An Analysis of Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City

In life, there are some calamities that the cause of their happenings cannot be blamed on a particular person or organization as the source, but they are caused as a result of change in environmental and climatic conditions, This are referred to as natural disaster. Some of the common natural disasters are floods. volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, avalanches. lahars, tsunamis, heat waves, tornadoes, wildfires, hurricanes among others. The geographical location of a place will determine the natural calamity that is bound to happen in there, for instance in Europe where they experience summer they are mostly likely to experience heat waves, drought is however most common in most nations in Africa, the reason for this being the location of the continent in relation to the longitude and latitude.

Thesis Statement

The purpose of this paper to conduct review of the book "Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City" authored by Home Jed and published on 11th July 2006. The paper will focus on chapter four of the book titled "Real Ugly, Real Fast".

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It will seek to clearly elaborate the events that happened on the fateful day and what personal significance or reminder do they have. The role of the United States ofAmerica government will also be explained in the paper. Hurricane Katrina that hit the cities of New Orleans and Louisiana in 2005 was among one of the five deadliest hurricanes to ever hit the United States of America It is estimated that more than 1,800 people lost their lives and the property loss was in billions of dollars. The Review - "Real Ugly, Real Fast". The events that happened in New Orleans and Louisiana during hurricane Katrina can be described as pathetic, regretful and inhumane, this is in the way the government of the then President George W Bush responded to the situation. The two cities are made up mainly of black Americans and poor whites and as a result they were neglected by the government with the belief that the residents were "inferior Americans'. This caused uproar in America and the international community. Despite the fact hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster, it later turned out to be a manmade disaster due to the delay of federal relief and medical care which led to increase in water borne and other contagious diseases and the collapse of the levees; this led to the whole city to be virtually submerged in water. Chapter four of the book "Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City (Real Ugly Real Fast) focuses on the collapse of the 15-foot levees that opened "flood gates” that led to the city being submerged and what transpired thereaftert.

All these events happened in less than two hours and left thousands and thousands of residents in need of evacuation and help. It is however the response of the government that left many Americans and the international community wondering as to whether the residents of New Orleans and Louisiana were really Americans or foreigners. It is reported that at the time of the disaster. President Bush was playing golf and it took him three days to make an appearance on the national television to make a statement and another five days before he could visit those affected by the floods. His deputy, Cheney spent his time on holiday oblivious of the disaster drat had rocked the nation. The secretary of state Condoleezza Rice on the hand spent her time in New York City watching the Broadway shows and doing shoppingt. This was a clear indication of the lack of commitment by the top government officials to marshal forces and help hurricane Katrina victims. Another indication of lack of commitment was in the provision of emergency medical care services and relief foods to the flood victims, hospitals didn't open dreir doors for emergency services until two days after the occurrence of the catastrophe. Some of the notable descriptions of the happenings in "Real Ugly. Real Fast" are the leadership ignorance. the suffering of the people and role of the international community.

In the modern world. there are different ways in which discrimination can be applied among the citizens of a particular nation. There are some instances where people are discriminated upon based on their race, region or political and social status. This is the same case that happened to the residents of New Orleans and Louisiana who were discriminated upon based on their race (majority blacks, minority whites) and their social status; most of the residents of these two cities were poor who struggled to make ends meet. This is not only sad but regrettable and remorseful. The failure of the government machinery to step in to help the residents is also another indication how low they were on the agenda of the government's activities. The governor of the city blamed the residents for what befell them because they "ignored" the evacuation notice that had been issued to them. It is in this chapter that the author brings out other immoral behaviors that the people of the city acquired due to the difficult situations they were facing; it is said that that cases of propeny looting as well as theft of food, clothing and water meant to help the victims were on the rise.

On the other hand, the authorities were given the "shoot to kill" order of anyone found stealing. The end results were endless riots by poor blacks and minority whites fighting for what they believed were their rights; access to medical care and other basic amenities, Summary of the Paper Natural disasters can occur in any region irrespective of the residents' social, political and economic status, it is therefore humane that in such situations, all people should be treated equally since life is God given. For the human population to live in a society where there is no discrimination and oppression, it is upon each individual to cultivate and practice the positive virtues of life irrespective of one's race, religion, education, political and social status. This will make people from all walks be on an equal social platform. The gap between the rich and the poor should also be reduced by the government by ensuring there is equal distribution of wealth among the different groups of people. In terms of development, all states should be allocated equal resources for their development projectsi. By so doing, the cases of discrimination will steadily decline and ensure that there is social, political and economic equality.

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