The Evacuation Of New Orleans Went Great. The Re-Entry Is Being Botched.
You have to give credit when credit is due.
Those who planned and orchestrated the recent evacuation of metro New Orleans in advance of Hurricane Gustav deserve great credit: by all accounts almost 2 million people were moved out of harm’s way within 48 hours with minimal loss of life.
Great job.
Now comes the hard part: getting people back in.
And here’s my issue: officials in New Orleans are blocking residents from returning to an area that was minimally affected by this Hurricane for reasons of convenience not necessity.
Here is the information posted on a local TV station’s web-site (www.wwltv.com) about re-entering a hard-hit parish west of New Orleans called Assumption (we have parishes in Louisiana as opposed to counties):
Assumption Parish:
Residents are allowed to return to Assumption Parish, though it is not recommended by parish officials to do so. Confirmed estimates show that power will not be restored for at least 4-6 weeks, officials said, and food, water and fuel will be a problem. It is high encouraged by officials that you find other living arrangements outside of the parish. All roads are open, but are extremely unsafe, since trees and power lines are down throughout. There is a curfew in effect nightly at 8 p.m. [1]
Notice how officials in this parish are 1) giving their residents relevant information about what dangers they face if they choose to re-enter now and 2) leaving the final decision up to them.
This is appropriate and just: government officials need to provide residents with relevant information and then allow citizens to make decisions for themselves.
That is what living in a free society is all about.
That is why there was a “mandatory” evacuation in New Orleans and not a “forced evacuation:” the latter is unconstitutional.
Compare this with the posted information for Orleans Parish:
Orleans Parish:
Right now New Orleans city officials are assessing the damage of Hurricane Gustav, and there has been no set time table for when residents will be able to return. Residents will not be allowed inside of the parish until at least Wednesday, if not later. Tier 1 people, such as responders and predetermined subcontractor workers, are allowed in Tuesday with proper identification. Orleans is under curfew from dusk until dawn until further notice.
No information is provided about the state of the parish (though you can get it elsewhere; basically minimal damage with power out and trees on the roads) and the decision is made for you: you will not return until we decide it is safe.
Personally, I think the City of New Orleans should get one day (Tuesday) to get as much debris off the roads as they can.
But the bottom line is this: governments exist to serve individuals, not the other way around.
Unless there is a major threat to public safety, like a levee breach, no one should be denied access to their home because debris is on the roads and power is out: you get that in a strong thunderstorm.
You may think I’m over-reacting.
If so, consider this: following Hurricane Katrina, with law and order gone, officials illegally confiscated weapons from hundreds of law-abiding citizens in New Orleans to ensure “public safety.”
It took Congressional legislation to ensure this clear violation of individual rights would never happen again.[2]
A similar infringement of individual rights is taking place now: taxpaying citizens of New Orleans are being kept from their homes because its convenient for the government to pick up debris without the folks who pay their salaries around.
Elected officials remember one thing: our democracy is not perfect but it is self-correcting.
Either do the right thing and let people have access to their homes or we will get a law passed which will force you to do so next time.
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Here’s an article that was initially posted on the http://www.nola.com website but then taken down.
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