Hurricane Katrina2

The Invisible People of New Orleans?
Your browser does not support inline frames or is currently configured not to display inline frames. I choose not to walk this path, but it is chosen for me. Such that it is, I will walk it proudly knowing that through HIM my burden will be light. I Walk
Description Original work, I Walk -- one of 10 paintings making up the Women Betrayed: Invisible Women of Darfur collection . Although this collection is inspired by the plight of women in the Darfur region of Sudan, many of the images we have seen over the last week out of the Gulf of Mexico are reminiscent of the struggle faced by the subjects of this collection who are often forced to wonder through barren land in their struggle to survive. Although there are a number of things these causes do not have in common, a significant difference is that survivors of Katrina were forced to walk in contaminated water as opposed to terrain scorched by the sun with an absence of brick and mortar. Yet, due to the economic disparateness of the citizens left to overcome this disaster, it was easy to see the similarity in the journey these evacuees had to make. They waded through water often carrying all they had left of their belongings in their arms and on their heads as their children waded in the water by their sides. Some of the women were raped and people died from causes other than the initial impact of Hurricane Katrina. The majority of them were Black. The imageries are eerily similar. The victims of this catastrophe are not refugees from political strife, yet over and over again we are reminded that the aftermath of this natural disaster caused one of the brightest spots in America to resemble a third-world nation in turmoil. In the wink of an eye the suffering we have often witnessed in other countries we were witnessing in our homeland. There didn't appear to be a business continuity plan or evacuation plan based on standard risk management principles. The question that comes to mind is did anyone ever ask regarding a city that is 6' below sea level and surrounded by levees, "What will we do with the challenged citizens of this region if the levees break?" "What will it take to evacuate the city in order to minimize the lose of life and mitigate human suffering for everyone -- the haves and the have-nots?" Was there a clear and concise plan to see that, if the dam breaks, the people of New Orleans would not be forced to walk in contaminated water and live in their own waste -- adding insult to injury in what has become analogous to a barren land. Were they invisible, too? Bev Collins b.collins Studio www.beverlycollins.com P.O. Box 3494 Culver City, CA 213-925-5797

The Invisible People of New Orleans?

Your browser does not support inline frames or is currently configured not to display inline frames.

I choose not to walk this path, but it is chosen for me. Such that it is, I will walk it proudly knowing that through HIM my burden will be light.

I Walk

Description

Original work, I Walk -- one of 10 paintings making up the Women Betrayed: Invisible Women of Darfur collection .

Although this collection is inspired by the plight of women in the Darfur region of Sudan, many of the images we have seen over the last week out of the Gulf of Mexico are reminiscent of the struggle faced by the subjects of this collection who are often forced to wonder through barren land in their struggle to survive. Although there are a number of things these causes do not have in common, a significant difference is that survivors of Katrina were forced to walk in contaminated water as opposed to terrain scorched by the sun with an absence of brick and mortar. Yet, due to the economic disparateness of the citizens left to overcome this disaster, it was easy to see the similarity in the journey these evacuees had to make. They waded through water often carrying all they had left of their belongings in their arms and on their heads as their children waded in the water by their sides. Some of the women were raped and people died from causes other than the initial impact of Hurricane Katrina. The majority of them were Black. The imageries are eerily similar.

The victims of this catastrophe are not refugees from political strife, yet over and over again we are reminded that the aftermath of this natural disaster caused one of the brightest spots in America to resemble a third-world nation in turmoil. In the wink of an eye the suffering we have often witnessed in other countries we were witnessing in our homeland. There didn't appear to be a business continuity plan or evacuation plan based on standard risk management principles. The question that comes to mind is did anyone ever ask regarding a city that is 6' below sea level and surrounded by levees, "What will we do with the challenged citizens of this region if the levees break?" "What will it take to evacuate the city in order to minimize the lose of life and mitigate human suffering for everyone -- the haves and the have-nots?"

Was there a clear and concise plan to see that, if the dam breaks, the people of New Orleans would not be forced to walk in contaminated water and live in their own waste -- adding insult to injury in what has become analogous to a barren land. Were they invisible, too?

Bev Collins

b.collins Studio www.beverlycollins.com P.O. Box 3494 Culver City, CA 213-925-5797