http://www.philly.com/...
From the Sunday Philadelphia Inquirer.
The following column was written by Natalie Pompilio, a reporter of the Inquirer who used to live in New Orleans and returns regularly for stories. The Inquirer is having a full series of articles on the Katrina aftermath each day of this week at http://www.philly.com/...
Excerpts of column:
"What plagues people is the mental anguish. Some people have gone "Katrina crazy." That's what my friends and I call it when you crack, when you just can't take it anymore. The endless calls to insurance companies and government agencies, the misery of driving miles past closed stores and businesses to find one that has reopened, the silence in a city known for its music and joy. And there's the unknown. What happened to this neighbor? Where did that one go? The usual support networks - friends, coworkers, fellow parishioners, even family members - are broken. Some have disappeared ..."
Excerpt continued:
"...Two people I knew have killed themselves. A third, the brother of a former coworker, also took his own life. ... a photographer at the Times Picayune newspaper, where I used to work - made a very public attempt at "suicide by cop," beseeching police after a minor traffic accident to shoot him. John, who was hospitalized for a time, is a dedicated journalist and a devoted father of three. His actions ... were completely out of character - before Katrina. Before he lost his home and all he possessed. Before he, his wife and three children moved into a small apartment while fighting for insurance money and loans to rebuild.
"Evidence suggests that the city's suicide rate has soared. No one knows for sure because some have masked their deaths as accidents for the sake of their families as well as the insurance. Mental-health professionals in the New Orleans area report that they and their services are taxed as they struggle to treat a fragile clientele while also grappling with their own storm angst.
One year later, the city - incredibly, unbelievably, unfairly - is still in pieces, far from fixed, its people far from healed. ... I am instantly transported to last August, when I stood helplessly in front of the convention center as people sobbed for help and begged for food or water under an unforgiving sun. Angry, sad, confused, I remember thinking, "How could this be happening? Doesn't anyone know what's going on down here? Doesn't anyone care?"