Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Timed Writing
I wrote my letters to FEMA, The National Guard, and to HBO (regarding Spike Lee’s When the levees broke). I included specific facts that I had come across while researching FEMA’s response efforts, as well as my opinion on the subject. I told them they should rethink the way they do things before they make a decision that could ultimately affect the entire nations well being. When I wrote to the National Guard, I supported them and their ability to arrive at a disaster in a timely fashion. I told them I appreciated the way they handled hurricane Katrina and what they contributed to New Orleans. Lastly, I wrote to HBO in support of their production of Spike Lee’s When the Levees Broke. This documentary was the most affective material I used in researching hurricane Katrina. Spike Lee addressed the fact that FEMA knew about New Orleans’s weak levees but did not want to spend the extra money on conferences, which would help determine ways they could fix them. The information in this production was powerful and provocative which made it even more appealing. I thanked HBO for producing and airing When the Levees Broke, and told them how much it affected me. I sent all of these letters through the US Postal Service because I felt that it would be more formal, and they would take me more seriously seeing that I am a college student.
The posting of my letters and of my research paper on my blog will hopefully attract Americans to learn more about Katrina and the crucial information that has been overlooked. With this hope, I will also be creating a fable about hurricane Katrina to send the same message to younger children. Hurricane Katrina and its effect on New Orleans will go down in history as one of the worst in America. Children will inevitably learn about Katrina and I believe that this research paper as well as the blog will help them in understanding the essential information that they probably will not learn in the classroom. I have thought about different ways of portraying hurricane Katrina to much younger children (elementary school ages) and came up with a board game that would help them understand New Orleans’s demographic position in Louisiana, as well as the levee concept and the importance of not breaking them (in the board game). I think this will be a fun, effective way to convey what happened during hurricane Katrina, for younger children. Overall, I hope to inform others about this situation that is still being resolved and fixed today. Katrina had a large effect on many Americans the day it hit and I hope to inform others in the nation why this catastrophe occurred.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Letter to HBO
4200 54th Avenue South
St. Petersburg, FL 33711
November 30, 2007
HBO Human Resources
1100 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
To Whom It May Concern:
I am a nineteen year old female student at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida. I was doing some research on Hurricane Katrina and its response efforts and saw that you aired Spike Lee’s documentary When the Levees Broke. I am writing in regards to how helpful the documentary was and how much it affected me when I saw the truth about the efforts that were actually made to help hurricane Katrina victims.
I have recognized that other news broadcasters focused more on the wreckage from hurricane Katrina, and the riots and mass hysteria in New Orleans. What I thought was great about your production of Spike Lee’s When the Levees Broke was that you focused on the people of New Orleans and how hurricane Katrina affected them.
I have recommended this documentary to many people because I believe that you did a wonderful job with producing it. It really helped me understand how things went in New Orleans and I think it will help others to understand as well.
Thank you for producing this documentary and I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Annie Vassallo
Friday, November 30, 2007
Letter to FEMA
4200 54th Avenue South
St. Petersburg, FL 33711
November 30, 2007
Federal Emergency Management Agency
500 C Street S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20472
To Whom It May Concern,
I am a nineteen year old female student at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida. I was doing some research on Hurricane Katrina and its response efforts and read many criticisms about your organization. I am writing in regards to hopefully getting a straightforward answer as to why it took FEMA so long to respond to Katrina.
I have read through many books and websites regarding FEMA and found that you indeed knew about the weak levees since hurricanes George and Ivan, and chose to postpone to meetings concerning their repair. I also found that it took the people of New Orleans six days before they got any food or water from you, while the people in Indonesia after the tsunami received food and water after only two days. In addition, thousands of firefighters were recruited from Utah by your organization but were not trained as emergency workers, instead were told to stand by President Bush while he walked through the wreckage.
Above all things, I wish I knew why. Why did it take you so long to get to Louisiana? Why didn’t you spend the money to hold the meetings to repair the levees? And why were thousands of professionals trained to stand by President Bush’s side? As a student and an American, I just want to know what was going through all of your heads when this was all happening. What really made you make these decisions?
I know that it is over and done with now, and you cannot go back and change the past. However, if you have no already done so, I urge you to spend that money to hold conferences to repair all you can. It is crucial that you think of the wellbeing of Americans instead of how President Bush looks at the scene of the disaster.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Annie Vassallo
Letter to the National Guard
4200 54th Avenue South
St. Petersburg, FL 33711
November 30, 2007
The National Guard Bureau
1411 Jefferson Davis Highway
Arlington, VA 22202-3231
To Whom It May Concern:
I am a nineteen year old female student at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida. I was doing some research on Hurricane Katrina and its response efforts and read many great things about your organization. I am writing in regards to how well you responded as an organization and how greatly appreciated that is.
It has come to my attention that the National Guard was at the scene of Katrina the day that it hit, August 29, 2005. I have also seen that you helped in assisting law enforcement agencies with traffic control and security; transporting and distributing food, water and ice, conducting searches and rescues; providing generator support; and carrying out other missions to protect life and property. The Air and Cost guard efforts were those which surpassed many other organizational efforts to help keep the victims of hurricane Katrina safe.
I am proud to know that if I were in such a situation, the National Guard would be there on the spot to help. As we all know there were many other organizations that did not respond accordingly, and the response that you gave touched the victims of hurricane Katrina greatly. You saved thousands of lives and that is definitely a reason to consider yourselves heroes.
Please continue with the great work that you have displayed you are capable of. America is confident in knowing that we can count on the National Guard in a crisis like this.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Annie Vassallo
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Hurricane Katrina Response
Hurricane Katrina can be criticized through the government’s preparation, management and reaction to the disaster, can be analyzed through the inequality served while evacuating from the disaster and thereafter, and can be discussed through the concerns with the rescue efforts and the lack of planning made by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Hurricane Katrina hit
At the time, the federal government’s preparation, management and reaction to the Hurricane Katrina were lethargic and indifferent. The
At the same time, the inequality served while evacuating from the disaster and thereafter was a blatant example of the discrimination that still occurs in the “perfect” country known as the
The concerns with the rescue efforts and the lack of planning made by FEMA were very prevalent during the disaster. According to Flynn in The Edge of Disaster, Hurricane Katrina happened out of pure negligence. After two near-misses with Hurricanes George and Ivan, officials decided to do some planning on the possible strike of a category 3 hurricane on
Hurricane Katrina can be criticized through the government’s groundwork, organization and reaction to the disaster, can be analyzed through the inequality served while evacuating from the disaster and thereafter, and can be discussed through the concerns with the rescue efforts and the planning (or lack there of) made by FEMA. The people of the United States must realize what happened to New Orleans, Louisiana and all of its people were mistreated during hurricane Katrina. Although Katrina was going to hit either way, Bush’s administration was ill prepared. The government’s preparation, management and reaction to Hurricane Katrina were indolent and apathetic. Moreover, Bush’s administration proved to the