no dogs on the bus

I will preface this by saying that all the people and animals impacted by hurricane Katrina are in my thoughts and prayers. It is really hard to get one's mind around the magnitude of this disaster, and the number of people displaced. I will focus primary on New Orleans, although I am aware that there are many other cities along the Gulf Coast that have also been devastated. I just feel like people don't understand what we are talking about when you close an entire major city for up to four months (and I suspect that is optimistic). My attempt here is to put things in perspective. I will also go on the record as saying that I love animals and honestly don't know what I would do if confronted with such a hard choice. I think though if it came down to my personal safety or that of my child, I probably would give up my pet. Maybe that makes me a bad person? Maybe I am simply more a realist than I imagined.

Put yourself in the shoes of a refugee for a moment:

What would you do if you suddenly lost everything and are taken miles from said place you called home? Do you find a job where you are (along with the thousands of others competing for what I'd guess would be few)? Do you try and move further out? What if you have children?

How do you access your money? What about your bills? Are you going to have to file some sort of bankruptcy or take out a loan? What about insurance? It won't cover everything.

And if you realize that you have nothing to go back to, would you go back?

Are you following this yet? Do you see what is happening? This is reality for thousands of people right now.

According to the 2000 census, New Orleans has about 500,000 residents. The median age is 33, but about 15% are over age 59 and 30% are under 19. Almost 70% are black. About 20% of the total population lives below the poverty line. (More Stats)

While many people were able to leave before the storm hit, many were not. New Orleans is a walking town, so many people don't own cars. Many others are on fixed incomes or living paycheck to paycheck, and because the storm hit at the end of the month they couldn't come up with bus, train or plane fare.

New Orleans is old city where many multigenerational families reside. As such when something like this happens and everyone you know lives in the same town, it doesn't give you many options. So many people simply had no where to go even if they had transportation.

If you have ever had the pleasure of visiting the city you know there is a certain philosophy among the locals. Essentially they believe in living for the moment, because who knows if tomorrow will come. This has also impacted what is going on. Reportedly the city had no evacuation plan because they didn't want to create alarm. More than likely they also felt it wasn't really necessary given their outlook on life.

So, let's step back here for a moment. Let's say that 20% of the people have no where to go (remember that is the number of people living below the poverty line). That's about 100,000 people (and doesn't include people from other cities or states impacted). How do you keep that many people safe, hydrated, and fed for quite possibly four or more months? Especially when you don't have an evacuation plan?

Added to the problem of getting help is that New Orleans is surrounded by bodies of water (several lakes along with the Mississippi River which runs across town). Also, the major highway (Interstate 10 which runs from California to Florida) is underwater and out of commission. Your airport is flooded making it difficult for aid to come that way. And as if all of this wasn't bad enough, FEMA is MIA. There is also much disconnect between official reports and reality. You are literally up the creek without the proverbial paddle. (More on the Disconnect.)

Meanwhile evacuation points form. But really they could be called refugee camps. While they may not be as horrible as the camps in Rwanda and other parts of Africa, there are certain eerie similarities. Many people escaped with just the clothes on their back. They are hungry, tired and scared. They have been traumatized in ways most people will never know. They are also unable to return home (even if they had one) and have been told to stay out for at least sixteen weeks because of the threat of diseases like cholera. Is this starting to sink in?

The major "refugee camp" in the city is at the Superdome. But again, because of all of the above, food, water and other supplies have not arrived. People are getting restless. Some are dying. Those overseeing things focus on avoiding pandemonium. (More Details.)

The city is in crisis. No one is in charge. Even if the local authorities knew what to do, they have no means by which to do so. Their fleet of vehicles is underwater, along with their radios, so they can't communicate. (More Details)

Meanwhile according to the Mayor, the city's many drug addicts are also realizing that the flow of drugs into the city has ceased and they need a fix. With few options, they hit the streets and when they can't find drugs, settle for guns and start acting crazy. (Source)

Grim doesn't even begin to describe what is happening. People need to be moved out.

One plan is to move people to Houston's Astrodome. They believe it can accommodate 25,000 people. The Astrodome can hold about 60,000 people for a football game. In 24-hours lines of personal space are drawn (literally) and cots are placed within the lines. There are 78 restrooms in the Astrodome (which do not have showers). (More details)

Buses are sent to move people from point a to point b. A little boy's dog is taken away as everyone is told no pets on the bus. Many people focused on the paragraph below, and this is when it became clear that many people aren't getting it:

At the back end of the line, people jammed against police barricades in the rain. Refugees passed out and had to be lifted hand-over-hand overhead to medics. Pets were not allowed on the bus, and when a police officer confiscated a little boy's dog, the child cried until he vomited. "Snowball, snowball," he cried.

(Full article)

I feel for this child and his dog, but honestly a bus full of traumatized people is the last place a puppy belongs (and if you let his puppy board then you have to let everyone who had a pet take it on the bus). It is dangerous. Should the puppy (or the kitten or the ferret) get loose (for so many felt the puppy should rest upon the boy's lap) when the boy is asleep, the puppy could cause an accident. The bus driver has enough to keep his eyes on without being distracted by a freaked out animal -- the roads are flooded, remember.

But let's for the sake of argument say that there was a way to safely transport pets to Houston, what then? People are being given little more space than the size of a cot. Where would this (or any) animal stay? Where would it go to the bathroom? How would you find it in a sea of 20,000 people if it got away from you? And what if everyone who had a pet brought it along (10% would be 2000 animals)? What if the guy next to you had a barking dog, or a crying cat? How long before you reached your breaking point (remember you are sleeping on a cot in a football stadium with thousands of people)? Do you see where this is going?

Yes, pets are wonderful helpers to people in crisis. They can lower blood pressure. They offer companionship. But in times of major disasters they can add to the problem, especially when there is no plan for the people.

Like people, animals can get stressed. Oftentimes they react by becoming mean and doing uncharacteristic things like biting and scratching. They also tend to flee when they are scared, or may just hide (imagine trying to find a frightened kitten in the Astrodome). And for better or worse, they (usually through their flea buddies) can spread disease. How do would you tend to sick animals when the sick people can't get the medicine and care they need?

Again, I am NOT saying that pets should be forgotten in situations like this, but given the sheer numbers of displaced people, and the amount of time they may remain homeless (and in many cases jobless), priorities and unfortunately sacrifices must be made. Honestly, when you can't take care of the thousands of people, how can you care for the thousands of animals?

Many people are feeling the urge to go down and help. This in some ways is more crazy than letting animals on the bus. Seriously.

Unless you are with an organized group, you have no business being in the region. Additionally you are putting yourself at grave risk. Click on some of the links above if you need further incentive NOT to go.

In the early stages of a disaster the best way to help is with your checkbook, especially when you are outside of the area. Here is a pretty good list of organizations helping with this tragedy:

The American Red Cross
Habitat for Humanity
The Humane Society of the United States
Mercy Corps
The Salvation Army
Feed The Children
Network for Good
Disaster Psychiatry Outreach
The Mennonite Disaster Service
The B'nai Brith
Hearts with Hands