Interview with: Donna and Ronald
Length: 10 minutes, 8 seconds
Summary: Donna and Ronald talk about staying in New Orleans during Katrina and leaving town on Wednesday after the storm. They left town with 6 people in a little Honda Civic. A family in Lafayette took them in. They eventually made it to Champeign, Illinois where they initially stayed with family and have now relocated.
Notes: These are some of the sweetest people I know. And their story is amazing. I’m so glad this interview happened.
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Two items from this interview. First, one of the few positives of flooding of New Orleans was the outpouring of kindness and generosity by Americans all over the country who took in evacuees. Ronald and Donna’s story reminds me of the countless tales I’ve heard from others taken in by strangers and of gifts of clothes, food, housing, and jobs in far away places. It is heart-warming to realize and to witness that aspect of the American character.
The second point is that the New Orleans diaspora will undoubtedly have a permanent effect on the character of New Orleans. Even if many parts of the city eventually recover, aspects of the city’s character will be changed forever by the loss of so many New Orleanians to other parts of the country. In this case, I guess New Orleans’ loss is Champaign’s gain, but still you wonder what long term effects such loss will have. (FYI - There’s a map showing evacuee dispersion after the storm at http://www.epodunk.com/top10/diaspora/index.html )
…on July 7th, 2006, at 8:09 pmWhat a great series..sad to hear about good people who leave..
…on August 5th, 2006, at 12:24 pm