A visit with Common Ground Collective

International Action Center activists from New York and Atlanta were part of a larger delegation that toured the lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans on Sept. 1, two years after Hurricane Katrina and the breeching of the levees here.

Malik Rahim WW photos: Monica Moorehead

IAC delegates traveled here for the Aug. 29-Sept. 2 International Tribunal on Katrina and Rita. The tribunal focused on testimony from survivors of both hurricanes, along with other expert accounts, to document the racist neglect and genocidal treatment of the local, state and federal governments, especially toward the African-American population.

The tour was organized by Malik Rahim, executive director of Common Ground Collective and a witness at the tribunal.

According to its Web site: “Common Ground’s mission is to provide short term relief for victims of hurricane disasters in the gulf coast region, and long term support in rebuilding the communities affected in the New Orleans area. Common Ground is a community-initiated volunteer organization offering assistance, mutual aid and support. The work gives hope to communities by working with them, providing for their immediate needs and emphasizes people working together to rebuild their lives in sustainable ways.” (commongroundrelief.org)

Free health clinic.

Rahim took the delegation to a free health clinic located in the working-class Algiers neighborhood here. Algiers did not suffer from massive flooding compared to the lower Ninth Ward. This clinic not only serves Algiers but is opened to anyone who cannot afford health care in the city. The medical staff is all-volunteer. Donations are encouraged to help keep the clinic open. The delegation interviewed both the staff and some patients about the importance of having an accessible free clinic, especially in the aftermath of Katrina.

In the lower Ninth Ward, the delegation visited a center organized by CGC that provides free clothing, tools, food and other life-sustaining materials for the people struggling to rebuild and return home. Rahim also showed the delegation the efforts being made to reverse the soil erosion caused by the flooding during Katrina by planting bulrush.

He also showed the delegation how the so-called rebuilt levee in the lower Ninth Ward remains insufficient to prevent massive flooding during a natural disaster. And Rahim showed the destruction of trees in the wetlands that could have provided a natural buffer to the flood waters during the hurricane.

The last leg of the tour was an emotional visit with Robert Green and his extended family that still lives in a FEMA trailer. Green lost his mother, Joyce Green, and his 3-year-old granddaughter, Shanai Green, during Katrina. Both drowned in the flood waters Aug. 29, waiting to be rescued.

Rahim will be speaking at the Troops Out Now Coalition Encampment at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 27, about the current situation for Katrina survivors in New Orleans. Go to www.troopsoutnow.org for more information.

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