HOW DID WE GET FROM THE PYRAMIDS TO THE PROJECTS ?!

ACTIVIST ROSA CLEMENTE REPORTING FROM NEW ORLEANS...>

CHECK THIS LIVE-AND-DIRECT REPORT FROM AFRO-PUERTO RICAN ACTIVIST ROSA CLEMENTE...IN THE STREETS OF THE N.O,
PEACE


REPORTING FROM NEW ORELANS

DEAR FAMILY AND FRIENDS

After a twenty one hour drive, we, Brad a videography and King, arrived
in New Orleans, as we crossed the border of Mississippi we spoke to
folks displaced, white middle class folks who have not seen a FEMA or RED
CROSS vehicle since the hurricane hit, many Mexican and Honduran
immigrants just wandering, one thing the Latino brothers and sisters treesed
was the fear they are facing from white vigilantes trying to "move them
out the city? and ICE-the federal immigration police who are down here
in force, speaking to the white middle class man whom lost everything
he told us , "America died to me on Tuesday Aug 30th, I voted for Bush
and that rapper was right"(:-) go KANYE!

As we approached New Orleans after two military checkpoints with M16's
pointed at us we found our way to Canel Street,

As we went down Canel street the damage was surreal, there was a boat
in the street, toxic sludge in the streets, what we immediately noticed,
was the number of police, military, contractors, and Blackwater
mercenaries protecting property,

We came up on the Convention Center, and after all the clean up, it
still looked like a living hell, the smell of dead bodies was
overwhelming, what was more crazy and shows the inhumanity, the VIOLATION OF HUMAN
RIGHTS as defined by the Internatinal Convention on Human Rights and
the CRIMINAL MISCONDUCT of these devils, and that includes, Condi and
Alberto, is that there were plenty of hotels, The Marriot, The Wyndham,
The Holiday Inn, that were completely habitable, if this fucking supreme
court can take my house on some eminent domain shit, why didn?t they
declare eminent domain and take corporate property for the public good,

As Brad stated "This, the Convention center is our modern day slave
vessel and our people are in the midst of the Middle Passage" meanwhile
five feet from this hell were the castles; The Marriot, The Wyndham,
Holiday Inn,

If one thing I would like people to know now is that their were four to
five hotels within a one block area that were completely intact, these
hotels could have housed thousands of people, as we were outside the
Convention Center looking in, a man about the age of 40, white man, said
"I cant believe they shot these young men as they were trying to get
people into the hotel,? as we spoke with him, he said that three young
black men, were trying to take over the hotels and make it a makeshift
medical center, and evacuate the elderly and babies into safer
conditions, as they approached the hotel the were fired upon and murdered,
this had not been confirmed by anyone, but we know that this is possible,

Outside all the hotels you could see makeshift camps where people had
lived, the conditions were atrocious, as we continued to document and
talk to people, we were approached by two military people that said we
had to leave now, that we were not official, when we began to question
this, and say there are all kinds of people walking around, the entire
city of N.O. they informed us we could follow orders or be arrested, as
we left we saw a few black man and women still wandering around the
city, dazed and physically exhausted, we talked to them and asked them ?Are
you leaving and they said no, this is our only home?

As we traveled into Algiers, the destruction kept going, as much as
folks want to talk about looting, we ran into many white folks who said,
"of coursed we looted, we had to survive,? we saw four different WINN
DIXIES and WALMARTS in white communities that were completely destroyed,

We then met up with brother Malik Rahim and Errol Maitland from WBAI,
and met up with over 30 organizers that are organizing here, they are
committed to staying fro three weeks, so folks need to come and try to
spend a couple of days, every skill is needed

Malik Rahim and his wife Sharon are the peoples command center, in
Algiers, it is amazing to see the people helping the people,
self-determination has manifested here, they have opened up their own media clinic,
there are 50 bikes that are being given to anyone who wants them, anyone
can come and sleep here, eat, take a shower, etc., Algiers did not have
to deal with the flooding but many houses were destroyed, and in a
community that numbered in the thousands there are only five kids and about
100 adults left here, but they are refusing to leave, the military is
trying to cajole people to leave, by telling them soon electricity will
be shut down, there is no gas, so even for the survivors they are
being forced out

Algiers is the hub for Black people, and we need to support them, the
young cats part of the alternative media world, have set up a community
media command center, today the five young people in the neighborhood
came and got bikes, crayons, paper, and bubbles, yes bubbles because
everyone who is a child should skip rope, blow bubbles and be allowed to
be a child

As New Orleans is under marshal law, last night around 6:30pm the
military informed us that anyone on the streets would get a warning shot,
and after that be shot on the spot, throughout the night, we saw groups
of white men riding around in pickup trucks, vigilantes, along with the
NOPD and the GODDAMN NYPD, yes, yes yall the NYPD is in the house, this
is the battle ground, this is the BATTLE FOR ALGIERS, we are on our way
to Baton Rouge, Houston, TX and Jackson, MI, more to come

Lastly, I love my people, I love my people more everyday, check out
these pictures even in the midst of hell on earth, cats are
politically clear on what they want and need, many have expressed they don?t want
to se no more press conference, no more marching they want action and
long term strategy, ?GET DOWN HERE AND HELP US?

Dispatches from the South
Rosa Clemente
September 13, 2005

posted by WALASIA "MJ" SHABAZZ @ 2:11 PM