.3,»-—-\___

that’s who has a house, so the loss-
es are so wrenching.

We saw more children in the clinic
today. I kept on handing out bottles
of water with vitamin fizzy stuff in
it to the kids especially, but also to
parents.

The shock, the love, the cama-

raderie here at the clinic, the sup-
port of the pagan cluster, are all
feeding" me.

I used to “own’.’ a home and land,
run a private practice, have tons of
stuff, debt up the wazoo, “security”
etc. and it didn’t bring me the sense
of overall congruity and joy that
this life is. 

‘That’s it for now...

peace out.

» Saturday 8 October
2005, 6:38PM

Today I went to the 7th Ward which
is on the other side of the river
where destruction was greatest.

' Ward 9 was the worst, I haven’t

been there yet. Today I helped staff
a clinic under a highway overpass.
The folks were receiving tetanus
and l_iep,,A s_hovt,s_,_food, and:coiirisel-
ing from yours truly. We were see-
ing people who had either just got-
ten back to New Orleans and were
on their way to see their house for
the first time, or had just seen it.
Most people had lost everything.
We saw a number of families. I
must have spoken with at least 25
or 30 people.

I also finally met Mama Di, one of
the pillars of the community. She’s
a Rasta woman who, it turns out,
knew my mother years ago during
the times when the [Black]
Panthers lived in our house in
Connecticut. She told me that she ‘
heard the three levees being blown
up after Katrina, and that she knew
for a fact that the levy was blown
in 1965. So, I hear a lot of stuff, but
firsthand knowledge is pretty con-
clusive. We discussed the idea of
me training community folks to
lead peer support groups, and that
this would begin to be feasible in a
few weeks.

I am in the process of arranging to
stay here longer than previously
planned. I’m not sure how t_hat’ll '
work yet but I am working on it.

I listen all day to amazing stories
and I try to remember them to share
here, but there are so many and it’s
all so intense that I forget.
Forgetting is healthy, too, because I
can’t carry all that around with me.

Right now I feel as if I’d had 10
Cups of coffee. I haven’t‘. Most of
the clinic staff has gone to play

soccer with the folks from the col-
lective house on Atlantic Ave.,
which will afford me time for a
shower and time to do this writing.

Emotionally this is one of the most
intense and fulfilling experiences
I’ve ever had. I feel a lot, generally,
but in this situation I am having to
be pretty contained, which is good. I
am not being too porous.  I
ground and release. I cry. I rant to
the folks who are my support. I con-
tinue to be amazed at how clear it is
that the people here have been liter-
ally sold down the river by the gov-
ernment. Really, there should be rev-
olution in the streets of the US. 

» Sunday 9 October
2005, 10:50 PM

Another day in Algiers, New
Orleans. Today the clinic hosted a
block party with food, clothes to
give away, art stuff, barbecue, and
socializing. People hanging out in
this city which some say is dead
and others say is coming back to
life as the people return.

I counseled a few people, and then V

took the afternoon to enjoy the
party, which did me a world of

 good. I feel about l/_3 f11ll instead of
4/3 full now at the end of the day

as I prepare for sleep. This is my
third night sleeping in my tent in
the back yard of a neighbor. I had
been sleeping in the clinic, in the
room where all the treatment hap-

pened; steeping in the energy of the.

clinic. I feel much better sleeping
out here. ‘

George W. Bush, the rotten fuck,
will be in New Orleans tomorrow,
continuing to support the removal
of the poor (mostly black) folks so
Donald Trump can build his new
casino. Trump is also in town, I
have heard. It’s obscene.  Think
about it. One of the first things law-
makers in this state did was to
change the law in favor of a rich
casino owner. This, in the faceof
the destruction of people’s lives, is
just more evidence of the rotten
core of the politicians, developers,
and money worshippers. ..:

I was talkiing with some other vol-
unteers here tonight about what
we’d like to have for dinner, 21 won-
derful complete meal, and it hit me
how privileged I am. I get to eat
what I want if I go out and get it.
My money and my white skin grant
me access to pretty much anything.
I was talking with a man from
Texas who is here volunteering, a

’ black man. I shared about the sto-

ries I was hearing and how awful
that is. He, rightly so, said “Yeah
well that’s hard for you but every
time I go into a storel am followed
around. I wear this brown suit (his
skin) for life.” I asked him how he

deals with the pressure and he just
laughed. High blood pressure is one
of the major “illnesses” that black
people suffer from. Duh! Talk
about pressure!

I am aware that my blog entries are
increasingly angry. I think my anger
is an appropriate response to a com-
pletely inhuman situation. Anyone
who isn’t angry is asleep. 

» Monday 17 October
2005, 7:14 PM
[an email, not a blog entry]

Greetings from Algiers. I’m still at
the clinic, heading back to
California tomorrow, then back here
in a few weeks to stay for a while.

There is an opportunity" here to cre-
ate a community integrative health
project, which is very exciting!

I’m hoping to manifest some regu-
lar donors so the project can be sus-
tained. We are covered under a
50l(c)3 so donations are tax
deductible through Global
Exchange http://www.globalex-
change.org

Would you be interested in becom- '

ing a donor on a monthly basis?
Anny amounts of money would be
put to good use. If you’re interest-
ed, drop me a line and/or send
donations to!

Common Ground Clinic, PO Box
3216, Gretna, LA 70034

This email is going to a list of
about 50 folks. If half of those
people donated $23 a month that’d
be $625 a month. This would mean
so much to the people in this com-
munity.

Every night I see white cops stop-
ping black people in their cars or
on the street. When I asked two
men my age how many times in
their lives they'd been stopped they
both just laughed. One guy told me
he’d been stopped 12 times in the

‘ month before Katrina hit, and only
'6 times since; an improvement!

Most of the people I have been
meeting have never had health
insurance, so this clinic is provid-
ing care that is much needed.

. Health issues include diabetes, high

blood pressure, heart conditions,
asthma, psychological issues, HIV,
and much more. Anything you can
give would translate directly to an
improvement in quality of life for.
thousands of people. V

Walter I. Zeichner is a witch,
permacullurist, and activist.

You can read his blog at
www.waltergeichner.c0In/Blog/index
.html.

 

  
   

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