Public reaction leaves rescuer wondering about New Orleans

To the Editor:

With the destruction left by the twisted sisters Katrina and Rita, New Orleans was a city in the dark with no power and no immediate assistance in place or so it seemed to the thousands of stranded citizens. As the rescue missions and restoration of New Orleans began to set in place, the city slowly began its life cycle to recovery.

On October 13, 2005, several residents of Libby embarked on a plane to meet several other residents of Libby who had gone ahead to assist in the rebuilding and restoration of the city. Upon arriving in the city, the amenities were few. Stores were opened during daylight hours to coincide with the existing curfew.

Our assignment or job was to inspect all of the construction sites that would have the FEMA travel trailers which would be leased out to thousands of displaced residents of New Orleans. This job was different than the job of those who were already there from Libby. With the city slowly coming to life, the power was restored in many of the New Orleans's areas along with the cities of Kenner, Metairie, Marerro, Terrytown, Westwego, Gretna and many others.

The ordeal "The City of Trailers" began. Our title quality control or Q.Cs. Commencing with the individual setup and assignment of the trailers to residents, construction companies would place a trailer at a residence and set it up by leveling the trailer and ensuring that all of the plumbing and electrical wiring was completed.

Our job, as we arrived at the residence, was to make sure that the trailer was ready for lease by inspecting the trailer to ensure that the plumbing, electrical, leveling of the trailer and all required permits were in compliance with FEMA regulations, and if it all was good, the trailer would be leased to the resident. If not, the resident would have to wait additional days for the construction company to fix the problems, as was the case in many of the trailers.

From individual and group sites most of us encountered many rude and sometimes violent people in the streets of the city. Most of us traveled alone and at times we would have a partner, as I did. At first working 10 to 12 hours a day, 7 days a week from October 2005 to February 2006. Our daily job of completing several individual lease-in(s) went on to our assignment of completing group sites. Group sites were easier because we actually worked along side the construction company and the site quality control manager to ensure that these sites ranging from 45 and sometimes as many as 189 trailers were completed from the construction phase to the leasing phase resulting in leasing of the trailers to many of the displaced residents. These group sites would be home for the next 6 to 18 months.

Day-to-day and frustration-after-frustration for many of us, it seemed like the right thing to do. Help those in need of help.

The ordeal of being in New Orleans was not without personal issues. As the city began its life, many eating establishments around the city and in the French Quarter near the Holiday Inn (our hotel) were opened for limited business. The food prices were to us beyond a normal price range, spending between $55 to $79 a night for one or two people and simple things like washing clothes and buying hygiene items became an uneasy task to complete as most of the stores would be closed by the time we got off work.

You would think that us being there to help rebuild the city would be considered a thankful deed, however, in this case money was the issue and it won. Many of us would spend double and sometimes triple the cost for normal items such as milk, cereal, bread, soda and water.

One of the things New Orleans was known for was the French Quarter, a dirty smelly area that housed bars, food establishments and the topless strip bars as well. At first, filled with police officers from many states, it seemed peaceful and safe but with time the police presence dwindled down and violence was back not only to the French Quarter but to the city as well.

As we went on our daily tasks, many people of the city wanted not only assistance but something for nothing. Most wanted work, but many traveled the city asking for donations. Work was there for those who wanted work and not just a hand-out.

However few, there were those who were ungrateful to receive the trailers and gifts such as free starter kits, which included household items such as blankets, pots and pans and coffee pots given to them by charity organizations. These items may not have seemed like much, but enough people complained as to why some were different than others.

Helping those in need of help is something that we should all do. But when those you are helping are rude, mean and sometimes violent-vocally or physically and did not want us there, it made me think very hard of why we were there to begin with.

Having traveled the world in the military, New Orleans is a city that is in its own atmosphere away from the rest of the states.

Overall, after eight construction sites and many individual sites later, the completion and leasing of over 600 trailers to families was worth the effort. For those who returned after 4-5 months or more, and those that are still there, memories good or bad of re-building New Orleans will never be forgotten.

Gabe Alvarado