Post by Angel on Sept 23, 2005 6:20:40 GMT
Alyssa writes about her volunteer trip and shares her thoughts on the recent hurricane tragedy.
www.safesearching.com/alyssamilano/blog/
I am at a loss for words. Please bear with me as I try to articulate what I am feeling. As I stare at the blinking icon on my screen, there are emotions that rage inside my body. I can feel my heart pounding. I can hear my mind racing. I am always straddling the line between allowing you in to my being and cautiously trying to stay neutral for fear that I may offend anyone with my opinions. It is never my intention to offend. It’s not in my nature, but having said that, I can’t turn a blind eye to the struggle of our nation.
In the last two weeks, I have seen parts of our great country turned upside down, resembling every third world country that I have visited on my humanitarian efforts. And I ask myself, how is this possible when our country is the richest, most powerful country on the planet and has every resource imaginable in it’s pocket? I don’t have the answers, but, I do think it’s important that those who do have answers start offering us an explanation. We deserve that. The victims of Katrina deserve that.
I have listened and reviewed the current state of affairs and feel it is my duty not only as a celebrity but as an American citizen to express my opinions about the way in which the aftermath of Katrina has been handled on a federal level. Again, this is by no means made to offend anyone. It is merely, to make you think about life and how it seems that somewhere along the way, our government has forgotten that it works to protect us, the American people.
I understand there was a break down. We have all seen the result of what happens when such a break down occurs. As our country is healing we need to all ask important questions of our leaders to insure that never again in our lifetime and beyond we will have to witness such devastation.
Was it a race issue? Was it a class issue? It’s hard to believe that if this happened in any middle class city we would have had the same result. Why weren’t we better prepared? How is it possible that the richest nation in the world could not feed hungry victims for six days? Fellow citizens died because of an inability to react to their needs and maintain order. Why do we pay taxes if we cannot feed the hungry and sooth the hurting? How is our homeland security department supposed to protect us from terrorism if they can’t control the miniscule number of criminals in New Orleans? Why was a man hired to head FEMA that didn’t have the credentials to do the job properly? These are all important questions to ask and we all have a right to ask them.
I’m sick and tired of people saying that the outrage of our citizens is about politics. This is not about politics. This is about humanity. This is about feeling our families and loved ones are protected when we sleep at night. This is about holding the people in charge responsible for their lack of action and vision. For the first time, we got a good understanding of the issue of poverty in our country. We watched tens of thousands of the impoverished struggle to survive. It was undeniable. We couldn’t look away. We were forced to look in the mirror and we didn’t like what we saw. Things must change.
Thursday morning I traveled with my mom and four of my girlfriends to Houston to volunteer in the relief efforts. I was amazed at what I saw. I walked into the George R. Brown Convention Center Thursday night and tears flooded my eyes within seconds. There were thousands of people, right before my very eyes who had lost everything and were struggling to make sense of it all. We served them dinner. The beautiful thing about this journey is the unyielding compassion of people coming together to help in the relief efforts. People from all over the country dropping whatever personal obligations they had to fulfill their higher obligation to humanity. It was breathtaking. The evacuees were so appreciative of us being there. A woman holding her two children said to me “It means so much to us to know you care.” I told her everyone cares. We are all here for her and her children.
On Friday, we went to Hicks Elementary School. This extraordinary school took in 65 evacuees ranging from pre kindergarten to the fourth grade. It was brought to our attention that these children were in need of clothing and shoes. My team and I presented them each with a pair of shoes and outfits. I explained to the kids that I was there as an act of kindness and the only thing I ask in return is that when they are big and strong they pass on the act of kindness by doing something kind for someone in need. With their big, beautiful, pure hearts they promised me they would.
Friday night we went to the Astro Dome. The Red Cross gave us a grim orientation. “Sanitize your hands every twenty minutes. Do not hug the evacuees. Some of these evacuees have criminal records so don’t go anywhere alone, etc.” We entered the building and there, lined up on the floor, were thousands of cots. People carried whatever belongings they had left in shopping bags. I can’t find the words to adequately express the vision of all these people residing in a big, cold room. I’ve never seen anything like it. We got a little pep talk from the man running the show. Tommy Lee Hobbs was a retired NFL player who volunteered. He was now running the food services for the evacuees. He was awesome. He told us to give the evacuees whatever they wanted and to “let it go” if they got testy with us. “Let it go” he said over and over. “Repeat after me – Let it go.” After we chanted our “Let it go” mantra with Tommy Lee, the line began to form and it was dinnertime. We chatted with the evacuees and heard many heartbreaking stories and some hopeful stories as well. There was one woman who was so happy she was beaming. When we asked her why she was so happy, she explained to us that she had found a job, got a lease to an apartment and would be moving out of the Astro Dome the next day. Her new job was paying her more money than she was making in New Orleans. “This is a new beginning,” she said.
The city of Houston has done an amazing job. They took these people in and welcomed them with open arms, free of judgment. Hundreds of Houstonians are volunteering to help the evacuees. The city really exemplified everything that’s great about our country. Brotherhood. Compassion. Love. It was a blessing to be a part of the relief effort. It is a journey I will never forget.
There are three hundred million strong in the Untied States. If you were upset by the federal response to hurricane Katrina I implore you to make your voice heard. Write your state representatives, your senators and demand answers to ensure that we never have to witness this kind of devastation on American soil again. Please use your voice. Together we can make a difference.
Peace,
Light,
And Love,
Alyssa
www.safesearching.com/alyssamilano/blog/
I am at a loss for words. Please bear with me as I try to articulate what I am feeling. As I stare at the blinking icon on my screen, there are emotions that rage inside my body. I can feel my heart pounding. I can hear my mind racing. I am always straddling the line between allowing you in to my being and cautiously trying to stay neutral for fear that I may offend anyone with my opinions. It is never my intention to offend. It’s not in my nature, but having said that, I can’t turn a blind eye to the struggle of our nation.
In the last two weeks, I have seen parts of our great country turned upside down, resembling every third world country that I have visited on my humanitarian efforts. And I ask myself, how is this possible when our country is the richest, most powerful country on the planet and has every resource imaginable in it’s pocket? I don’t have the answers, but, I do think it’s important that those who do have answers start offering us an explanation. We deserve that. The victims of Katrina deserve that.
I have listened and reviewed the current state of affairs and feel it is my duty not only as a celebrity but as an American citizen to express my opinions about the way in which the aftermath of Katrina has been handled on a federal level. Again, this is by no means made to offend anyone. It is merely, to make you think about life and how it seems that somewhere along the way, our government has forgotten that it works to protect us, the American people.
I understand there was a break down. We have all seen the result of what happens when such a break down occurs. As our country is healing we need to all ask important questions of our leaders to insure that never again in our lifetime and beyond we will have to witness such devastation.
Was it a race issue? Was it a class issue? It’s hard to believe that if this happened in any middle class city we would have had the same result. Why weren’t we better prepared? How is it possible that the richest nation in the world could not feed hungry victims for six days? Fellow citizens died because of an inability to react to their needs and maintain order. Why do we pay taxes if we cannot feed the hungry and sooth the hurting? How is our homeland security department supposed to protect us from terrorism if they can’t control the miniscule number of criminals in New Orleans? Why was a man hired to head FEMA that didn’t have the credentials to do the job properly? These are all important questions to ask and we all have a right to ask them.
I’m sick and tired of people saying that the outrage of our citizens is about politics. This is not about politics. This is about humanity. This is about feeling our families and loved ones are protected when we sleep at night. This is about holding the people in charge responsible for their lack of action and vision. For the first time, we got a good understanding of the issue of poverty in our country. We watched tens of thousands of the impoverished struggle to survive. It was undeniable. We couldn’t look away. We were forced to look in the mirror and we didn’t like what we saw. Things must change.
Thursday morning I traveled with my mom and four of my girlfriends to Houston to volunteer in the relief efforts. I was amazed at what I saw. I walked into the George R. Brown Convention Center Thursday night and tears flooded my eyes within seconds. There were thousands of people, right before my very eyes who had lost everything and were struggling to make sense of it all. We served them dinner. The beautiful thing about this journey is the unyielding compassion of people coming together to help in the relief efforts. People from all over the country dropping whatever personal obligations they had to fulfill their higher obligation to humanity. It was breathtaking. The evacuees were so appreciative of us being there. A woman holding her two children said to me “It means so much to us to know you care.” I told her everyone cares. We are all here for her and her children.
On Friday, we went to Hicks Elementary School. This extraordinary school took in 65 evacuees ranging from pre kindergarten to the fourth grade. It was brought to our attention that these children were in need of clothing and shoes. My team and I presented them each with a pair of shoes and outfits. I explained to the kids that I was there as an act of kindness and the only thing I ask in return is that when they are big and strong they pass on the act of kindness by doing something kind for someone in need. With their big, beautiful, pure hearts they promised me they would.
Friday night we went to the Astro Dome. The Red Cross gave us a grim orientation. “Sanitize your hands every twenty minutes. Do not hug the evacuees. Some of these evacuees have criminal records so don’t go anywhere alone, etc.” We entered the building and there, lined up on the floor, were thousands of cots. People carried whatever belongings they had left in shopping bags. I can’t find the words to adequately express the vision of all these people residing in a big, cold room. I’ve never seen anything like it. We got a little pep talk from the man running the show. Tommy Lee Hobbs was a retired NFL player who volunteered. He was now running the food services for the evacuees. He was awesome. He told us to give the evacuees whatever they wanted and to “let it go” if they got testy with us. “Let it go” he said over and over. “Repeat after me – Let it go.” After we chanted our “Let it go” mantra with Tommy Lee, the line began to form and it was dinnertime. We chatted with the evacuees and heard many heartbreaking stories and some hopeful stories as well. There was one woman who was so happy she was beaming. When we asked her why she was so happy, she explained to us that she had found a job, got a lease to an apartment and would be moving out of the Astro Dome the next day. Her new job was paying her more money than she was making in New Orleans. “This is a new beginning,” she said.
The city of Houston has done an amazing job. They took these people in and welcomed them with open arms, free of judgment. Hundreds of Houstonians are volunteering to help the evacuees. The city really exemplified everything that’s great about our country. Brotherhood. Compassion. Love. It was a blessing to be a part of the relief effort. It is a journey I will never forget.
There are three hundred million strong in the Untied States. If you were upset by the federal response to hurricane Katrina I implore you to make your voice heard. Write your state representatives, your senators and demand answers to ensure that we never have to witness this kind of devastation on American soil again. Please use your voice. Together we can make a difference.
Peace,
Light,
And Love,
Alyssa
