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Purchase Zeitoun
My mom suggested this book about a family’s story of hurricane Katrina after a few other justice driven reads. After reading it many years ago, she recounted the grief she felt for the pets left behind in the city that were detailed in the book. Considering all that happens in this true story, there is no question my mom is a true dog-lover. Though there is a heartwrenching paragraph about a few dogs, the complete violation of human rights, the injustices described, and the feeling of desperation and hopelessness that only built and accumulated as the novel progressed may have a slightly larger impact on me.
The story began a little slow, detailing the family’s happy and hardworking life in New Orleans, the history of how Mr. Kathy and Abdulrahman Zeitoun came to be and met, but with tension fueled by news of a storm approaching. These passages did serve the purpose of investing my emotions with their family. Understanding why a young American women converted to Islam and the strength and character of a Syrian man created the backbone of empathy that makes the later events even more atrocious.
I was obviously aware that tragedy was immeninent and I prepared myself for the storm as the Zeitouns did as well. I readied my emotions for winds and currents that would sweep away children and prized objects (and pets because of my mother), but I was not ready for the course the American government and media set in the aftermath of the storm.
I will leave the details of plot to the future readers, but the injustice of the event should be known whether or not you read the book. It began with news outlets creating worldwide panic, detailing brutal and often racist accounts of crime that were not proven and rare if true at all. This meant that all the National Guard troops and cops sent to New Orleans were preparing for war and criminal arrests, rather than helping the people of the city. People merely trying to help themselves, in their own homes, in their own cars, even people trying to help clean up and rebuild the city were arrested and transported to cages with no evidence, reason provided, or due process of law. Many were in prisons for months with outrageously high bail amounts before they were released with no retribution and their possessions stolen.
It is June of 2020 as I write this with the Black Lives Matter movement gaining momentum and power among most of our nation. The media’s heavy focus on crime and spreading fear during Katrina easily mirrored the coverage of recent rallies and protests. Many now are discussing police demilitarization, stopping mass incarcination, and community services for the first time, so it was hard to read these events took place in 2005. It seems beyond belief that the blatant flaws of justice and humanity that occurred in this time did not change our society in the slightest. It has been 15 years since this stain on history, and I still hear over and over of people (primarily of color) wrongfully convicted, subjected to police brutality, and sent to prison systems set up to dehumanize and break them. How did we not learn from the countless mistakes that cost people everything?
Hope comes from the many who have now opened there eyes and found that humanity deserves better. Demanding mercy, empathy, and justice is moving us forward and I highly suggest Zeitoun to fuel your spark for demanding more.