This morning we went to Masjid-ur-Rahim Mosque (Mosque of the Merciful) for breakfast and a dialogue. We talked with two men about New Orleans culture and some basic tenants of Islam. We talked specifically about jazz, creole culture, food, and Mardi Gras. New Orleans has such a unique culture that is unlike any other place. The sense of community here is so very different from Minnesota (although not too different from that of my hometown in AR). Everyone talks and waves to you when you walk or drive down the street and get on the trolley. This sense of community is an important aspect of culture and an important force that has allowed New Orleans to make the progress it has.
After some down time, we took the Off the Beaten Path tour from United Saints. After talking for about an hour about New Orleans culture, history, and what happened after Katrina, we headed out. Our tour guide, Koné, is a native New Orlean who returned from California after Katrina to help his family and friends. He's been here since working with United Saints and has led over 600 of these tours. The tour took us through the Central City, Midtown, Tremé, and Lower Ninth Ward neighborhoods. These were the areas most affected by Katrina, and, not coincidentally, the more diverse and poorer neighborhoods. In Midtown, we saw Charity Hospital (big white building picture), one of the public hospitals in New Orleans that has been closed down since Katrina, despite it being relatively unaffected, in favor of the monstrous public/private hospital complex that's currently under construction. We also saw several closed down historic important churches that couldn't return after Katrina because they didn't have the money to make the repairs necessary. The biggest jail in Louisiana, also in Midtown, was built to hold around 7,000, but generally has upwards of 9-10,000 in the facility.
Definitely both the hardest and the most rewarding part of the tour was seeing the Lower Ninth Ward. Previously the most densely populated neighborhood in New Orleans with buildings barely shoulder-width apart, the Lower Ninth Ward is still mostly empty. There are a few houses that have been restored, but a majority of them that are even still there are sunken and boarded up. The rest is empty lot after empty lot. Out of the original nine, there is one public school left serving K-12 with an incredibly long waiting list. This school is only open because community organizers got together, against the will of the state and at the threat of arrest, to clean and restore it.
However, among all the still boarded-up houses and empty lots, there were two beacons of hope for the neighbor hood. The Make it Right Campaign (Brad Pitt's effort) has been working to build 300 sustainable, hurricane-proof houses for the residents of the Lower Ninth Ward. We saw a lot of these 85 houses that have been finished and returned residents are living in. The other was Our School at Blair Grocery, a school that takes high school drop outs, gang members, and other underprivileged kids and teaches them skills for sustainable farming. We walked through their garden, which supplies organic produce to many up-scale New Orleans restaurants.
While our Off the Beaten Path tour was difficult, I think we each realized the real trauma that New Orleans is still facing. It's easy to say "the work isn't done yet", but to see all that still needs to happen to even come close to restoring New Orleans, was very difficult. However hard it was seeing all that that needs to finished and started, it was incredibly encouraging to see what has been done and what is continuing to be done and to talk with people who love this city and are dedicated to the New Orleans community.
-Karina
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