Never in my 56 years have I witnessed such utter destruction by the forces of nature. Night after night I watched dumbfounded and awe struck by events as they unfolded in the American Gulf States. I could not believe my eyes as thousands of people in the United States were left stranded without food and water for days on end by their government and local authorities, supposedly the most advanced and powerful on Earth.
It was like watching a poor and incompetent third world government in action. In all truth I was appalled by the sheer ineptitude and unnecessary suffering caused by the unfathomable inability of the authorities to organise themselves properly and swiftly, to deal with the needs of people in the immediate aftermath of Katrina's devastation.
I could not believe that U.S. authorities found it beyond their means to airlift water and food to those who were trapped or organise the recovery of bodies that lay visible to the world for a week or longer in parallel with search and rescue operations.
Will we ever look at the U.S. in the same awe struck light again? Whatever the reaction, there are serious questions that tens of thousands of people will want answers to, before Katrina's deadly consequences are laid to rest in the annals of history. Frankly I can't think any of them will be convincing.
Poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment