Text 12068, 67 rader
Skriven 2010-11-14 16:20:07 av Lee Lofaso (1:323/120.0)
     Kommentar till en text av Robert Bashe
Ärende: Birth Certificates (was:
================================
Hello Bob,

>ML>does having a birth certificate from houston count toward being a
>ML>Texan?

RB>Naturally, as mentioned.

Not in all cases.

>LL>Having a birth certificate from Houston counts as being a Katrina
>LL>refugee from New Orleans.

RB>As little as a Chinese birth certificate grants American citizenship to
RB>someone living in San Fransisco.

Katrina refugees included folks of all races, ages, and ethnic groups.
Including Asian Americans.  Although some of those refugees may have
found housing in San Francisco, most were relocated in Texas.

>ml>even if that birth certificate is dated from the '60's?

RB>I wouldn't have even answered such an idiotic statement.

There is nothing idiotic about the statement I made.

Most Katrina refugees had a very difficult, if not impossible, time
returning to New Orleans.  For years after the disaster, they were
considered residents of New Orleans, as well as residents of the state
of Louisiana, retaining the right to vote in local and state elections.
Many had lost everything.  Not only did they lose their homes, but they
also lost everything inside their homes, including important papers and
documents (such as birth certificates).  Over eighty percent of the city
of New Orleans was underwater (including City Hall).  Many records were
lost, and could not be retrieved.  With no job, no possessions, no
anything, Katrina refugees were totally dependent on others to be of
help.  You are talking about hundreds of thousands of people.  Mostly
poor people. Very poor people.  Poor before they even became refugees.

Much of New Orleans has been rebuilt since Katrina.  But much also
remains in ruins.  Including the 9th Ward.  The population still has
not returned to 2005 levels, and it will likely take another ten to
fifteen years to do so.  The neighborhoods that once existed will
never be the same, and some no longer exist.

New Orleans today is a different city than it was before, and it will
continue to change as time goes on.  I look for New Orleans to be the
City of the 21st Century, shedding its prior image of being The City
That Care Forgot.

What will your city be like or become during the course of this century?
Will it become a decadent city of the past, or a thriving metropolis and
international city where wonders never cease?

I love The Crescent City for what it is, and what it is becoming.  I
love the history of The Crescent City, as the past defines our present
and our future.  What is the history of your city?  How does that past
define your city's present and future?

A culture is meant to be experienced.  And the only way to experience
a culture is to actually live it.  By being there.  Katrina refugees
know this all too well.

--Lee

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