[NYTr] Anger, Sadness Mark Katrina Anniversary

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

AP - Aug 29, 2007
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/K/KATRINA_ANNIVERSARY?SITE=ORLAG&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Anger, Sadness Mark Katrina Anniversary

By CAIN BURDEAU
Associated Press Writer

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- On the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina,
anger over the stalled rebuilding was palpable throughout a city where
the mourning for the dead and feeling of loss for flooded homes,
schools, snow cone stands, old-time hairstylists and hardware stores
doesn't seem to subside.

Hurricane Katrina made landfall south of New Orleans at 6:10 a.m. Aug.
29, 2005, as a strong Category 3 hurricane that flooded 80 percent of
the city and killed more than 1,600 people in Louisiana and
Mississippi. It was the worst natural disaster in the history of the
United States.

On Wednesday, protesters planned to march from the obliterated Lower
9th Ward to Congo Square, a venerable spot where slaves were able to
celebrate their culture. Accompanied by brass bands and wielding
megaphones, they will again try to spread their message that the
government has failed to help people return.

"People are angry and they want to send a message to politicians that
they want them to do more and do it faster," said the Rev. Marshall
Truehill, a Baptist pastor and community activist. "Nobody's going to
be partying."

At Charity Hospital, a 21-story limestone hospital adorned with
allegorical reliefs, public officials will attend a somber
groundbreaking for a victims' memorial and mausoleum that will house
the remains of more than 100 victims who have still not been identified.

"It's an emotional time. You re-live what happened and you remember how
scattered everyone is now. There are relationships now that are
completely over," said Robert Smallwood, a New Orleans writer. "The
city has been dying this slow death. In New Orleans, you can't escape
it. It's bad news everyday."

Churches will hold memorial services, including one at the historic St.
Louis Cathedral on Jackson Square, and ring bells in honor of the
victims. People throughout the city will hold their own private
ceremonies to remember where they were when Katrina hit, and what they
lost.

"Everyone who gives it any thought, and I can't imagine who hasn't, has
to reflect on his or her own personal experience during that time, and
also look at how far we've come," said Larry Lorenz, a journalism
professor at Loyola University in New Orleans.

A candlelight vigil is scheduled in Jackson Square at dusk, right
around the time the French Quarter may start getting tipsy with street
parties and anniversary revelers, as happened last year.

The anniversary is an opportunity for the city to recapture media
attention to tell the nation what's happened to New Orleans since
Katrina. Reporters, television crews and photographers have, once
again, flocked to the city.

The day has also attracted a passel of politicians - President Bush
chief among them. He and Laura Bush arrived Tuesday night and dined
with Leah Chase, the Queen of Creole cooking, New Orleans Saints
quarterback Drew Brees and musician Irvin Mayfield.

Several presidential contenders, including Sens. Barack Obama and
Hillary Clinton, have visited in recent days.

While politicians have used the anniversary to pitch policy, think
tanks, scholars and activists have released a steady stream of reports
on the state of recovery.

Meanwhile, an international people's tribunal has been convened to take
testimony from victims. The tribunal is being spearheaded by legal
activists trying to build a case under international law accusing the
United States of human rights abuses during and after Katrina.

© 2007 The Associated Press.