Inhumanity during the Katrina Storm - Literature review Example

Inhumanity during the Katrina Storm Zeitoun is a book that reflects the events that occurred during the Katrina Storm. It shows how the disaster occurred and brought out the lack of humanity that was witnessed. The writer is ironical and does not point figures of people or even the government. However, he manages to express how people were inhuman when the disaster occurred. He narrates the story of a Syrian-American man named Abdulrahman Zeitoun. From the story, it is clear that people did not care about one another during this disastrous period. This paper will seek to prove that humanity was at its worst and that people did not show any kindness or compassion. The paper will also evaluate other evidences that show how different organization and the government itself acted inhumanely to the families that were involved. The family of Zeitoun finds itself In the middle of a big storm. Zeitoun is a father of four children and runs a successful painting business, which he uses to support his family in America and Syria. Two days before the storm arrive, all the people are in tension and are very anxious. Some people begin to run from the area due to the high humidity. The government remains silent and does not address the issue that is about to happen. The country has good meteorologists, but they do not offer prior notice of what is about is about to happen. People flee the area in families and the people who are not aware of what is about to happen do not move. The mayor of the area had given a notice of evacuation just one day before the storm hit. This proves that the government showed little care about the people. Despite the short deadline to evacuate, the government did not extend any help to the poor people of the area who barely had any means to carry their property. The major did not show any concern to help them, and most of the residents were caught up by the storm helplessly. Zeitoun’s wife, Kathy, and the children flee the house and move to Baton Rouge. The house is crowded, and all her relatives are anxious. There is little organization on how people should act before the deadly storm comes. Kathy and her relatives later flee to Phoenix as they try to move far from the storm coverage area. All this time Zeitoun does not join them despite being begged by Kathy (Eggers 16). Zeitoun argues that he has been through storms earlier and hence he is not afraid of the storm that is about to come. This proves that the government did not publicize the possible effects and the risks that the residents were exposing themselves to by staying in the area. There is nobody to convince him on the dangers that he is exposing himself to. He is left behind to watch the tower when his family flees their home. Most of the people in the area were poor, and they could not vacate the area since their little property is all they had. Zeitoun is innocent, and his expectations are that the only effects he might suffer are house leakages and shattering of windows. He has previously been involved in smaller storms, and he only purchases a canoe as a precaution for the storm. The storm hits hard, and nobody comes to the rescue of the people in the area. In previous circumstances, the government has reacted by sending helicopters to save people from such disasters. The American society has many charity groups, but none of them responded to the situation. The people of Orleans City were of a lower social class, and hence nobody cared about them. Zeitoun picks up his boat and paddles around New Orleans to find out the situation outside. The situation is horrifying. People are in the water, and all he hears are people shouting for help. He does not see any signs of government well-wishers coming to help. He tries to save the elderly residents who are in the water and completely dehydrated in their rotting and collapsing home. However, his help is very little and cannot save all the people who are crying for his help. Egger says that, “Zeitoun had never felt such urgency and purpose... (Eggers 70)” in a country of many people like the USA, nobody else was in the area to offer help. People cared only about themselves. People of New Orleans experienced a troublesome period with little help from the American society. The water levels rose, and the people who could not make it to the roofs spent the nights covered by water. The water was polluted with garbage and oil, and this minimized the chances of survival. Zeitoun said, “It smelled dirtier each day, and their hope for survival faded away each day.” The people who had been taken to a refugee camp were not safe either. They were not supplied with either food or water. “Diseases were spreading due to overcrowding and little or no medical attention” (Eggers 98). The government’s emergency services were slow to act, and people continued to suffer. The politicians were silent on the issue and people were left to suffer on their own. The situation gets worse when Zeitoun is taken away at gunpoint. A few armed men approach him, and he initially thinks that help ha finally arrived. He even shows them the people who need much help thinking that there are there to salvage the situation. However, he is completely wrong since they are here to take him away. For the last few days, he was the only help for the people in the area and taking him away was a big blow to the Orleans people who needed his help. Being taken away at gunpoint indicates the injustice that is in the area. Zeitoun goes missing for six days, and his wife cannot contact him a situation that is very uncommon in America. He is tortured on the basis of his race and denied his rights and privileges. In his cell are other people of non-white race and they are all denied certain rights such as the right contacting their relatives. The people that imprison him extend the torture to his wife since she does not contact him, and she even thinks that he is dead. The writer of the book tries to express the situation of all the other people using Zeitoun situation. Most families lose contact making them suffer both emotionally and physically. Zeitoun being an Islam is mistaken for a terrorist and is subjected to humiliation while locked up in prison and denied the chance to contact his family (Eggers 251). The act is very inhumane considering that he was helping people he even did not know. FEMA had previously been formed to respond to disasters but in this situation did not play their role instead of helping the thousands of people suffering. They concentrated on counterterrorism, and they seek to prove that Zeitoun was Syrian-America rather than saving the situation. The military men who captured Zeitoun would have otherwise contributed much positively if they spent time-saving people. Taking away the only help for the many helpless people was an inhuman act. The author describes the people of the area as being “destitute,” and it creates an impression that no help was offered to them due their social status. It is easily arguable that no action was taken on the people since they had little to contribute to the American society. Abuse of power was its worst since the mayor did not offer any help to the citizens. With the short notice of vacation, the poor people could not manage to go far (Eggers 37). The writer says that they were many school buses that would have been used to move the people, but the mayor did not utilize them. Despite the many cases and scenarios of human injustice, the writer uses Zeitoun to represent a few people who were ready to help save the situation. Zeitoun chooses not to vacate together with his family, and he saved a few people. The writer says that he saved five people on the second day of the storm. Although his help was not significant considering the many people who were left suffering, it is evident that some people showed humanity. In conclusion, the Katrina incident proved that people were inhuman, and the poor people did not get much of the government attention. Works Cited Eggers, Dave. Zeitoun. New York: Vintage Books, 2010.Print. Read More