Tuesday 9-20

see pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/457070314zNEquX

Tuesday September 20, 2005

Today, we drove down to Biloxi to help clean up the Church where we dropped off the supplies donated in Swarthmore. We started by cutting dry wall, necessary because of the flooding. This also involved either moving various items from room, or just demolishing whatever was ruined by the storm. We worked with a group from Hattiesburg, as well as the Naval Construction Battalion from Gulfport.

After lunch, I was switched over to help Dave Sr. with the women and children responsibilities in the distribution center. It was awesome to see all the work spent the day we arrived put to good use. We constantly were moving supplies in from the staging area, and reorganizing the room to give ourselves some more room. I helped a couple of old ladies carry supplies to their cars, but afterwards spent most of my time cutting boxes, moving supplies in, and disposing of trash.

I have to admit, the work was significantly easier than the previous day, resultant from the fact we had air conditioning. We left the distribution center around 5, and headed to help a family remove a tree from their yard. It was a taste from the day before, but we finished within an hour and a half. We were told to see the River Boat Casinos that had floated and crashed on the other side of the river. The National Guard wouldn’t let us through however, as we had to turn back.

We also went back to Saint Martin, the same place we had come on the first day. It was eerie as ever, especially as more people were coming back to their homes. As we drove, I sat in the back of the truck taking lots of picture, as is evident by the 157 pictures I posted. As it got dark, we started to distribute the funds that the Rotary Club had raised. It was probably the saddest thing I have ever seen. People would cry, hug us, and couldn’t thank us enough.

Most of the people we helped had told us about their unsuccessful attempts to get help from FEMA and the Red Cross. We met a retiree that had just took the money he had saved, and paid off his house, and as a result no longer had to maintain homeowners insurance. He said that he wanted to get around to it, but just never did (probably a result of financial issues). His house had completely flooded and moved a bit down the block off his foundation.

After this, we headed back home. We headed in the wrong direction for a good amount of time, but it all worked out eventually. We stopped at a Chicken Filet (a chain that I never heard of) and all ate like pigs. We made our way back to the Church, and everyone quickly fell asleep, except me who had the responsibility of naming all those pictures we took J

As I was in the cab of the truck calling anyone I could get a hold of, I found that I had learned a lot about the situation in Mississippi. First thing is that people need to stop sending clothes. As you can see in one of the pictures, there are parking lots filled with clothes. Feminine hygiene products are quite plentiful…which is contrary to the popular belief at the Swarthmore Hurricane meeting. What are in need are tools necessary to get the jobs done here, and people to do them. Supposedly, the Red Cross (they are coming under a lot of fire down here for their bureaucratic policies) trains volunteers for three weeks. This is time that many people do not have to donate. Instead, some sort of network/database should be created to give Parishes (Churches often spearhead relief operations down here) the ability to post projects available. That way, people can come down with either their own equipment, or some provided by some future organization, for a weekend and help out. Another thing is that people don’t realize that many people don’t want to leave their homes, and as they aren’t always required to do so, many leave. For those who stay, camping supplies would be very beneficial. I think miniature cooking stoves would be especially beneficial. Sorry about that rant, hopefully it sparks some interest in thinking outside the box, and to avoid relying on conventional wisdom in such times.

David Qasem

9/20/05

Spent the day in Biloxi. Jay and the crew spent the day doing drywall, while I worked in the distribution center. Unlike Sunday when we were here last, today it was packed with people. A constant stream.

There was lots to do. Move mountains of water, clothes. Breaking tubs of detergent into Ziploc bags. It’s always the little things. I picked managing the inventory of boxes so that when people came in they there ready to go, crushing ones that were beat, or too flimsy, and taking them off the hands of the volunteers stocking shelves so they could be recycled and given to new customers. A lot of women came in with a baby in one hand, in which case I would hold boxes and follow them around the distribution center. A lot of people needed so much that they filled air conditioner sized boxes in which case we would carry them out to the parking lot and load their car.
The lot was so full of relief workers that the customer cars were parked the over yonder, naturally . . . .

If you know anyone who wants to send down supplies, tell them to forget the clothes and to send cleaning supplies: liquid dishsoap, mops, buckets, scrub brushes . . .

About four we left to go into Biloxi proper to take a tree out of a back yard and rake up the debris. No pictures of this. By this time our crew was hot, bothered and tense. No Kodak moments.

We then went back to St. Martin, which we visited on Sunday which seemed to be the epicenter of the destruction to hand out some of the cash we brought down. Some wouldn’t take it, others told us who to give it to, others cried through their tears thanking us, and others just wanted to hug us.

Then we got lost going back to Hattiesberg, and arrived home late, took showers and went to bed.

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David Evanson