Why can't the head of household leave his family behind and come back to NO to help out?
A huge number of the families we're talking about are not nuclear families but single parent, mostly female head, families.
I suppose the men are not returning.
Something I did not mention is that a good portion of them are traumatized and depressed.
I can only give you the example of my roofer. I was out of town when K. struck. I had not shut my storm shutters before I left as the storm was not a threat. I called him at the last minute, and he agreed to go to my home to close them. As a result my home sustained no damage--I have some very large windows, if they had broken I'd be in serious trouble.
I was deeply grateful to him, and tried to find him after the storm, but couldn't. After about a month, I found him in Nebraska. Sent him a very nice check since in my mind he saved me thousands of dollars. I owed and owe him big time.
He lost everything, car, equipment, home, you name it, and had to boot never been out of NO. He was rescued off a roof by a helicopter. He put his important stuff in a plastic bag, but it was lost when the helicopter downdraft ripped it out of his hands. He literally had nothing, not even a way to prove who he was.
To say that he was traumatized is an understatement. I've urged him to get back, telling him that there is a lot of roofing work for him here. He's unfortunately clinically depressed. I wouldn't want him on roofs for fear he'd kill himself. He may very well commit suicide.
There are tons of stories like this one.
The mental health aspects of Katrina are not getting much attention. Lots of suicides, lots of folks losing it.
It's easy to ask why are people not back since the wages are so good, but the reality of things is a lot more complex. |
