Brown-ness

Yesterday was the first year anniversary of hurricane Katrina. I always liked the name Katrina, not so much since last year. I really don't know why they insist on naming natural disasters after regular folk.

I watched the Spike Lee documentary 'When The Levees Broke' last night on HBO. Really painfully moving. The media never shows you the whole picture. We all know that. So as gut-wrenching as this piece of work was (and 4 hours long) I was intrigued to see the other side of Katrina. To know the truth and see how far we have come in the last year. First year anniversaries are good for that. They create an occasion to not only commemorate but also bring back the hope and optimism to move on, forgive and forget.

But the people of New Orleans can neither forgive nor forget.
They have been denied.
And we haven't come very far at all.

Watching this film, one just can't believe these are images from this country! The most powerful country in the world. The land of hope and freedom and money. No, these are images from the third-world. I was born in Africa and lived in India...I know third-world when I see it.
Third-world is always, always brown.
The people are brown, the water is brown, the houses are brown, the trees are brown, the eyes are brown, the sky is brown.
New Orleans was and still is brown.

The documentary brings to life the stories of individuals affected by Katrina in different ways. These stories are other people's stories...their pain is shared.
The reality of what happened on August 29th, 2005 is so frightening and unimaginable. You keep asking why and then wish you hadn't asked why. Ugly, dark secrets are revealed...the muck at the bottom of the water, which will never go away.
More brown?
That would be Michael Brown.

The people of New Orleans have lost everything but still, this is home. Some have given up and will never return, others persevere and pray the city will be born again. Their culture and heritage is so rich and so powerful, their belief so strong. Why this injustice?