Sfax, Tunisia
Greetings.
We decided to stop over in Sfax, the second largest city in Tunisia. What a pleasant surprise. If there was a city I'd live in in Tunisia, it would be Sfax. It is a laid back big city. Nice architecture, NO TOURISTS and a wonderful Medina. The medina is made for the locals to shop in, not tourists and touristy knick knacks.
So much I want to share, but honestly I don't fell like it. i am almost in tears after reading about NO and the surrounding areas. I have never felt so Louisianian as now. I wish I was in the US to go help. I pray for those there and the surrounding areas. I have MANY friends from that area and I pray for their families.
Please keep us updated. News here only mention the basics. Thanks to JJ who sent a good update about our friends and their families. Louv, U 2.
Ok, peace and love.
09-02-05
Sami :(
We decided to stop over in Sfax, the second largest city in Tunisia. What a pleasant surprise. If there was a city I'd live in in Tunisia, it would be Sfax. It is a laid back big city. Nice architecture, NO TOURISTS and a wonderful Medina. The medina is made for the locals to shop in, not tourists and touristy knick knacks.
So much I want to share, but honestly I don't fell like it. i am almost in tears after reading about NO and the surrounding areas. I have never felt so Louisianian as now. I wish I was in the US to go help. I pray for those there and the surrounding areas. I have MANY friends from that area and I pray for their families.
Please keep us updated. News here only mention the basics. Thanks to JJ who sent a good update about our friends and their families. Louv, U 2.
Ok, peace and love.
09-02-05
Sami :(
posted by Sami at 4:56 AM
6 Comments:
Glad you guys are doing well. I feel your pain being here in Baltimore. i wish I was home too. I had family go to New Orleans with boats and get people off the houses, but it was total chaos, totally unorganized. They said dead bodies were floating by. The cops are having to siphon gas out of abandoned cars for the patrol cars.
Yesterday York, PA ran out of gas in several stations, (only the beginning). I'm proud to be from the Louisiana, but embarrassed and ashamed at how I see people treating each other in time of need. I'm not in their shoes so I won't judge, but I remember when our house got severely damaged during Andrew, everyone helped each other, not robbed each other. But we didn't have to deal with water.
My family members were told to bring weapons by the police saying it was too dangerous to rescue people without a weapon. People are shooting at the rescuers, but I think that has subsided. They finally had to return home, there was no food or aid, the rescuers found themselves in the same situation as the 'refugees'.
This is a huge diaster that could have been averted had corrupt politicians who built the levee back in day built it correctly, or had New Orleans had the response from the federal level that we send to other countries, this may have been avoided.
New Orleans has turned on itself, and is self destructing. My sister says that Target, Albertsons, and many other places have been robbed by gunpoint in Lafayette since people started arriving, plus homes being broken into has dramatically increased.
Oh, I talked Amanda. Her brother lived in Long Beach, MS, 12 miles from Biloxi. There house is just gone, there is just nothing there.
Louisiana and the gulf coast will never be the same.
Some of the only good I have seen come of this has been the reporting. CNN is slowly appearing to learn how to speak truth to power. A reporter was on last night in Mississippi in tears, outraged that they had been there since hours after the Hurricane stormed through, helping people and reporting the disaster to the American people, and they had yet to see any kind of Federal assistance...no food, no water, no nothing. Anderson Cooper would probably spit in Dubya's face right now if he could get near him. The American people are finally seeing in stark relief the gaping chasm of disconnect between reality and the monster spin machine that is the Bush Adminstration view of the world (help is here, relief efforts are working, be patient, we will rebuild.) CNN and other outlets have also reported that the Administration and FEMA knew that a the levees would not survive a hurricane and that it would be one of the three worse scenarios for a disaster in the United States. They knew all of this could happen, even down to which levees would fail, and apparently they struck the funding for repairs to pay for the venture in Iraq. Maybe now it all comes home to rooat, but at what price?
The mayor of New Orleans on live radio, transcript here. Not afraid to speak out.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/02/nagin.transcript/index.html
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Hope things are going well..Send pics send pics!! THings here are much better than they were a few days ago..The french quarter has survived and things can only get better..love and miss you all!!
Update from the home front, via Baltimore. Things have improved greatly in NO, after spiraling down further than my last comment. There seems to be hope again. It also feels like the federal government is now offering its hand, and not its back. I truly feel they abandoned those people...phi alpha
I see the true of heart of the people of South Louisiana now, I don't have to explain it because you know what I'm talking about, your Cajun too.
The communities has gotten a foot hold back, the waters have receded a little, especially around Jefferson Parish. The communities have cleared the road ways, and communities from other states has organized their own relief efforts - not waiting for the administration anymore, even though the military has shown up, and was greatly needed, and welcomed. I hear their doing a great job too, stuff is finally happening.
Side note, La. has 3,500 LAANG troops in Iraq that could have been used to protect N.O. had they not been there.
Stay strong, New Orleans will be born again, the Cajun stubbornness has been adequately displayed in National news shows. There are horror stories, and their are hero stories. I've been brought to tears several times watching.
I don't know if you guys can access from what ever country your end now, but www.wwltv.com is great - local N.O. news, and live 24 hours news feed on the local stuff, like Parish and town level recovery.
I miss you guys greatly, and can't wait for your return, and hope to visit when you do - Sipping red wine, telling stories, playing guitar.
One last thing, Sage will 1 yr old in a month...Crazy Crazy Crazy
Stay Safe, much love to all.
Louv and Family
My dearest son and family.
Since I read your last comment and felt the pain you had in your heart from worries and sadness over NO, I have been hearing and seeing the news through your eyes. I cried a lot too. The only thing I could offer to help NO is money. I gave a few hundreds to the Catholic Charities USA. I wanted to give clothes, etc, but it seems because these are hard to handle in emergency they were not accepting any. Hope you are having fun, and hope that Layla is not getting too tired, especially from the heat. I miss you so much and can't wait to see you again. I am very excited about my trip to Cairo, though a bit anxious about flying over the ocean. It has been a while since I did so, and it terrifies me. I guess I will take some sedative to help me through the flight. How are you and Jammie? as much as I imagine the fun you are having, I feel the fatigue on your behalf. I hope you are strong enough to go through the whole trip. You take care. Drink lots of water, eat well and stay safe. I had a couple of nightmares about my Layla, please take special care of her. Don't overly trust people, please. Love you so. Today is Natu's birthday and I miss being with her.
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