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October/November 2007                                                                                            Volume 13 - Number 1/2

Perspectives...

Katrina Perspective
By Lee Ross

    I spent two-plus weeks covering Hurricane Katrina as a producer with Fox News Channel.  I rode out the storm in Jackson, Mississippi and then drove to the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain before spending the rest of my time based at the state’s largest “permanent” shelter in Baton Rouge.  As you can easily imagine, it was quite an experience and one I will certainly never forget.
    Because of my proximity, my perspective on the disaster is far different than most Americans who saw the disaster remotely on television from the continuous images and interviews my colleagues and I were sending out.   With that in mind I came across many “winners and losers” that will forever shape my view of disaster responsiveness.
    Without question the biggest winners in my book were the thousands upon thousands of men, women and children I saw who fled the floods and yet refused to give up. Granted many were still in shock over their circumstances but so many of these rugged souls refused to seek preferential treatment or view themselves as unique.  I was amazed at the number of people I talked to who were thankful they had their loved ones with them.  In this horrific time, they were thinking of those who had family missing or worse.
    Another big winner in my eyes were the people of Baton Rouge.  Overnight their otherwise sleepy town became the biggest city in the state.  City resources were pushed beyond capacity.  Schools were flush with new students. And the police department was asked to keep control over everything—which they did masterfully.  In charge of the entire city was Mayor Kip Holden.  I suspect his job was a lot easier compared to his counterpart in New Orleans but that shouldn’t diminish the skill with which he managed the crisis to his community.
    By extension the efforts of so many citizen volunteers, private companies and local charitable organizations were incredible.  The spirit of giving and dedication to doing all they could to help those in need was truly inspirational.  It was also quite effective.  This was in stark contrast to the group I consider my biggest “loser” of Hurricane Katrina: the American Red Cross.  I was astounded by the number of outside ARC staff who were non-responsive to the needs of the people they were there to help.  It was amazing to see the scores of vest-wearing workers who seeming lacked any purpose or direction.  The leadership appeared to be more interested in sheparding celebrities or acceding to the dictates from some distant headquarters than getting their hands dirty with the hard work of helping people.
    To be fair, the ARC managed many huge responsibilities that only an organization with national scope could have undertaken. That notwithstanding the responsiveness at the local level was disturbingly poor.  Many of the ARC personnel I saw were unable or unwilling to provide answers to basic questions or the necessary direction to people clearly in need of accurate information.  
    The final instance of ARC hubris was a group of managers I saw at a nearby restaurant towards the end of my experience. Many of these individuals I had not seen before and were carrying on as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on just a few yards away.  I spotted the leader of this group (flush with multiple alcoholic drinks) picking up the tab with his ARC credit card.  I will never donate to this organization I saw with such a bloated bureaucracy.  My time and money will be better served at local organization more concerned with helping people than taking care of its own.