I'm sitting cozy up in the Great Plains watching and hurting. Being this far away has helped me appreciate how the boulder was dropped on New Orleans, but the ripples are forming tsunami type waves soon to hit. There will be no section of these United States that will NOT be touched.
Upon receiving this email, I had to start this awareness drumbeat. I have purposely removed identifying marks from it. You'll have to just guess why I did that.
This is from a college kid. 22 years old. He's with compatriots with the same training and skillset.
Now focus on the ripple - this is Baton Rouge. Once filled up to overflowing with humanity, where will it go next?
See the extended entry for the "censored" email, and to pre-empt the question. This message was received in the past 24 hours.
...yes I am still alive.
I have been doing rescue operations for the past few days and I am just getting a chance to check my personal email. I have been working around the clock, getting a few hours of sleep when I can.
THIS IS PURE HELL. The refugees are coming in by the thousands. They have nothing but the clothes on their back. We keep shoving people into shelters, making them sleep on concrete floors with no padding. The blankets and few cots we have go only to the critically ill. We are short on food, water, medicine, and fuel. At most locations, we are not even dealing with the dead bodies anymore, just pushing them out the way to reach those still alive.
Riots have broken out at many locations, even here in Baton Rouge. It is no longer safe to go to any store here in BR. Most of BR is under lockdown. Martial law is in effect for most areas. People are desperate.
I sat and listened to a man tell me that he was trying to find a gun so that he could rob a bank as soon as possibile. He felt that if law officials killed him, it would be worth it since he was trying to provide for his family mambers that were still alive.
Hostages are being taken in some locations here in Baton Rouge. Law no longer exists in New Orleans.
The news media is only getting half the story. I have seen a lot over the past few days, and I can tell you what is really going on. There is chaos at most shelters because we do not have the supplies we need.
People are willing to kill over a blanket and a warm meal. Our detachment has turned into a command center run by cadets. Think of [Field Training] times one thousand in terms of intensity. Civilian volunteers are coming to us because they are tired of the Red Cross people in the field not knowing what to do.
We at least have the skills to lead people, something the other agenices lack horribily. I am making life or death decisions, I am soaking in sweat, my muscles hurt, and I have others' blood on me. I am taking a break now before 50,000 more refugees get here.
I don't know how many more will come tomorrow. I am not sure when school will start again. I am not sure if I even care. My house in XXXXX survived, but many of my friends no longer have a home. Many no longer even have a hometown, it simply does not exist anymore. LSU is filled with students' families. I am not even sure who else is living in my on-campus apartment right now.
I will try to send out another email later. Right now, saving people and keeping them alive is all I really care about. I don't know what else to say. This is a nightmare.
My God, where do we go from here?
Cross posted at:
ePluribusMedia.com