Finding those who will listen

Taken from the Colby College (Maine) magazine, "Pulling Nails Is Not Yet the Beginning: Telling the Katrina Story"
This is Nico Porot's reflection on a month spent working with a reconstruction team in New Orleans this year. The work is still going on; the stories are innumerable and all are compelling


......The United States at large must remain informed on the progress that is not happening. For as much as is being done, I (and I think I speak for a lot of people) really had no idea how many years of work remained for New Orleans before I saw it this month. The hands-on work and even the donations to organizations like Helping Hands, Common Ground, Make It Right, Mustard Seed and others, cannot do the job alone. It is difficult to point a finger at any one organization, since corruption, mismanagement, maladministration, and general negligence have plagued and continue to plague New Orleans at the city, state, and even federal levels.

Through the education and empathy of those in the United States furthest removed from the issue, we ought to feel an obligation to force politicians to bring the tragedy of Southern Louisiana and the entire Gulf Coast back into the spotlight. And now, as I prepare to head back to central Maine, and eventually Idaho and Southern California, this is the task I will take on—even if it is in the smallest gesture of mentioning it to those around me. What is most important now is that I have encountered the Katrina Story, or at least a few pieces of it. My interest now is in finding those who will listen



thank you, Nico.