A memorial, that yet isn't - three years later! It's almost like an IGTNT diary, but isn't.
The first time I ever looked at a blog or got curious about them was the weekend that Katrina hit because I needed a place to scream. As the same for many, it made me incredulous, angry, confused and sad about all that happened, was happening, what did not happen, be it the effects of the storm and shameful response to all that occurred in its aftermath. Eventually, I found dKos - one good thing that came out of it, for me at least and not a person affected by the storm itself.
More after the jump and a link to the news article...
I got the news today that the memorial has been delayed
So as time went by, and things were either not handled or indeed were managed in some outrageous way, I was still incredulous at the state of things, and so, in year three, that feeling hasn't changed and not enough in New Orleans has changed either.
Proposed and approved memorial:
The memorial facts from an article by AP:
Jul 12, 11:08 PM (ET)
By JOHN MORENO GONZALES
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Between acres of aboveground tombs that are this marshy city's way to inter the dead, there is a strip of land that is an empty tribute to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Unknown to most in town, including the relatives of those who died in the storm, it is the chosen site for a memorial to an estimated 1,600 fatalities, and will serve as the resting place for 85 bodies that remain unclaimed nearly three years after the disaster. During a second-anniversary ceremony, Mayor Ray Nagin shed a tear, gave $1 million in taxpayer money to the project, and delegated management to a city coroner intent on a monument that would double as a warning to be better prepared for the next hurricane.
(snip)
But nine months later, what could have been an inspiring focal point for New Orleans has dissolved into a project that is forgotten, frustrated and delayed - much like the Katrina recovery itself. Some say a lack of follow-up by the mayor is the cause, but Minyard places the blame on his own overburdened office, and the fatigue of a scattered city that had its share of problems long before the levees failed.
Few expect the monument to be built by the target date of Aug. 29, Katrina's third anniversary.
I wish I knew what to say, or could do more than I have done, but the least I can do, I guess, is spread the word....