I live in the great state of Louisiana. It’s a state where you’ll most frequently hear two things from tourists and residents: The food is good, and the weather can make you feel as hot as the boil we dump our crawfish in.
This week, the double whammy of storms Marco and Laura have placed Louisiana in a state of emergency just as we come upon the 15-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. That storm destroyed more than 800,000 homes and killed some 1,800 people, leaving thousands of New Orleans and South Louisiana residents with no place to call home, labeled “refugees” as they fled the costliest and most destructive storm in United States history.
It’s a time many of us wish we could forget. And yet, I still vividly recall being woken up by a family member to witness the sight of Katrina’s wrath from my comfortable bed in Virginia. My stomach turned upside down with sadness and disbelief. I checked in with friends who were forced to flee from college in New Orleans, overwhelmed and unable to process the physical and psychological trauma left in Katrina’s wake. Most of them never returned to pursue their degrees.
I recall, too, the heavy tensions that surface... Read more
