September 12, 2005

StreetTalk

by Carol Rosen

What do you think of the relief efforts for victims of Hurricane Katrina? Should New Orleans be rebuilt on the same spot or moved above sea level? Do you plan to help the victims?
(Asked at Kirkwood Plaza)

“The relief efforts were a little late. They [the federal government] knew it was coming and they didn’t prepare for it. After people started complaining, the relief efforts grew. It also seemed kind of racial, if you noticed they took out the white tourists from that hotel before they took out the people from the convention center and the Superdome. It’s not an easy question where to rebuild the city. But they have to make it safe for people. If they move it to higher ground there wouldn’t be any more problems. Besides there are diseases in the area now, so it might be best to move it. We are waiting to see what the wealthy people in this country do, for example the oil companies and the Bill Gates of this world. I noticed that people and countries from all over the world are donating, even poor countries like Bangladesh. We plan to adopt a family or give directly to a family.”

Dorothea Hasse, 50+
Campbell
Retired


“I feel the United States did a very poor job. It was a very slow reaction for a country as strong as we are. It hit home and the efforts to help the victims were not done in a timely manner. The entire situation was out of control. I think that a lot of those people, especially the poor in New Orleans, were not as well informed to make a decision, they weren’t aware of the severity of the hurricane. For a person that’s a true Creole, New Orleans is where it is. But for safety’s sake maybe they should move it above sea level. I have always made donations for any type of tragedy. I think a lot of people will want to come and physically help out too. ”

Yvette Silverman, 47
Willow Glen
Sweater designer


“It’s a screw up! Where’s our leader? Do we have one? There’s no plan, the [federal] government has taken the money out of FEMA and left it with nothing. If this catastrophe had been from Al Qaeda, we’d really be out of luck, standing on our own. I went shopping today and stocked up so the same thing won’t happen to me if there’s an earthquake. I feel very sorry for those people on the Gulf Coast. I think they should rebuild New Orleans on land above sea level, because this could happen again. We certainly will donate.”

Yvonne Drake, 62
Campbell
Retired mechanical drafter


“The relief effort could have happened a lot sooner. It seems like FEMA is the one to blame. That agency is supposed to help us out in an emergency. Where to rebuild New Orleans is a tough question. I think maybe they should just rebuild it right where it was because too many people don’t want to move from where they have lived all their lives.”

Scott Stern, 42
Campbell
Carpenter


“The public sector really is coming through, but the government agencies from the mayor on up leave a lot to be desired. There’s a lot of blame to go around. The American people have never really had much tragedy and they often expect instant relief. That’s very hard to do because you have to get the people and the food there. All the necessary things from doctors to fire trucks and ambulances have to travel to get into an area already isolated because of the storm. The looting is unforgivable; it’s unforgivable that people would take advantage during such a time. I think they should move it so it doesn’t happen again. I plan to donate. ”

Elizabeth Casey, 77
Campbell
Retired


“I think Bush is a criminal. He is criminally responsible [for the mess in New Orleans]. This just gives us another reason to impeach Bush. He and his pals single handedly chose to withhold the funds to fix the levees even though they were told that the levees could fail. This is criminal negligence; it’s callous disregard for people. And, it’s Bush’s policies and cronies that emasculated FEMA on their own. The people who died were poor and couldn’t get out. Moving New Orleans, I just don’t know. It’s been there for at least 250 years, probably longer, I don’t know if we should undo history like that. What about the people who own land and businesses in New Orleans, what do you do about them? It’s going to cost billions of dollars to rebuild New Orleans, where is that money going to come from? I would like to volunteer my time, I just have to fit it into my schedule. I have Red Cross experience; I worked in the Northridge earthquake relief. I’ve already donated money, I just want to find the time.”

David Tuttelman, 55
San Jose
Attorney


“I think we should do as much as we can, the public’s response has been much better than the federal government’s. That’s a good question [about where to rebuild New Orleans]. For history’s sake we need to rebuild where it was, but we also need to ensure that such a disaster doesn’t happen again. We have a family gift exchange at Christmas. This year, instead of giving gifts, we’re going to take the money we would have spent and donate it all to the hurricane victims.”

Richard Ufheil, 56
Campbell
Restores classic cars