Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Some said they are tired of running; others said they can no longer afford it.
LOS ANGELES TIMES
NEW ORLEANS -- Jacquelyn Brooks-Brent and her family were the last ones left on their block Tuesday, refusing to evacuate for Hurricane Rita because they could not bear the thought of leaving home again just days after they were allowed to return.
"We were in Tylertown, Mississippi, and then in Monroe, Louisiana. I just got back on Monday," said Brooks-Brent, 51, who fled New Orleans the day after Hurricane Katrina hit. "I heard about Rita on the radio, but I'm just praying that it goes away altogether."
This time, Brooks-Brent, her husband and two adult sons decided to defy Mayor Ray Nagin's citywide order to evacuate and remain at home on the 1500 block of Gen. Ogden Street, a short stretch of rundown houses in Carrollton, a neighborhood known locally as Pigeon Town. The area survived Katrina better than others.
Common attitude
Their attitude mirrored that of many New Orleans residents who said they were just plain tired of fleeing or no longer had the means to escape. Others refused to leave before Katrina and said they had no intention budging for Rita.
"I'm just tired of running. I just can't do it no more," said New Orleans resident Pat Parker, 53, after packing a friend's car with water, ice and food collected at a distribution center in the city's West Bank suburb of Algiers. "I don't have money to run. I don't have no car, so where am I going to run to?"
Parker, who returned home last Wednesday, said she evacuated before Katrina hit and was able to rent rooms at motels in Alexandria and New Iberia -- Louisiana towns that were spared Katrina's wrath. But now she is out of money. And although her daughter and son -- living in Atlanta and Houston, respectively -- had offered to pay her way, she said she would rather take her chances at home.
"You can't run from death," Parker said. "If it's for you, it's for you. I believe in God Almighty. I told my kids: Don't worry about me."
Current condition
Many of the houses in Pigeon Town were spared significant flood damage after Katrina struck. There was gas for cooking, and water was trickling through faucets, but it was not drinkable without boiling, Brooks-Brent said. The phone lines were still down, and the neighborhood remained in darkness.
"I just hope and pray that they hurry up and get the lights on," said Brooks-Brent, explaining that the family used candles and an oil lamp at night, and kept the windows open for some breeze. "If they going to tell people to come back, have the lights on and the phone working." Despite the lack of electricity and the absence of hustle and bustle that used to characterize this neighborhood, Brooks-Brent said she was trying to continue life as normal because she was confident her neighbors would soon return.
"I sit a little bit on the porch, on the swing. I water my plants. I clean up a bit," she said, noting that her husband, a construction worker, had already returned to work.
"If we must go, we must go," Brooks-Brent said. "But I would like to continue to stay here if I could."
Sean Brooks shared his mother's sentiment and said he hoped his friends would come home and help rebuild their city.