reflections:hurricane katrina

assalamu alaikum :)

bismillah.

death, destruction and mayhem - thats what hurricane katrina brought to the gulf coast. "one of the worst natural disasters this country has ever seen" stated president bush, and the devastation left in the storm's wake proved difficult to disprove his statement. the fallout was catostrophic, and all too often deadly. for days the world watched as people lived liked animals in the city of new orleans. people clung on to dear life by climbing on rooftops, while others resorted to looting businesses, and in some instances raping one another. people drowned while attempting to cross floodwaters in order to reach safety. like a buoys in the open sea, dead bodies bobbed in the waters. passerbys, looked on casually, as if it was a scene they became all too familiar with. all this as the world watched. all this a few hundred miles away from me. all this in 21st century america.

the leaders of new orleans soon realized that their city would be unable to provide food, shelter and medical aid to all those affected by the storm. by the tens of thousands they were bussed to cities around america, with the majority of them ending up in houston, tx. as a fellow human being, and even more so as a muslim, i felt compelled to do whatever was in my capabilities to help these people out. so one week ago from today - on september 11th, 2005 - i, along with 2000+ muslims from around the greater houston area, went down to the george r brown convention center and fulfilled an article of faith: help those around you who are in need. we fed them, cleaned after them, provided medical care, played games with the children, but most importantly we sat and chatted with them. we heard their stories, and hopefully learned something from their experiences. uncles with fist-length beards donned gloves and aprons and wiped down tables, while others provided moral support and became a shoulder on which they could lean. how humbling it truly was. i spoke with a family that had lost everything, and they didnt know what to expect next. their house was under water, and so were their workplaces. no house, no job, nothing but uncertainty. but they remained strong and seemed thankful that they atleast survived. this past summer at camp i met a few muslim brothers from the new orleans area that i got to know very well. i spoke to one of them just a few days ago and he told me how is 2nd story apartment was still flooded with water.luckily they evacuated before the storm hit, but his older brother had decided to stay home and ride it out. for a week he lost all communication with his brother. distressed by incertitude, finally his brother had called. the roof of their house had collapsed, but somehow by the help of Allah they had managed to make it out to safety.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/11/katrina.muslims.ap/index.html

so many people lost everything overnight. and we sit here and let the minorest of inconvenieces agitate us and create a rift in our lives. be thankful to The Almighty for everything you have, even if its very little. and know that Allah does as he pleases.

about 80% of the city was flooded
with water up to 20 feet deep.
(source: cnn.com)

and Allah Almighty knows best.
masalama, your brother in islam
sheik speare