infrogmation (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
infrogmation) wrote2005-09-04 05:17 am
infrogmation) wrote2005-09-04 05:17 am
Superdome Experiences
From a friends only entry by someone who was a volunteer at the Superdome during Katrina:
As many of you know, I stayed in town to volunteer at the Dome, where my sweetie is a chef. We had enormous stores of food in the freezers (I'm talking freezers the size of my house) we figured that by emptying out the Domes' food stores, which would spoil anyway, we could feed alot of people.
There were about a hundred of us (Dome employees and volunteers) housed in the suites on the third level. In case you don't know, the suites are like box seats- they are little rooms with sliding glass doors out to some seating overlooking the field. They are leased, usually by companies that provide these as an employee perc. There were about 6,000 people in the General Area. Keep in mind here, that the dome was open only as a shelter of last resort. It was widely reported to not show up there unless absolutely necessary, and bring all your own stuff. I'm getting tired of hearing the kvetching about "why weren't they ready to meet everyones' needs?" Wasn't supposed to be. It was a center for rescue, having the only heliport- the purpose was to concentrate on this and Special Needs. The mayor could not have stressed "please don't go there" enough. It was also designated a shelter at the last minute. They don't much like using it, because last time they did, the people stole the couches and TV's, everything they could get their hands on, from the lounges. And there was no real disaster that time.
I also keep hearing about how there was no "martial presence"- oh, boo hoo, how could they do that? The National Guard, the Army, police, Dome security, were all there when we got there. And no, they did not ever leave. There was also alot of equipment and people from the coast guard, the Air Force, the Navy, etc. The NG came equipped with MRE's and water to last 50,000 people about two weeks. No food my ass.
The first time we went to hand out food, people trampled over each other,fought, spit, and screamed alot of stuff about "white bitch" at me.(There were alot of other people handing out food, but it seemed decided that I, the White Person, must be the reason they have to wait in line for it.) The NG decided it was not safe for us to be handing out food at all, and they would have to take it over. So back down to the kitchen to cook for the Guard, Employees, and Special Needs.
Other than that, the first night went okay. People had already been looting alot, and checked themselves into the shelter to sell their wares. Keep in mind, there are loads of people who always stay behind in hurricanes just to do this. Then their useless asses have to be airlifted off the roofs.
Monday morning, the storm hit. It sounded like god was ploughing a freight train through the Superdome. Incredible. It went alright, but part of the roof gave. People were moved away from that section. Then chunks of it began to fall. People kept going back to the section because they didn't like being told where they could and couldn't sit.
Before the storm was even over, many people had been robbed. The power had gone out, but the Dome has back-up generators. We found a serious design flaw with the building- the generators don't keep the lights on in the bathroom. The people had already become obsessed with the sequestered workers on level 3. Despite efforts to keep them off the tier below it, they just had to jump up there and see what they could steal. About this time, they took my bag- clothes and toiletries, and my phone. They took stuff from several of the workers also. Keep in mind- nobody is starving at all, except maybe people who aren't thugs that are being robbed of their food.
By that evening, the social order had begun to break down. Roaming gangs had already set up crack dealing operations in the suites, which they had bashed in the glass to get to. The Guard stopped them- they fled, they came back, over and over.
The water was holding up still.
Speaking of water, outside it began to rise.
Any attempt to give out food was an incitement to riot. I just saw an article in Yahoo that talked about "orderly lines and trigger-happy guards" What a load of shash. At this point, thugs had assaulted a Guardsman for his rifle and shot him. The other Guard shot back. I think I would be that trigger happy if mob of thugs grabbed my gun and shot me with it.
By the next day, water was running low. Toilets were overflowing. The truth is, people had been urinating and defecating in the hallways already anyway, as a matter of convenience to themselves. Someone had been thrown off the second tier. A girl and a boy had been raped in the bathroom- the girl died from her beating. Of course, someone else on LJ said "how come people just did nothing?" Well, it was on a floor nobody was supposed to be on, in total darkness, and the crowd (I actually think some dome workers were involved in this) beat him to death.
The suites were stormed by thugs with guns. Obviously, our dirty drawers were irresistable. We were swept away and packed like sardines into the Gridiron, a downstairs cafe. Sealed up with the heat from a large industrial kitchen, we were forced to sit up all night, because of the angry mob trying to beat the windows out. They were very angry about our "special treatment". There we stayed overnight, until they moved us out onto the concourse to be sunburned and deafened by helicoptors. We were there for two nights, with an angry mob on the other side of a barrier, held back by the Guard. During that time, there were hundreds of air and boat rescues- this had been going on 24/7. I watched as one transport came in, pulled off of their roofs, They were asked to wait on the concourse, where they immediately went to the garage and started breaking into cars. People with guns stormed my sweetie's kitchen, luckily he wasn't there. For everyone that is saying these people were starved, well, they were making it impossible to help them. Some gratitude, I tell ya. I also watched the NOPD walking out with Saints helmets and jerseys- the police were raiding the players' locker room!
By this time, the whole place was one big toilet bowl. Beyond disgusting and more. I keep hearing alot of criticisms for the conditions, which were far beyond appalling, but, hey- we knew the water and power would go out in NO, yet the State insisted on using it as a toilet...I mean, a shelter. What do they think is going to happen with tens of thousands of people?
The crowd had really built up and those on the barrier were obsessed about how "those white folks are getting special treament." I mentioned there were about four out of one hundred, right? I should also mention, because it seems the media won't, that there were lots and lots of white folks among the refugees. Could they be 75% black because New Orleans is 75% black? Hmmm....Sorry, but I think this is annoying that people are using this disaster for their personal soapbox, and they're all so full of shit anyway.
We were cordoned off so we could do our work, now it was just to keep us alive. AThe evacuations were being discussed. They made a big deal about evacuating us in secret. This turned out to be silly, because 12,000 people had been evacuated before us, nevertheless, they would still riot about our "special treatment".
People were already unloading gunfire at the rescue planes and buses, so when you hear the bitching about ohnoes recue stopped for a day, well, of course it fucking did. When rescuers realised they could die for their compassion and hard work, the plan had to be rethought. The same went for the Astrodome. It had been planned to evacuate people before the water went out, but it was getting hard to find a place to evacuate them to. When the potential shelters heard of the total violence and destruction, they began to renig. Alot of smooth talking had to be done to get that plan back on its feet. I must say, that talking SHOULD NOT have to be done by the General Manager of a sports arena. Kudos to him for handling it as well as he did. The entire situation felt like it was hanging by a thread and about to really explode, which it definitely did, somewhat.
Due to a cock-up, we ended up on a bus to the Astrodome, with racial slurs hissed at us the entire way. See, it's my fault there are hurricanes, I guess. I'm much more powerful than I thought. Lots of threats, very scary. After several days in the toilet with no shower, toothbrush, or sleep, my saviors arrived to get me in Houston. But I don't know how long I want to burden them- they have taken in others as well.
This experience has just about killed my faith in humanity, and certainly my desire to do good works. It will be a long damn time, that's for sure.
As many of you know, I stayed in town to volunteer at the Dome, where my sweetie is a chef. We had enormous stores of food in the freezers (I'm talking freezers the size of my house) we figured that by emptying out the Domes' food stores, which would spoil anyway, we could feed alot of people.
There were about a hundred of us (Dome employees and volunteers) housed in the suites on the third level. In case you don't know, the suites are like box seats- they are little rooms with sliding glass doors out to some seating overlooking the field. They are leased, usually by companies that provide these as an employee perc. There were about 6,000 people in the General Area. Keep in mind here, that the dome was open only as a shelter of last resort. It was widely reported to not show up there unless absolutely necessary, and bring all your own stuff. I'm getting tired of hearing the kvetching about "why weren't they ready to meet everyones' needs?" Wasn't supposed to be. It was a center for rescue, having the only heliport- the purpose was to concentrate on this and Special Needs. The mayor could not have stressed "please don't go there" enough. It was also designated a shelter at the last minute. They don't much like using it, because last time they did, the people stole the couches and TV's, everything they could get their hands on, from the lounges. And there was no real disaster that time.
I also keep hearing about how there was no "martial presence"- oh, boo hoo, how could they do that? The National Guard, the Army, police, Dome security, were all there when we got there. And no, they did not ever leave. There was also alot of equipment and people from the coast guard, the Air Force, the Navy, etc. The NG came equipped with MRE's and water to last 50,000 people about two weeks. No food my ass.
The first time we went to hand out food, people trampled over each other,fought, spit, and screamed alot of stuff about "white bitch" at me.(There were alot of other people handing out food, but it seemed decided that I, the White Person, must be the reason they have to wait in line for it.) The NG decided it was not safe for us to be handing out food at all, and they would have to take it over. So back down to the kitchen to cook for the Guard, Employees, and Special Needs.
Other than that, the first night went okay. People had already been looting alot, and checked themselves into the shelter to sell their wares. Keep in mind, there are loads of people who always stay behind in hurricanes just to do this. Then their useless asses have to be airlifted off the roofs.
Monday morning, the storm hit. It sounded like god was ploughing a freight train through the Superdome. Incredible. It went alright, but part of the roof gave. People were moved away from that section. Then chunks of it began to fall. People kept going back to the section because they didn't like being told where they could and couldn't sit.
Before the storm was even over, many people had been robbed. The power had gone out, but the Dome has back-up generators. We found a serious design flaw with the building- the generators don't keep the lights on in the bathroom. The people had already become obsessed with the sequestered workers on level 3. Despite efforts to keep them off the tier below it, they just had to jump up there and see what they could steal. About this time, they took my bag- clothes and toiletries, and my phone. They took stuff from several of the workers also. Keep in mind- nobody is starving at all, except maybe people who aren't thugs that are being robbed of their food.
By that evening, the social order had begun to break down. Roaming gangs had already set up crack dealing operations in the suites, which they had bashed in the glass to get to. The Guard stopped them- they fled, they came back, over and over.
The water was holding up still.
Speaking of water, outside it began to rise.
Any attempt to give out food was an incitement to riot. I just saw an article in Yahoo that talked about "orderly lines and trigger-happy guards" What a load of shash. At this point, thugs had assaulted a Guardsman for his rifle and shot him. The other Guard shot back. I think I would be that trigger happy if mob of thugs grabbed my gun and shot me with it.
By the next day, water was running low. Toilets were overflowing. The truth is, people had been urinating and defecating in the hallways already anyway, as a matter of convenience to themselves. Someone had been thrown off the second tier. A girl and a boy had been raped in the bathroom- the girl died from her beating. Of course, someone else on LJ said "how come people just did nothing?" Well, it was on a floor nobody was supposed to be on, in total darkness, and the crowd (I actually think some dome workers were involved in this) beat him to death.
The suites were stormed by thugs with guns. Obviously, our dirty drawers were irresistable. We were swept away and packed like sardines into the Gridiron, a downstairs cafe. Sealed up with the heat from a large industrial kitchen, we were forced to sit up all night, because of the angry mob trying to beat the windows out. They were very angry about our "special treatment". There we stayed overnight, until they moved us out onto the concourse to be sunburned and deafened by helicoptors. We were there for two nights, with an angry mob on the other side of a barrier, held back by the Guard. During that time, there were hundreds of air and boat rescues- this had been going on 24/7. I watched as one transport came in, pulled off of their roofs, They were asked to wait on the concourse, where they immediately went to the garage and started breaking into cars. People with guns stormed my sweetie's kitchen, luckily he wasn't there. For everyone that is saying these people were starved, well, they were making it impossible to help them. Some gratitude, I tell ya. I also watched the NOPD walking out with Saints helmets and jerseys- the police were raiding the players' locker room!
By this time, the whole place was one big toilet bowl. Beyond disgusting and more. I keep hearing alot of criticisms for the conditions, which were far beyond appalling, but, hey- we knew the water and power would go out in NO, yet the State insisted on using it as a toilet...I mean, a shelter. What do they think is going to happen with tens of thousands of people?
The crowd had really built up and those on the barrier were obsessed about how "those white folks are getting special treament." I mentioned there were about four out of one hundred, right? I should also mention, because it seems the media won't, that there were lots and lots of white folks among the refugees. Could they be 75% black because New Orleans is 75% black? Hmmm....Sorry, but I think this is annoying that people are using this disaster for their personal soapbox, and they're all so full of shit anyway.
We were cordoned off so we could do our work, now it was just to keep us alive. AThe evacuations were being discussed. They made a big deal about evacuating us in secret. This turned out to be silly, because 12,000 people had been evacuated before us, nevertheless, they would still riot about our "special treatment".
People were already unloading gunfire at the rescue planes and buses, so when you hear the bitching about ohnoes recue stopped for a day, well, of course it fucking did. When rescuers realised they could die for their compassion and hard work, the plan had to be rethought. The same went for the Astrodome. It had been planned to evacuate people before the water went out, but it was getting hard to find a place to evacuate them to. When the potential shelters heard of the total violence and destruction, they began to renig. Alot of smooth talking had to be done to get that plan back on its feet. I must say, that talking SHOULD NOT have to be done by the General Manager of a sports arena. Kudos to him for handling it as well as he did. The entire situation felt like it was hanging by a thread and about to really explode, which it definitely did, somewhat.
Due to a cock-up, we ended up on a bus to the Astrodome, with racial slurs hissed at us the entire way. See, it's my fault there are hurricanes, I guess. I'm much more powerful than I thought. Lots of threats, very scary. After several days in the toilet with no shower, toothbrush, or sleep, my saviors arrived to get me in Houston. But I don't know how long I want to burden them- they have taken in others as well.
This experience has just about killed my faith in humanity, and certainly my desire to do good works. It will be a long damn time, that's for sure.