More Katrina Survivors

Everyone has a story. The housekeeper who did our room told a story of horror while she made beds. She was in the Superdome during Katrina. The roof blew away and the water came in on them. There were rapes and murders. She saw a gang beat a man to death who raped a child. Old people who couldn't take the heat and stress died, and bodies lay in the sun to rot. She said she has never seen it as hot as it was those days after the storm.

She didn't eat or sleep the entire time she was there. She had 4 children and 18 grandchildren with her, and thought they were all going to die. Bodies were in the water; dead animals, and empty vehicles floated in the toxic brew. They were finally rescued by the military while looters who had stolen guns from WalMart shot at rescue helicopters. She saw dead bodies everywhere.

Her family was relocated to Dallas. She cried and couldn't sleep for months afterwards because of all she had been through. An aunt of hers died from the stress of the experience. She wanted to come home, but there was no home to come to. Many people grieved themselves to death, she said, and many are still are grieving. They have no homes and everything they worked a lifetime for is gone.

She came back to New Orleans because the hotel sent for her to come back to work. Her house is gone. There is nothing left but a foundation. She had to start over again from the bottom of her shoes. Still, she is thankful to be alive. A barge washed over the levee and crushed many houses, she said. When they finally cut it up and removed it, the houses were flat and human bones were found.

She lives in fear of another hurricane. She is tired of running, but afraid of staying. She said if she ever leaves again, it will be for the last time. Her entire family is from New Orleans and she has always lived here. Her sister died before Katrina and she is thankful that she was at least spared having to experience it.

She used to be afraid of ghosts in the hotel, but now she is not afraid. She has seen worse. She went to check the grave of her sister, and it was okay. Later, however, looters stole all the brass urns from graves in the cemetary. Every store in the city was broken into and looted. She said not a single store was spared.

There was furniture, mattresses, and trash everywhere afterwards. All the vegetation died and everything was gray. She is thankful to be alive and believes God spared her family because of prayer, but she has seen more than any person should ever have to see. She believes the city will never be the same.

"It was like the end of the world," she said.

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My daughter talked to one of the parking valets here at the hotel about Katrina. He was out of town and couldn't get back. His entire family drowned in the flood - a wife and three children. He blames himself for not getting them out of the city, but never imagined it would be like it was. He found their bodies after the flood - all dead.

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Another man stopped to pet the dog, then began to tell about how he lost his dog along with 7 members of his family. "People no longer care," he said. "It's been three years and they don't want to hear about it any more." He told about how the water became higher and higher. He tried to rescuse his children, but his son was swept away by water. His daughter was 6 months old and the water rose and rose until he could no longer keep her head above the water.

What can you say to people who have suffered so much? Lives have been horribly changed and will never be the same. "We thought it was the end of the world," he said. And for some of Katrina's victims, it was.

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The stories are difficult emotionally to write about. I'm trying to write down the details just as they were told to me before I forget. These first hand accounts from eye witness are stories I know I can never forget and probably never have another opportunity to hear. They are life-changing stories. The most surprising thing is that there are still so many still suffering even after this long. We must let New Orleans know that just like them, we will never forget.

Katrina on Burbon Street

People seem anxious to tell you their story. Almost everyone here seems to have suffered. We went to Pat O'Brien's on Burbon Street where the waiter told us about his experience, spending a considerable amount of time talking. I think they want you to know, understand, what the city has suffered.

He escaped the flood by walking and swimming out, and has been displaced in Austin. He finally came back about 6 months ago. The house where he lived is gone, not worth fixing. The water was to the second story when he escaped and was 8 feet higher later on.

He was unable to find work as a waiter in Austin and had to do other work that he didn't like as well. He said there is a great shortage of housing and a place similar to what he had before now costs twice as much. It is hard for businesses to find service people due to the housing situation.

He is from New York originally but loves New Orleans, so he came back. But he said the city has changed. The tourists are not coming like they used to. The French Quarter was not flooded like the rest of the city, but it is not the same. Burbon Street is up and running, but it's heart is wounded. It believes it will recover sometime, but it will be a long, long time.