| Thursday, September 8, 2005 [off the
Internet] I just got back
from a FEMA Detainment Camp by Valhall - The Divine Sibyl Keeper of the
Mystic Fish - Writer posted on 6-9-2005 at 12:59 AM Post Number:
1664014 (post id: 1685907) I JUST got back from a FEMA Detainment Camp I'm extremely depressed to report that things
seem to only be getting sadder concerning the
people so devastatingly affected by Katrina last
week. Two car loads of us headed over to Falls
Creek, a youth camp for Southern Baptist churches
in Oklahoma that agreed to have its facilities used
to house Louisiana refugees. I'm afraid the camp is
not going to be used as the kind people of the
churches who own the cabins believe it was going to
be used. Jesse Jackson was right when he said "refugees"
was not the appropriate word for the poor souls
dislocated due to Katrina. But he was wrong about
why it is not appropriate. It's not appropriate
because they are detainees, not refugees. Falls Creek is like a small town that is closed
down about 9 months out of the year. It is made up
of cabins that range from small and humble to large
and grandiose, according to how much money the
church who owns the cabin has. Each cabin has full
kitchen facilities, bathrooms and usually have two
large bunkrooms - one for women and one for men.
The occupancy of the cabins varies according to the
church. This past week the Southern Baptist
association of Oklahoma offered the facility as a
place to house refugees from the Katrina disaster.
Each church owning a cabin was then called to find
out if they would make their cabin available.
Churches across the state agreed. I started my journey by loading six large trash
bags full of clothes in the back of my beetle
buggy. I then went to the local Dollar General and
purchased various hygiene products, snacks and even
a set of dominoes and a deck of cards. I had my
daughter take her own shopping cart and go and
select her own items that she wanted to take. I
told her to imagine herself without anything in the
world and then select what she would need to live
every day. We then met up with my elderly parents who had
gone to the Dollar Store themselves, and to the
grocery store and had spent WAY too much of their
limited social security on the venture. But that's
okay. We ended up having to take both vehicles on
the 150 mile round trip because they were both
pretty full. My son showed up and wanted to go. He
drove my parents while my daughter and I rode in my
car. To say we all left with excitement would be
appropriate. My 78 year old mother is a "fixer".
She loves to help people and she absolutely needs
some one to dote over. That she was about to be
able to help some people who had lost all in their
lives had her feeling physically healthier than
I've seen her in days. I was glad to get the chance
to actively do something other than donate what
little I can to some faceless charity hoping it
would get to the people who needed it. I felt glad
I could do some small something that might cut
through the helplessness I've felt over this
situation. Both of my kids were eager to
assist. The only odd thing that occurred prior to
setting off happened while I was gassing up in our
small town. My daughter was pumping the gas and a
lady she knew pulled up to an adjacent pump. My
daughter started telling her where we were going
and that we were taking things to the refugees. The
lady told my daughter that she had been told the
Red Cross was not allowing any one to deliver
supplies. When I returned to the car from paying
for the gas my daughter informed of this. I told
her that the Red Cross would not be preventing the
members of our church from entering our own cabin,
so it really didn't matter. It was at that point we
decided to stop back by the house and get my
daughter's camera so that she could take pictures
if required. From the moment I heard about Falls Creek being
scheduled to receive refugees I had two thoughts
run through my mind: 1. What a beautiful place to be able to stay
while trying to get your life back in order. 2. What a terrible location to be when you're
trying to get your life back in order. The first thought is because Falls Creek is
nestled in the Arbuckle Mountains of south central
Oklahoma. One of the more beautiful regions of the
state. It would be a peaceful and beautiful place
to try to start mending emotionally, and begin to
figure what you're going to do next. The second thought comes because Falls Creek is
very secluded and absolutely no where near a
population center. The closest route from Falls
Creek to a connecting road is three miles on a
winding narrow road called "High Road" (It gets
that name for two reasons - it's goes over the
mountain instead of around it like "Low Road" does,
and it's where the teenagers of the area go to
party). The road has not a single home on it for
over 3 miles. After battling that 3 miles over
mountains, you'll find yourself about 5 miles from
the nearest town, Davis, Oklahoma, population ca.
2000. This is no place to start a new life. A few pictures headed toward Falls Creek over
High Road to give you a feel of the seclusion. All of sudden the landscape changed from
picturesque mountainous rural America, to something
foreign to me as we approached the rear gate of the
camp. Two Oklahoma State Patrol vehicles and four
Oklahoma Troopers guarded the gate. We started
through and they stopped us. "Can I help you, ma'am?" I informed him we're here to deliver supplies to
*our church's name* cabin. He stood silent and
stared at me. My daughter turned and snapped a
picture of his vehicle - very conspicuously. I smiled at him and he asked, "Do you know where
that cabin is located?" I informed him I did. He looked at me a bit
longer and then said, "Ok" and stepped away from
the car. They stopped my parents' vehicle as well,
but I assume my son informed them he was with us.
They let them pass. We made our way through the narrow streets
toward our church's cabin. We noticed that the various church cabins had
numbered placards on them that normally weren't
there. We arrived at our cabin and started toting the
clothes in. We finally found a group of men
upstairs in the dorms trying to do something alien
to them - make beds. They had almost completed the
room of bunk beds and told us we could go over to
the ladies' dorm room and start on it. We lugged
our sacks of clothes back down the stairs. Then we
got the first negative message. "You can't bring
any clothes in. FEMA has stated they will accept no
more clothes. They've had 30 people sorting clothes
for days. They don't want anymore." My mind
couldn't help but go back over the news articles
that have accused FEMA of refusing water in to
Jefferson Parrish, or turning fuel away. We lugged the bags of clothes back to the car.
We then turned to bringing in our personal hygiene
products. That's when we learned our cabin had been
designated a "male only" cabin. Approximately 40
men, ranging from age 13 on up would be housed
there. We started resacking the female products and
sorted out everything that would be useful for
men. We lugged the bags of female products back to
the car. We asked if they knew of a cabin that had
been designated for women. The "host" (the hosts
are Oklahoma civilians who have been employeed???
by FEMA to reside at each cabin and have already
gone through at least one "orientation" meeting
conducted by FEMA at "BASE" which is some unknown
but repetitively referred location within the camp)
told us he believed McAlester cabin was dedicated
to females. He then explained there were male,
female and family cabins designated. We then started lugging in our food products.
The foods I had purchased were mainly snacks, but
my mother - God bless her soul - had gone all out
with fresh vegetables, fruits, canned goods,
breakfast cereals, rice, and pancake fixings.
That's when we got the next message: They will not
be able to use the kitchen. Excuse me? I asked incredulously. FEMA will not allow any of the kitchen
facilities in any of the cabins to be used by the
occupants due to fire hazards. FEMA will deliver
meals to the cabins. The refugees will be given two
meals per day by FEMA. They will not be able to
cook. In fact, the "host" goes on to explain, some
churches had already enquired about whether they
could come in on weekends and fix meals for the
people staying in their cabin. FEMA won't allow it
because there could be a situation where one cabin
gets steaks and another gets hot dogs - and... it could cause a riot. It gets worse. He then precedes to tell us that some churches
had already enquired into whether they could send a
van or bus on Sundays to pick up any occupants of
their cabins who might be interested in attending
church. FEMA will not allow this. The occupants of
the camp cannot leave the camp for any reason. If
they leave the camp they may never return. They
will be issued FEMA identification cards and "a sum
of money" and they will remain within the camp for
the next 5 months. My son looks at me and mumbles "Welcome to
Krakow." My mother then asked if the churches would be
allowed to come to their cabin and conduct services
if the occupants wanted to attend. The response was
"No ma'am. You don't understand. Your church no
longer owns this building. This building is now
owned by FEMA and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. They
have it for the next 5 months." This scares my
mother who asks "Do you mean they have leased it?"
The man replies, "Yes, ma'am...lock, stock and
barrel. They have taken over everything that
pertains to this facility for the next 5
months." We then lug all food products requiring cooking
back to the car. We start unloading our snacks. Mom
appeared to have cornered the market in five
counties on pop-tarts and apparently that was an
acceptable snack so the guy started shoving them
under the counter. He said these would be good to
tied people over in between their two meals a day.
But he tells my mother she must take all the
breakfast cereal back. My mother protests that
cereal requires no cooking. "There will be no milk,
ma'am." My mother points to the huge industrial
double- wide refrigerator the church had just
purchased in the past year. "Ma'am, you don't
understand... It could cause a riot." He then points to the vegetables and fruit.
"You'll have to take that back as well. It looks
like you've got about 10 apples there. I'm about to
bring in 40 men. What would we do then?" My mother, in her sweet, soft voice says,
"Quarter them?" "No ma'am. FEMA said no... It could cause a riot. You don't understand the
type of people that are about to come here...." I turn and walk out of the room...lugging all
the healthy stuff back to the car. My son later
tells me the man went on to say "We've already been
told of teenage girls delivering fetuses on buses."
My son steps toward him and says "That's because
they've almost been starved to death, haven't had a
decent place to get a good night's sleep, and their
bodies can't keep a baby alive. I'm not sure that's
any evidence some one should be using to show these
are 'bad people'." We then went to the second dorm room and made up
beds. When we got through and were headed outside
the host says to me and my daughter, "How did you
get in here?" I told him we came in through the
back gate. He replies, "No, HOW did you get in
here? No one who doesn't have credentials showing
is supposed to be in here." (I had noticed all the
"hosts" had two or three badges hanging around
their necks.) I told him it might have had
something to do with the fact my daughter was
snapping pictures of the OHP presence at the gate.
He then tells us, "Well, starting in the morning NO
ONE comes in. So if you have further goods you want
to donate you will have to take them to your local
church. They will collect them until they have a
full load and then bring them to the front
gate." Me and my two kids then walked over the hill to
the camp's amphitheater. First - just another OHP car... The amphitheater is full of clothes (but I'm not
sure I'm seeing enough for 5000 people for 5
months). But there was more...an Oklahoma Department of
Safety truck and a military vehicle... and a cell phone tower (which fretling didn't
get a pic of...grrr). Falls Creek, because it sits
in a "bowl" surrounded by mountains, is notorious
for no cell phone coverage. There were buses coming in the front gate at
about a rate of 1 every 2 or 3 minutes. We could
hear them below us as we walked back up the hill.
We could also see their white tops through the
trees. We figured these were busloads of refugees
arriving, but we never saw these buses in the
camps, nor were any refugees visible at the camp
while we were there. We then loaded back into our vehicles and headed
toward the cabin we had been told was for women so
that we could off-load our appropriate products.
When we arrived there was no one in the cabin so we
preceded to unload our vehicles and take the
merchandise in to the cabin. A horde of "hosts" who
had been hovering at a nearby cabin head toward
us. "Can we help you?" I explained to them what we were doing. "Uhh... you can't just leave donated goods in
the cabins. FEMA has stated they want all supplies
to go to their central warehouse. They said they
have had far too many supplies come in and they
need to handle them. You can't leave ANY
clothes." I just stared at them. One chubby-checker, after several moments of
pregnant pause broken only by the sound of my 82
year old dad continuing to shuffle boxes out of the
back of his car (GO DAD!), says "I'll call "BASE"
and confirm what should happen here." I continue to stare. He pounds out the number on his cell phone and
when some one picks up he chickens out and just
asks "I need to verify that cabin 11 is a female
only facility." When he hangs up he says that it is
and I respond, "Well, good, we'll get on with this
then." It's at that point my son pulls me aside and
says, "Every damned one of them have the same
phone. That's what the comm tower is for at the
amphitheater. Now we know how FEMA runs through
billions, they've given every one of these people a
Cingular phone when walkie-talkies would have
worked just fine." We off-load our goods into the McAlester cabin.
Fretling takes pics of the buckets of toys that
have been donated by citizens for the kiddos coming
this way. And a dorm room: We then start out of the camp. I tell my
daughter I want to go out the main gate this time.
Here is what we saw on the way out: Just another OHP car... This cabin was apparently commandeered by a
group of people in navy blue jumpsuits with
insignias all over them. You can see them in the
left side of this pic. But they were standing all
over the place on both sides of the narrow
street. This is just one OHP car in a long line of them
parked along the side of the street. Three firetrucks parked along the river. Talk about a surreal moment...troops (unknown if
Regular or National Guard) have taken up residency
in the Durant First Baptist Church cabin very near
the main gate of the camp. Two things to point out in the pictures
above...we passed a row of about 6 or 8 ambulances
parked in the street just in front of the troop
cabin, and the large tent on the top of the
hill...we have no idea what that is for. Main gate completely blocked by OHP vehicles as
we approach: More OHP vehicles parked at the rear gate as we
pass by: Now I'm starting to understand why it doesn't
matter that this location is not conducive to
starting a new life. [edit on 9-6-2005 by Valhall] FredT All
We Are Is Dust In The Wind Moderator
posted on 6-9-2005 at 01:11 AM Post Number:
1664028 (post id: 1685921) Surreal We have people coming to San Jose and San
Francisco. I wonder if it will be much the
same. This should be an ATSNN story IMHO. In regards to quote: navy blue jumpsuits with insignias all
over them. You can see them in the left side of
this pic. But they were standing all over the place
on both sides of the narrow street. Given the repot of 8 ambulances at the location,
those blue uniforms look alot like the EMS style
worn by our EMT's so they could have been just out
shooting the breeze. Perhaps the paramedics /
EMT-1's are going to be the camps medical
staff. How close is the nearest medical facility to
this camp? Two last questions: Did you get a fell for the
total numbers of troops there and the State
Troopers / Highway Patrol (two different signs on
the cars so i assume they are seperate
entities) And was the "If you leave you can never come
back" edict posted anywhere? I would love to see
one of the briefing papers given to the inmates
here adn see what exactly FEMA is saying to them.
SO much for the land of the free twitchy Resident
Thespian Angy Hippie Member posted on 6-9-2005 at 01:12 AM Post Number:
1664031 (post id: 1685924) Wow man. Maybe we
aren't so paranoid afterall. Too bad you didn't get
any video, I bet Alex jones would give his left one
for this story Valhall. Do you have any media
contacts? I could give you some information if you
want to take this story and run with it, it might
not make clear the mainstream media, but my god you
got pure gold there for the independent media.
edsinger But By Grace Alone.... DieHard
Conservative Member posted on 6-9-2005 at 01:42 AM Post Number:
1664078 (post id: 1685971) Keep in mind that people
will be pissed off and order must be kept somehow.
The EMS personel are there to 'check' them
over. Notice the word riot was used a lot, do they
know something YOU dont? Anyhow nice guesture and great story. I just
feel you are over reacting a bit, my mother lives
in a trailer park north of NO and they have brought
some 'refugees' there. There has already been a
shooting and a bunch of looting. They now have
Sheriffs D's full time in the place I grew up
Valhall The Divine Sibyl Keeper of the Mystic Fish
Writer posted on 6-9-2005 at 01:48 AM Post Number:
1664090 (post id: 1685983) Do you think I'm
over-reacting to the idea of being bussed hundreds
of miles from what I am familiar with to a place
miles from civilization and from which I cannot
leave? or do you think I'm over-reacting to the fact that
federal agencies are treating people who have done
nothing but lose all they ever owned to a natural
disaster as if they are criminals waiting to make
their next nefarious move? billybob Android Meme
Meme Burr Member posted on 6-9-2005 at 01:54 AM Post Number:
1664096 (post id: 1685989) wow, valhall. i'm
impressed with your whole family! your story reads
like a 'red dawn' type fiction novel. surreal,
indeed. i've been expecting this type of dress
rehearsal for a long time, as many of us tin-foil
hatters have. i feel it's only going to get worse,
sadly. goodbye, sweet lady 'america', we barely
knew thee. edsinger But By Grace Alone.... DieHard
Conservative Member posted on 6-9-2005 at 01:55 AM Post Number:
1664099 (post id: 1685992) quote: Originally
posted by Valhall do you think I'm over-reacting to the fact that
federal agencies are treating people who have done
nothing but lose all they ever owned to a natural
disaster as if they are criminals waiting to make
their next nefarious move? Look facts are facts, in the Trailer park in
which I speak, things are not good. My mother has
decided to arm herself as she is scared. Not all of
these people are bad but how do you tell? Do you
wait until your mother is raped or robbed and then
ask to iD the thug? A very few are making this a
nightmare and it is sad but people need to be
protected, even from themselves sometimes. Until
order is established, some freedoms are lost....it
will not be 5 months either. THey are already
letting some go and get their 'government'
checks. Another odd note I was told, only cash is being
excepted locally, no CC or checks. I am not sure I
believe it, but it is kinda spooky. Jamuhn
Neo-Independent You are not important.
Writer-Fighter posted on 6-9-2005 at 02:01 AM Post Number:
1664107 (post id: 1686000) I'm in Baton Rouge
and it is true that most businesses are only
accepting cash now. Plus, the crime has indeed
increased. There's a bunch of homeless people here
who sleep in their cars I've noticed.
FallenFromTheTree Member posted on 6-9-2005 at 02:51 AM Post Number:
1664195 (post id: 1686088) Wow this is indeed a
great story! You might consider forwarding to NPR news. I have many friends in Europe following the
aftermath of Katerina story. Would you mind if I forward a link? ryan25
Member posted on 6-9-2005 at 03:07 AM Post Number:
1664216 (post id: 1686109) i have to admit i
was very skeptical about these so called fema
detention camps but boy was i wrong excellant post
valhall We apologize for this advertising intrusion. The
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demand. nikelbee Believer, Skeptic, Hopeless Hopeful,
human Writer posted on 6-9-2005 at 03:09 AM Post Number:
1664225 (post id: 1686118) Vall I can't believe what I'm reading. They can't
leave?? Why the prison conditions? What have these
people done but lose everything? I have suspicions
about everything I've heard and seen so far. I
notice how quickly people are to turn on 'looters'
and 'thugs' as they are now known in the rhetoric
of this disaster. It all sounds too familiar because most of the
US went down this path when Iraq and Saddam were
turned into the scapegoats for 911. Same way to
refer to 'muslims' same disparing breath - same way
to refer to them as 'animals' and to distance them
from us. I am so saddened by your post you cannot
believe. Do you think it is possible they are being
put there because: 1. The people who were in the floods know better
than anyone what really happened? When the news was
reporting the riots and looting and this and that -
a lot of it distorted - what do you think the
ordinary people experienced? If they can't phone
and they can't go anywhere, will we ever know? Plus
how much brain washing will go on in here? Some of
the troops on arriving in NOLA said they were
surprised it wasn't anything at all like they were
told. In terms of chaos I mean - they called it
organized chaos. Not the wild sodom and gamora like
place before the destruction that we were told it
was. 2. These US citizens who have now experienced
the worst, will continue to suffer living in these
conditions - what do you think their reaction and
their loyalty to their governemnt will be like now?
There will be anarchy in their minds and I will put
this out to everyone - conservative, necon, lefty
and right, christian and non... if you were treated
like that - like a common criminal and like a basic
animal, because of your economic status and your
skin colour - would you be standing there pumping
your chest up in pride while the flag waves and
'god bless america' plays in the background???
Pretend you have been starved, pushed around,
frightened and have lost everything and NOW you get
to go to prison with these Fema Bast . What country do you pledge your allegiance to?
This is not about country anymore, not when your
rights are taken away like this. Not when it is
obviously about survival of the fittest - each
person is on their own. 'That' is America. The
idealism of togetherness and the little man equal
to the big man is a myth. If you had a car you escaped, if you had money
you were evacuated, if you are poor your fate was
to lose everything, be thought of as a thug by your
country and now you get to go to Camp Big Fun for 5
months. While some of you ask yourselves what is wrong
with this? What is wrong with you?? Can you not see
this is wrong? Leave your politics aside and think
of it in terms of humanity. If these people were
such 'animals' how did New Orleans get by from day
to day before the flood? For F * sake it wasn't alcatraz. This happened for a reason, the looting, the
animal desperation, the fear - it causes this. And
now those people are paying the consequences for a
government who is blaming everyone, especially the
poor innocent people. Don't play into this rhetoric too - think for
yourselves. Vall has done a great job showing us,
now it is up to you to deny the lies and search the
truth about what is happening. TK868 Member posted on 6-9-2005 at 03:20 AM Post Number:
1664232 (post id: 1686125) Wow man that's
really crazy.. I agree with what others said, you should try
and take that story to some news sources. I doubt
this is the kinda thing FEMA/US Gov would want to
be out in the open..but it needs to be! Times are really changing over in the US...
spacedoubt Member posted on 6-9-2005 at 03:20 AM Post Number:
1664233 (post id: 1686126) Question, Have all the prisoners of the affected areas
been accounted for? I have read some stories of
prisoners being relocated.. But when the levees
broke, was there a hurried effort, just to keep
them from drowning? in other words, were cell doors
just left open? I'm asking this in light of Val's story, and the
fact that security seems on the verge of
paranoia.. Is it possible there are some, or even a lot, of
hardcore criminals mixed in woth the refugees, and
nobody wants to admit it? CatHerder ^- Him smart
like truck Member posted on 6-9-2005 at 03:24 AM Post Number:
1664237 (post id: 1686130) Ok, so let me get
things straight. Number 1: the camps were empty and there was not
a single disaster victim there - and you took no
photos of any Number 2: everyone going to this camp
will have next to no posessions or no posessions at
all Number 3: the police allowed you in, and told
you that you couldn't leave different types of food
or clothing otherwise somebody sometime might
consider that to be unfair (that they didn't get
the same "treat" their neighbour had) and you
couldn't leave food that needed to be cooked so
they wouldn't have to worry about accidental fires
burning anything down and causing even more grief
for the disaster victims and FEMA's reputation
Number 4: there are some ambulances, and EMTs at
the "main cabin"- and you took some photos of them
Number 5: there is a fire truck or two - and you
took some photos of them Number 6: staff onsite had
cellphone radios and a local satellite tower for
communications - and you took some photos of it
Number 7: there are state police at the entrance -
and you took photos of their vehicles Well gosh, you sure got me there. This totally
sounds like mistreated hostages in an internment
camp. Where are your photos of the barbed wire and
minefields? You were suprised and shocked that they didn't
want to accept your clothes and food donations even
though they've been saying on the TV and radio and
websites for a few days that anyone wanting to
donate should "donate money" or volunteer time with
the Red Cross or their local church
organization(s)? Could it possibly be that you are jumping to
conclusions and over- sensationalizing things
similar to what you did with the volcanic activity
in Washington state a while back? As I recall you
were "extremely alarmed" yet (as all the scientists
said it would) it vented some gas and let off a
minor eruption. I'll reserve judgement on these "camps" for a
few weeks so I can see just how many of these
people complain about conditions or treatment. In
the meantime I recommend you, and others, relax a
bit and perhaps donate money to a disaster
charity. [edit on 6-9-2005 by CatHerder]
SourGrapes Member posted on 6-9-2005 at 03:37 AM Post Number:
1664250 (post id: 1686143) Welcome to the 'sue
happy' country of the world, folks! So sad that
we've stooped to a level that we have to be so
careful to not give any sort of reason that may
cause a horrendous law suit. Fresh food? No way, could go bad and cause a
major law suit! No clothes? No way, others may have a better
selection which could cause a law suit. No cooking for themselves? Heck no! Could cause
burns or food prepared wrong, which could cause
illness and...you guessed it! a law suit. Can't leave? Nope. Free to come and go could
cause a 'stranger' to come onto the grounds who
could rape or harm one of the residents. Huge law
suit. I was actually wondering how the law would
accomodate the housing of the displaced 'refugees'.
I wondered about the potential for law suits and
other complaints towards those who 'just want to
help'. I guess Val's story above answered my
question on how it would be dealt with. Sure it sucks, but we only have our (sue happy)
selves to blame! wecomeinpeace Member posted on 6-9-2005 at 03:54 AM Post Number:
1664271 (post id: 1686164) I'd just like to say
thanks to Val for this excellent and personal
account of a small piece of this ongoing tragedy; a
tragedy which will, for those directly affected by
it, continue for months and years after the waters
have all dried up and the bodies of those lost are
put to rest. Let's not do the usual human thing and
forget about those still living once the images and
the stories have also dried up from the media.
Perhaps we could use this thread to post periodic
updates on the treatment and situation of those
placed in camps. Is the calm we now see merely the
real "eye of the storm" as far as this entire
disaster is concerned? You have voted Valhall for the Way Above Top
Secret award. You have two more votes this month.
spacedoubt Member posted on 6-9-2005 at 04:09 AM Post Number:
1664294 (post id: 1686187) No comments on my
prisoner question? I'm really wondering about
this.. Has anyone heard anything?
Skadi_the_Evil_Elf Maiden of Misanthropy Paranoid
in Seattle Fighter posted on 6-9-2005 at 04:38 AM Post Number:
1664334 (post id: 1686227) That is friggin
WEIRD, Val. By the way, thanks for helping people
out like this. Its nice to know that Christian
charity is not dead. The whole story kinda gave me the creeps. But it
also shows the massive failure of burocracy. FEMA
rejecting your clothing donations, when they
probably wouldnt have enough after sorting through
what they had? Bill O'Reily, who I seldom agree
with, made an excellent point about relying on or
trusting the government to help you or do anything
for you. Its a farce. FEMA's management of this
disaster, plus the blunders of Homeland security
show how top heavy, slow, and a waste of space the
government agencies are. Apart from the military,
the helping hand from the average private citizen
has been more effective and better organized. Hell,
your church seemed to be doing far more to help the
victims/refugees/detainees than the idiotic
feds. Thanks for sharing these pics and the story
though. Im begining to think that stories of FEMA
detention camps and such aint so crazy after all.
mOjOm Member posted on 6-9-2005 at 04:46 AM Post Number:
1664339 (post id: 1686232) Does it seem to
strange to anyone else that within a matter of days
FEMA has leased this whole place, set up complete
communications, security, staff, organized id and
housing systems, setup a system of rules which
everyone has already been trained to understand,
prepared organized buckets of toys for the kiddies,
racks of clothes, etc. etc. etc...??? I mean it's not like the church leased out the
property last month or even last week, yet the
paperwork has all been done and the staff is ready
and in place. For a government agency that didn't even show up
until almost a week after the crisis hit, it sure
seems a bit odd that something like this would come
together so well so soon. BTW, what exactly happens in 5 months when the
lease is up and obviously these people still have
no homes, no where to go, haven't been in contact
with the outside world in almost half a year and
have basically just been held captive under
conditions that are similar to a military
quarentine facility or POW camp without the
torture??? There weren't any any large "shower rooms" with
unfamiliar pipes or exhaust fans attached to them
anywhere to be seen were there??? Nice post Vall!!! nikelbee Believer, Skeptic,
Hopeless Hopeful, human Writer posted on 6-9-2005 at 04:52 AM Post Number:
1664344 (post id: 1686237) All through the
aftermath of the hurricane I was thinking about
this before Vall's post. My question is this - what
happens after 5 months when those Americans have
been de-Americanized so to speak? No one can say that all they've been through
including detaining them so far away from society
can be good for them. Think about the institutionalization people
suffer from in prison and mental hospitals, not to
mention camps of this nature. Even under the best conditions and with food and
shelter and a warm bed, they will be undergoing who
knows what while they are in confinement.
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