A message from an Aid Worker in St. Bernard Parish, LA

[benburch]

As you know, I'm in St. Bernard Parish, LA, on a team that came in here
Sept 4. (I've attached an aerial photos of this area from a flyover I
took 9/12). ( NOTE, I was forwarded this without the pictures. )
As you can see (& may have read about in the paper), the devastation
here is almost total. It is beyond belief. On top of the total
destruction, there's a oil spill & other issues; it is truly a tragedy
of epic proportions, the likes of which I've never seen in the USA.
Amazingly, local residents/disaster workers reopened one small bar here
which wasn't totally destroyed, and is essentially an oasis of "normal
life" here. It is functioning as a shelter, a free restaurant, and a
free bar, giving everything away to whomever comes in, and operating on
donations. They actually got the jukebox working, the a/c up and the
coolers operating, and set up a grill outside to make rice & beans, etc.
They are in desperate need of Stuff: fresh food, beverages (sodas, etc),
beer, liquor, cigs- anything and everything. Their distributors are all
out of business and they are being blown off by all the big companies
(Coke, Miller, Philip Morris, etc.) they used to buy from, who are
telling them that they all gave millions in $$ & product to the Red
Cross... but the Red Cross has done almost nothing here- no shelters,
nothing. Do you happen to know of anyone that could get them some
donated supplies so they can keep the doors open? These people are truly
Good People, & they have been working 24/7 for weeks- they are totally,
and I do mean totally, exhausted- these are the local residents who
became the rescue and disaster workers because they didn't leave... They
need: fresh food, beer, liquor, soft drinks, cigarettes- everything...
it's also operating as a shelter.

Lehrmann's Bar & Billiards

135 W. St. Bernard Highway

Chalmette, LA 70043

Owner: Ronnie Lehrmann & his son, David



Delivery people need to say it's supplies for Lehrmann's Bar/Shelter- a
business- and they should have no problem getting through.

FedEx is delivering here, amazingly enough. There is no Post Office or
mail yet.

Any help will be deeply appreciated; they're Good People & that little
bar is truly an oasis in the midst of all this.

[fooj]

1. Oh wow. This is heartbreaking.

Last night I saw a bit on the news that talked about St. B's and how they stand in line for hours and hours to see the Red Cross. Once they get to the front of the line...they are denied help. It made me sooooooo angry. I'll do whatever I can to help! These wonderful people need to know that they have not been abandoned!

Thanks for the post. Recommend!

peace.

[benburch]

3. Thanks!

This is why I took the Red Cross banner off my site and found another hurricane relief charity to plug.

[Suich]

2. *

:kick:

[Crazy Guggenheim]

4. Bump.

[political_invader]

5. Kicked nt

[ourbluenation]

6. package going out tomorrow...eom

[Nothing Without Hope]

7. Abandoned by FEMA but also abandoned by the American Red Cross, which

has sucked up - with the Administration's and the networks' aid - 70% of all Katrina donations. Doing the numbers and assuming 300,000 people needing the care, that would work out to about $7,000 PER PERSON.

Yet as it has in so many other national disasters, the ARC has NOT come through. And even if it did, its focus is on the immediate aftermath of disasters, NOT on what is truly needed to get lives started again.

Yet because it vacuums up 70% of all American donations for hurricane victims, OTHER groups which WOULD help are starved of donations. It is a great tragedy - and most Americans are entirely unaware of it and continue to donate to the ARC.

See this thread for much more on this:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4878601
Thread title: LA Times: "The Red Cross Money Pit" - The shocking, sorry TRUTH at last!!!

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/9/25/95628/8554
dKos Diary title: LAT exposé: "The Red Cross money pit" - The TRUTH at last!!!

[Nothing Without Hope]

8. St. Bernard is the parish where FEMA did not come but the Canadians did

They saved many lives, as people were STILL without water or food many days after Katrina. FINALLY FEMA made an appearance and told them to leave. Sounds like FEMA just hung around long enough to do this and has abandoned them again.

Read the Vancouver rescue team's blogged diary of their days, which led to their life-saving time in St Bernard Parish:

http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/usar/index.htm

Here's a DU thread about this:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1763297
Thread title: Canadians beat U.S. Army to New Orleans suburb (also beat FEMA)

[benburch]

15. If I believed in a Hell...

The executives of FEMA and the Red Cross would have their own lakes of boiling shit to suffer in for all eternity.

[pitohui]

9. a bump and a ?

if they have phone service or a cell, might be worth providing the number so ppl can phone & check on what supplies would be needed on the day in question

[benburch]

11. I don't know that.

You might try to look it up...

I got this from a mailing list I am on. It was posted about a week ago, but I just got permission to cross-post it today.

[Nothing Without Hope]

10. At Jesus' General, "Republican Jesus" would be pleased:

The title of this one is "The Pork Barrel of Compassion"
Permalink: http://patriotboy.blogspot.com/2005_09_18_patriotboy_archive.html#112753856638185117



That Alaskan bridge to nowhere, a boondoggle that benefits only a fatcat GOP politician and his cronies, would have paid for great quantities - hundreds of millions - of real help to people like this. If you haven't heard about it and have the stomach to want to, here's a thread on the vast waste of Transortation Bill giveaways including that famous Alaskan bridge:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2021361

http://www.allhatnocattle.net.nyud.net:8090/bush_223M_Bridge_to_Nowhere.jpg

[ourbluenation]

12. phone number to call...[phone] eom

[benburch]

14. Good Job!

DUers working together can do anything.

[Nothing Without Hope]

16. Since they have a phone, how about a pre-paid phone card so people

can make important (to them) long-distance calls there? Or is service more generally available?

Is this the actual phone number of the grill/meeting place/shelter?

[Spike from MN]

13. Mark for later. n/t

[benburch]

17. kick! nt

[underpants]

18. Bookmarked

I'll get some smokes when I go to the store...I quit 57 days ago.

[grace0418]

19. There are also grocers who will fedex food. I found one just now.

However, if this was first posted a week ago, do we know if Rita affected shipping? Because I just went to FedEx.com and that zip code is listed under "service suspended." Is there a way to find out? I'd be happy to send some food, not much but it's something.

[grace0418]

20. I just sent them $170 worth of groceries from groceries-express.com

It's not much but it's something. They didn't have a lot of fresh food to send but I sent drink mixes, bread, peanut butter, salami, apple juice, ramen noodles, etc. College food, really.

[grace0418]

21. Hey Ben, has the status changed with this? Let me know if you find

out anything about this because I just tried to track the groceries I sent via Fedex ground and it looks like they're being sent back to the shipper (groceries-express.com). I was just wondering if you'd heard anything else from this person in St. Bernard Parish or knew how to contact them and ask if shipments are getting through.

Maybe Rita changed the shipping status? I don't know. I'm really bummed because I want them to get the food.