is not important to me.
Shepherd Smith was lamenting the mayor's decision to evacuate tourists from the hotel directly without them waiting in line at the Superdome. He was implying this was a racist decision.
Why should the tourists have to be brutalized by the underclass, plus, they all had homes and the means to go home. A stupid, off the cuff attempt to be politically correct by Shepherd. The media stirred up much hatred in their attempt to overanalyze each situation.
It makes me damn mad when they are attempting to ambush the authorities during interviews even when the bodies have not been cleared out.
Shepherd Smith was lamenting the mayor's decision to evacuate tourists from the hotel directly without them waiting in line at the Superdome. He was implying this was a racist decision.
Why should the tourists have to be brutalized by the underclass, plus, they all had homes and the means to go home. A stupid, off the cuff attempt to be politically correct by Shepherd. The media stirred up much hatred in their attempt to overanalyze each situation.
It makes me damn mad when they are attempting to ambush the authorities during interviews even when the bodies have not been cleared out.
Islam buys off on this kind of "evidence" but I don't.
I'll get off my "high horse" when you stop being so self-righteously mighty.
Since you're the freeper who said you wouldn't believe that rapes occurred in the shelters unless we had pictures, I shall feel comfortable with my first assessment of you.
You're a nut.
The Corsican Union indulged in daylight stickups and beatings right from the beginning.
I'm beginning to think you're one of the punks in the SuperDome.......or your homey friends were.
In fact, where are the victims? Do we have statements yet?
Hey, given your secret identity as a New Orleans policeman, I'd bet money you were one of 'em who ran away, eh?!
OMG.
You STILL want pictures of rapes that took place in shelters. Wow.
I stand by my original assessment of you. Nutjob.
The poster said:
"The more I read, the more I think this hurricane was a cleansing rather than a disaster."
You said:
"All of God's rebukes are intended to bring us to our senses and bring us back to Him. To bring home to us that sin has consequences, contrary to prevailing wisdom that says we can sin with impunity."
I'm willing to bet that the majority of those dead bodies floating around New Orleans are of elderly blacks. Exactly what crime did those dead blacks commit for which their "cleansing" was necessary - other than being poor and black in America? I'm sure they are the ones who feared God the most.
What is the "lesson" that God wants to impart by "cleansing" this segment of the population?
You also said:
"Don't make the mistake of thinking that this means all Christians believe it's wonderful when a disaster like this comes along. "
By no means do I think that any TRUE Christian would believe this disaster is wonderful. But I do think that more than a couple of posters on this website who may claim Christ as their savior do think just that.
And President Bush lays down another face card.
Another Ace.
You better watch your mouth! You can't even use the word refugee any more. Jesse Jackson says it's racist! Just remember, it's 'urban youths' and displaced something or other. LOL
And isn't it interesting, their accounts are amazingly similar. Do you suppose they all got together to fabricate stories that they were assaulted and threatened because they were white?
While I agree that a Superdome full of Norwegians would be better behaved (albeit a bit grumpy without their ale and lutefisk), you should be aware than Norway has an astonishingly high illegitimacy rate.
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