The Children Of A Lesser God

The continued victimization of those harmed by Hurricane Ike is not only a tragedy, it is a national disgrace.

Many lost everything in the recent storm.  Hurricane Ike was devastating enough to leave two million people in Houston without electrical power.  Those residing in Houston were thankful that they did not reside in the Galveston area where the damage was much worse.  Currently there are more than 30 people who are still missing.

The arrival of FEMA in the Houston area was greeted with much relief.  People were still in a certain amount of shock as the various political figures arrived for their photo-op and then left.  It appears that the victims of this disaster were forgotten just as soon as their leaders departed.

The initial effort by FEMA so enraged Houston Mayor Bill White that he digressed from his usual reserved manner into a profanity filled tirade.  White vowed to hold FEMA accountable.  Multiple 18 wheeler loads of ice were allowed to melt in the parking lot of the George R. Brown Convention Center.  Long lines of people awaiting the FEMA distribution of Meals Ready To Eat (MRES) were informed that no more MRES were available for distribution.  In one case, a 18 wheeler truck filled with supplies was ordred by a FEMA employee to depart and return to the staging area, leaving people standing in line awaiting those supplies. Most of those applying for the promised aid from FEMA were denied.

Of those denied. many were forced into shelters in the area of Houston, Galveston, and Baytown.  They were largely without recourse or representation.  They are the quiet victims.

It appears that FEMA, in it's infinite wisdom, has elected to close the shelters in the Houston area, as well as Galveston and Baytown, between the last of October and the first part of November.  In the Houston shelter alone, some 300 people are facing homelessness.  Rental property in the Houston area is virtually unavailable.  Most rental property has already been rented out to those losing their initial shelter from Hurricane Ike.

FEMA inspectors sent to survey various damaged properties, in response to damage aid claims, are deeming those properties habitable.  They are not. In one case Harris County Children's Protective Services threatened to assume custody of one parent's children if they elected to remain in the residence deemed habitable by a FEMA inspector.  There are a number of other cases just such as these.

Perhaps there is a lesson to be learned in this matter.  Perhaps that lesson is one of self-sufficiency in the face of disaster.  One thing is certain, government agencies simply cannot be relied upon by the children of a lesser god.

www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6061187.html