[/caption]Judith Martin - Survivors of the man-made, post-Katrina floods of August 29, 2005 in New Orleans, are torn on how to mark the fifth anniversary of the event. But one way to do it it came this week with the dedication of a plaque that
tells the story.
Civic groups, religious organizations, and community leaders wonder: Should there be a full memorial
program, with lots of singing songs like "Just a Closer Walk with
Thee" or "Amazing Grace?" Or, should there be a program with
more emphasis on the rebuilding of New Orleans and the anticipation of a brighter
future?
One
group, Levees.org, decided to make a visible as well as spoken statement about
its members feelings about the upcoming anniversary.
Levees.org
is an activist group in New Orleans that demands accountability and the truth
about the levee failures, and is led by Sandy Rosenthal. As the group's way to
mark the occasion of the levee break in the 17th Street Canal, that led to the
flooding of much of ZIP code area 70124, also known as Lakeview, it decided to
set up a historical marker plaque at the site of the breach as it occurred on
August 29, 2005.
On August 23, 2010, at 10:30 AM, when the
outside temperature could be described easily as sweltering, such a plaque was
formally unveiled by Levees.org just outside the high fence that blocks access
to that part of the levee that failed, and then was rebuilt.
As
can be seen in the panorama photograph taken August 24, 2010, the area behind
the plaque at the canal is a bleak place. Sometimes during the dedication,
brown pelicans could be seen flying above the levee, which to many is a sign of
hope. The brown pelican was an endangered species for many years, yet it has
made a modest comeback in the New Orleans area.
On
that morning of August 23, present at the dedication of the plaque were approximately 40 to 60 local residents, civic leaders, media representatives, news
reporters and cameramen, and of course, members of Levees.org.
There
were speeches, mostly very short, given by various civic leaders. Their message
(some would call it a mantra), spoken by the civic leaders altogether was:
"The Corps did it."
These
sentiments were backed up by facts stated plainly in the text on the plaque:
"On
August 29, 2005, a federal floodwall atop a levee on the 17th Street Canal, the
largest and most important drainage Canal for the city, gave way here, causing
flooding that killed hundreds. This breach was one of 50 ruptures in the
Federal Flood Protection System that occurred that day. In 2008, the US
District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana placed responsibility for this
floodwall's collapse squarely on the US Army Corps of Engineers; however, the
agency is protected from financial liability in the Flood Control Act of
1928."
August 29, 2005, a federal floodwall atop a levee on the 17th Street Canal, the
largest and most important drainage Canal for the city, gave way here, causing
flooding that killed hundreds. This breach was one of 50 ruptures in the
Federal Flood Protection System that occurred that day. In 2008, the US
District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana placed responsibility for this
floodwall's collapse squarely on the US Army Corps of Engineers; however, the
agency is protected from financial liability in the Flood Control Act of
1928."
There
was and still is much more to be considered, of course. One point upon which
all the outspoken parties agree is that no one in New Orleans can let the call
for an 8/29 investigation commission, about the levee failures, fall away to
nothing. Comparably, it is very plain that in regards to the recent BP oil
spill, an investigation committee was assembled with "alacrity". No such committee has yet been assembled to
investigate the full extent of what happened on August 29, 2005, and how that
affects New Orleans and the surrounding areas up to the present day.
A
major concern is the condition of the levees as they are allegedly being
strengthened and made more secure. However, as stated as his opinion by Jed
Horne in his book Breach of Faith (Random House, 2008), the levees are being
strengthened only to the equivalent of where they were in the 1940s, when the
levees were needed basically to keep cows safe. (Much of Lakeview and what is
now ZIP code 70124 had been given over to dairy farming until after World War
II, when suburban development began in earnest.)
The
plaque at the 17th Street Canal is intended to be only the first of several
that will eventually be placed at the sites of other main levee breaches that
occurred in New Orleans on August 29, 2005, in New Orleans. And Sandy Rosenthal
with Levees.org is determined to have a part in setting up each and every one.
Editor's note: Judith Martin is one of those Katrina survivors. Her voice of authenticity is part of the treasure of this newspaper and the validation of how people rise above uncertainty and make their way forward.
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