Angela in Pearlington Part 1

The news from Pearlington MS is not good. Below is the latest dispatch from Angela.

Dear All,

It is so difficult to find words this morning given what I have seen and experienced over the past several days. Many of you who read this email will find it hard to fathom what has transpired; others of you from this region of the country will nod your heads in sad acknowledge of the harsh reality of the Southern poor. I am concentrating my efforts on the community of Pearlington, Mississippi. The people of Pearlington are scattered throughout the thick pines of the Mississippi Sound. As I wrote earlier, they are existing under tarps and tents in the shadow of their ruined, moldy homes. Some are even seeking shade under what is left of their roofs within the moldy, dusty environment. But, that is not even the most egregious part of this story.

Pearlington is a tiny community of people with no "city" government - no government of any kind, really. Therefore, they have no advocates. The "fire chief" seems to be a sort of de-facto leader; but, that's it. 5 weeks after Hurricane Katrina hit, these people are still living without clean water, without sewage, and without electricity. The temperatures have been and continue to be in the 90s with heat indexes in the 100s. Of course, the humidity is, at times, unbearable. As you know, I have been deeply moved by this situation and, in only a week's time, have gotten to know names and faces and stories. In short, the exhausted, battered faces of Pearlington have become the faces of this disaster for me. I came here to provide first aide and relief (food, water, supplies) from the back of my SUV - to be a nurse. However, I have come to realize that I can not feel that my work here is done until the issues of water and sewage are addressed. These people are citizens and human beings who deserve no less.

So, I sprang into action last week with a "big picture" perspective. I met with the Bishop of the United Methodist Church here in Mississippi. Bishop Ward is a wonderful, compassionate woman and minister who walked alongside me in Pearlington and listened and comforted residents. She left the area having made a commitment to send-in home clean-up teams to try and help get residents back inside and out of their yards as well as a promise to engage Methodist Hospital in Memphis about a long-term mobile clinic in that area. The clean-up teams land today and I am having lunch with a Senior Vice-President from Methodist Hospital who is coming to talk logistics about a clinic. The Bishop is a woman of her word.

In order to address the public health issues of Pearlington, I attended a meeting on Sunday with the National Guard MASH hospital team and local health care providers. State and local public health officials were supposed to attend but did not. I started receiving reports of diarrhea from people on Friday and I am concerned that a water-borne or sewage related outbreak is beginning. The Colonel in charge of Public Health took me seriously and told me to return yesterday (Monday) morning and we would go with a BioEnvironmental Engineer to assess the situation. He told me the National Guard could supply C-130s to spray for mosquitos; remove the huge piles of debris by the roadside that are now being used as garbage dumps; drain the pools of putrid, standing water; and document and treat any outbreak that might be occurring. For the first time, I felt that between the Methodists and the military, true hope was coming to Pearlington. But, then, Monday morning came and everything changed.

When I arrived at the MASH unit, I was greeted by the Public Health Colonel and the Commander of the MASH hospital. They had met earlier that morning with Dr. Mills McNeill, the state epidemiologist, from the Mississippi Department of Public Health. They had wanted him to meet me and go with us to Pearlington. He informed the Guard that the situation in Pearlington is a "county public health" issue and that the Guard is not to set foot in Pearlington AT ALL. Therefore, the National Guard - who has the supplies, staff, and capability - to address the public health needs in Pearlington gave me their apologies and escorted me to my car. We walked past the Jeep loaded with supplies for Pearlington. As we parted, I was told how sorry they are about the way things turned-out, but they have to follow orders. As the colonel said, "We don't know you and you don't know us. Good luck." Within a half hour, I received a call on my cell phone from Dr. Mills McNeill. He was livid that I am in Pearlington. He yelled at me that "everybody's workin' as hard as they can" and "we've had sporadic outbreaks of gastroenteritis throughout this thing" and ended with "we don't need another list of what the problems are - we know what they are - we got enough smart people here already." I asked 3 times during his rant for the name and phone number of a county public health official with whom I could connect; he never gave me a name. I invited him to come with me and see the garbage piles, the water, and talk with those with diarrhea - he refused. His message was clear - shut-up and go home. It gets worse.
On Sunday afternoon around 5:00 PM, the few porta-potties that were on corners in Pearlington were removed - loaded on a truck and taken away with no explanation. The one sign of progress, of dignity these people had was removed. I have seen where these porta-potties once stood; and, I can attest to the fact that they are gone. Residents tell me that they are now being limited to only 2 bags of ice at the Distribution Center at the little school in Pearlington. 2 bags of ice are nothing given the intense heat and the fact that so many of these people have no transportation. They can maybe get a ride to the school once/day - but, usually, no more than that. They are now rationing their ice use.

Yesterday morning, a group of residents went to the school and demanded that the porta-potties be replaced. The Fire Chief called the police and a small army responded. Frightened that they were about to be taken away, residents returned to their properties and hunkered down with their guns. When I arrived there yesterday afternoon, there were police cars parked where the porta-potties used to be just sitting and watching people. It was intimidation in a manner that conjures up images of a time and place that should be long forgotten. Please understand that I was not at the school yesterday morning. I am reporting what I have been told. But, I can tell you the porta-potties are gone and the police were parked there yesterday afternoon. I was there for that. It is clear that local and state officials want these people to just go away. They do not want to spend a single resource to help them re-build or re-locate. They are doing their best to keep the forgotten people of Pearlington forgotten.

It is clear that someone must advocate for these hardworking, but poor, citizens. As one man told me yesterday afternoon, "I'm a citizen; why won't they help us?" They are getting no help because they are the dirt poor of the deep south. Prior to Katrina, they were hidden deep in the woods and our delicate sensibilities remained intact. But, the mighty winds of Katrina blew away the tall pines that covered their poverty and shielded our eyes and now we must act - all of us. I can not advocate for these people alone. This morning, I contacted the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama. I got someone's voicemail and left them a message. I spoke with the PR person for the United Methodist Church and she is following-up with the Bishop here in Mississippi. I will continue to try to get someone from the media here. This is a volatile situation and I do not want to tip the balance; but, make no mistake - you can only force people to live in squalor before they will break. We all have our breaking point.

I came here to give basic healthcare and then go home. But, I can not pretend to not know what I now know. I know that the elderly and children are sleeping outside in the heat and humidity with the snakes, mosquitos, and flies. I know that while people are living in squalor there are hundreds and hundreds of FEMA emergency housing trailers parked one hour north of Pearlington at the Purvis, Mississippi exit off I-59 North (just south of Hattiesburg) - I have photos to prove it. I know there are huge piles of bacteria-breeding debris and pools of putrid water alongside where people sleep and empty themselves of their waste - I have photos to prove it. I know what I know and I will share that knowledge with the world. Someone has to tell this story - and someone has to help change its pending, tragic outcome. I will do all I can.