This past week was the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. It devastated the city of New Orleans where at least 1300 people died and 300,000 homes were destroyed. Much of the suffering resulting from Katrina was not due to the hurricane itself but to systems that failed before and after the storm passed. The system for evacuating the city ahead of the storm failed leaving thousands of poor people without their own transportation stranded. The most catastrophic flooding happened when the levy system failed allowing life threatening levles of water to rush into large sections of the city. Systems for public health and safety failed as mostly poor people of color were directed to the Super Dome and Convention Center where they encountered horrific conditions including lack of food, water, and sanitation. In the days following the hurricane, it became obvious that the systems in place were not intended to meet the needs of the most vulnerable people of New Orleans. The result was systemic injustice and suffering on a huge scale. The first video posted below is a PBS article offering reflection on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
The annivesary of Katrina is not only an occasion to look back on systems that failed in 2005. It is also a call to challenge the systems that cause suffering today. Over the past eight months, systems intended to alleviate suffering are instead causing both present and potential suffering. Massive cuts in foreign aid including the demolishing of USAID are causing suffering and death in the poorest places on earth. Our immigration system has turned into a punitive system of detention, deportation, and military style occupation that criminalizes immigrants who are complying with the immigration process. Our system of public health is run by people who disregard science and put the public at risk by limiting life saving vaccines. As always, poor and margenalized people suffer the most. The second video posted below features recent harmful systemic changes at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
At a time when those in power deny the reality of systemic racism, the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the current state of our federal systems provide vivid examples that unjust systems cause real suffering. For those of us who are committed to upholding the image of God in all people, it is essential to call out such injustice and advocate for systemic changes that alleviate human suffering.