The House
August 22nd, 2006 by Karmen
The mayor of New Orleans declared a few months ago that any house not gutted by the year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina (the beginning of September) will be taken over by the city and demolished. People without resources, insurance, or manpower are wondering what they will do. Our project for the week was to gut a house for an 80 year old woman who did not know what she was going to do to keep her house. We tore out the walls, ceilings, and floors, and we removed the appliances, cabinets, and doors that had been left. [Look at the Gallery Page for more pictures of our team working.] **Check out all 5 new posts about New Orleans**
Mrs. Robinson
August 22nd, 2006 by Karmen
Mrs. Robinson, the owner of the house, came for a visit to thank us for working on her house. She walked into her home and began to cry. [Look at the Gallery Page for more pictures of Mrs. Robinson’s visit.]
Artwork
August 22nd, 2006 by Karmen
We used art throughout the trip as our response to the people we met and the destruction we saw in New Orleans. Tiaira’s painting depicts the rooftops of houses exposed above the flood, and the people’s cry for help. MeMe’s painting depicts the consuming flood and people reaching out to be saved. [Look at the Gallery Page for more pictures of our artwork.]
“I’m Still Here”
August 22nd, 2006 by Karmen
“I’m Still Here” was spray painted on the side of a building to let rescuers know that someone still needed to be rescued from the house. This leftover sign is a reminder of the thousands of New Orleans residents that were trapped and who lost their homes and their belongings in the flood. Many areas of New Orleans have not been rebuilt. As you drive through the areas of the city that were flooded, many of the neighborhoods seem abandoned. The absence of cars, people, and movement is unsettling. [Look at the Gallery Page for more pictures of New Orleans today, a year after Katrina.]
The Team
August 22nd, 2006 by Karmen
This is our team! We rented a fifteen passenger van and took a road trip from Chicago to New Orleans to help with Hurricane Katrina recovery work. Our team was a combination of four teens from Lawndale, four teens from Humboldt Park, and three leaders. On our way to New Orleans, we stopped in Birmingham, Alabama for a visit to the Civil Rights Museum. As a mix of black, brown, and white people, our team left the Civil Rights Museum sharing our histories and stories with each other. [Look at the Gallery Page for more pictures of the team.]
Night Streets
July 11th, 2006 by Karmen
The streets in the middle of the night. The result of young women trafficked into prostitution. They must work every night for their “owner” until they pay off their debt.
[There are 3 new posts & new photos on our gallery page.]
Greek Sandal Shop
July 11th, 2006 by Karmen
These are two of my (Karm) favorite pictures from our time in Greece thus far. We stopped in a Greek sandal maker’s shop yesterday evening. It is an eclectic family owned place on a sidestreet. Check out grandpa and the handmade sandals in the mirror.
More White Lights
July 11th, 2006 by Karmen
More white lights…behind these white lights are women who are in their teens and women who are in their thirties. There are women who have been tricked by their boyfriends and sold into prostitution by the ones who they thought loved them. There are women who still believe in the dream they had (before being sold into prostitution) of working in Europe for a brighter future. They are hopeful that this will still be possible after they pay their trafficker the debt they owe. There are women from Germany, Albania, Ukraine, Moldova, Nigeria, Poland, Greece, and Romania. There are women who are not in a good situation here, but whose home countries are not much of a better option, due to war or economic hardship. Sometimes there are no good options. There are women who are asked or forced to do this by their husbands. There are women who are supporting their entire families in their villages back home. There are women who love God. There are women who are going to school & prostituting to pay for tuition. There are women who have children. There are women now unable to have children because of diseases they now have.
Inside
June 30th, 2006 by Karmen
White Lights
June 27th, 2006 by Karmen
Last night, we went out on the streets to one of the brothel areas. This particular area is in the middle of a neighborhood full of immigrants from all over the world. There are families eating together, kids playing, people gathering in the courtyard to catch up about the day. On some of the side streets in this neighborhood, there is a strip of white lights. Every white light over a door identifies it as a brothel open for business. Inside each brothel is a “madam” who runs the brothel and a woman who is sold for sex. Above these brothels are apartments and beside them are businesses. Prostitution is legal in Athens, meaning that the systems are not set up to act against this injustice. Trafficking women into prostitution is illegal, but it is difficult to differentiate between a woman who is illegally brought from another country as a slave and a woman who has had minimal choices of survival. And does it matter?