FEMA Setting Up DETAINMENT CAMPS???

[rossshow]

FEMA Setting Up DETAINMENT CAMPS??? (http://www.otwa.com/community/showthread.php?t=33532)

[Heartland]

Instant small town or city. Of course it's going to have guards. Of course they're not going to want Joe Citizen roaming around in there and possibly sabotaging or bringing in weapons or drugs. I'm very surprised that their cars and persons weren't searched before they went in there.

The Red Cross in my city has also requested that people not deliver items to where the evacuees are housed. They've requested that people give money instead of goods, because they are overwhelmed with the garage sale stuff that people always dump on them in any emergency.

Granted, any clothing is better than no clothing, but no one even knows the ages or sizes of the evacuees here, except for the Red Cross. How would it make any of us feel to get ripped and stained clothing that was three sizes too big, or a filthy dirty toy for our child? (Not saying all donations are like that, but a LOT are. We found that out when Andrew hit.)

They have to give exactly the same supplies to each person, or they will have angry people on their hands. That's just human nature. If you were stuck somewhere under the government's or Red Cross control, and the guy in the next cabin was getting something you wanted, you'd be miffed as well.

Just playing devil's advocate here.

[agentorange]

Did any of you hear Celine Dion's commentary on the disaster, most specifically the looting? She was crying hysterically, and said: "These people are so poor, they've never touched these things before, let them have the stuff, let them touch it" in reference to the packs of people hauling televisions out of a local shop. Apparently the poor business owner who will now be forced out of business didn't register with Celine.

[krisinluck]

Okay, let me start off by saying Celine Dion has made me want to puke for years. She is a phony nasty piece of work in my eyes. Can't stand her. So I didn't see her say that (I changed the channel when they announced her, seriously) but it sounds like her trip.

But check out how different the opening post of that thread is from the picture painted by her church leaders on their website.

“Oklahoma Southern Baptist churches are sending volunteers to welcome survivors to Falls Creek, Jordan explained. “Once our guests from the Gulf Coast walk off the bus they will be welcomed with a warm Oklahoma smile and a Bucket of Blessing, a care-package type bucket full of essential items, snacks, books and toys, all prepared by our church members. Our members will also prepare linens on over 3,000 beds and escort our new friends to their dormitory style cabin upon arrival.”

“We have a variety of activities planned for children and adults, including movies, crafts, recreation and relaxation,” said Sanders. “Within the coming days we fully expect school-age children to be back in an educational setting with a variety of learning experiences available for adults as well. Medical facilities will be available on the grounds for those who need medical attention and the state mental health department will make counseling available for those needing assistance.”
http://www.bgco.org/?p={57F338A6-2B68-47B7-9AD0-3583FE4931D5}&sc=16&ni=513&fr=home
But what really got me is when I was hunting for info on the post to verify that the camp existed (which is how I found the first announcement from BGCO), I noticed a link on the front page of their website. It took me to the announcement that the Falls Creek operation has been put on standby status, timestamped a little after 9:00 pm on the 6th:Major Mike Grimes, Oklahoma Highway Patrol, announced to nearly 400 volunteers and state personnel that the decision had been made by the Governor and other state officials to scale back operations at Falls Creek. “The good news is that it appears those who needed our help have been taken care of for now,” Grimes explained.
http://www.bgco.org/?p={57F338A6-2B68-47B7-9AD0-3583FE4931D5}&sc=16&ni=521&fr=homeHow about them apples? Now that the truth of it is out, albeit on an obscure message board that is now buried in traffic on that one thread...."those who needed" help "have now been taken care of".

Very conveninent, huh?

The announcement ounds pretty "praise the Lord and pass the chicken", doesn't it? It doesn't say a damn thing about them being held there for five months with two meals a day provided by FEMA (hahahahahahahaha) and if they left the camp for any reason, even to attend church services with their sponsor church, they could never come back. It doesn't say anything about the sponsor churches not being able to go there, either - in fact, it indicates the very opposite. How can the church members escort them to their new beds in the dormitory style rooms if NO ONE is allowed on site but the military and the refugees?

I don't have a problem with guards - there needs to be security, because some of the people on those buses are criminals who did the bad shit while New Orleans was drowning. I get that. I also get that a lot more of them are just families who have been terrorized beyond my comprehension for the past week. They need to rebuild their lives from nothing, and doing that in a remote camp area well away from the closest town of 2000 doesn't exactly strike me as the Christian way to handle things. Actually, yeah...I guess it does. That's why I gave up on that "religion" a long time ago. Jesus is slamming down Jim Beam, trying to drown his shame at having his name associated with these people who have so sullied his message.

I even understand the need to check these people out medically before allowing them into the world to prevent disease from spreading. But FIVE MONTHS of detainment is not helping them in any way. If anything, it's setting them up to be even more screwed up when they turn them loose at the end of it...and then the government can say "see, we told you these people were dangerous."

Spin spin spin. Like the top my kids had when they were small.



.

[Heartland]

Celine Dion? And her viewpoint is important why?

I really don't care about the looters. Sick of hearing about them. The government will want us to keep hearing about them though, so that people like an acquaintance of mine will develop the mindset that the evacuees are all criminals who don't deserve help and are going to ruin the good neighborhoods of the cities they're being moved to; instead of realizing that it was a very tiny minority of survivors who looted ridiculous things they couldn't even use to help them survive.

Most of the goods in that city will end up being trashed anyway. The stench alone will be enough to ruin everything, and the dampness from all the water will finish the job. No one will want to buy anything that's been through the flood, if they're smart.

Every time there's a flood in a neighboring area, we are warned about "flood cars." Unscrupulous dealers buy up all of these flood cars, clean them up, and transport them to non-flood areas to sell. There are even tips and tricks to identify these cars.

Something tells me that we'll be seeing a lot more than flood cars this time.

[bluekazoo]

Well I don't know how it is anywhere else, but what they're doing here is quite remarkable ... they're bringing evacuees in to a National Guard camp out of town and the governor's office is sending a bunch of collected goods out to that location asap ... I've been working on this all afternoon / evening and will be for the next couple of days ...

Items requested are good used clothing, stuffed animals, books, and toys for children, and hygiene products of all types.

Our local Red Cross office is accepting volunteers currently and I'm sure they will help with the sorting, sizing, etc. of goods (we're calling tomorrow to get our names on the list - we were too busy today gathering stuff) ... while the clothing being collected is used, it's clean (I'm on laundry detail myself) and good ... anything that's stained or ripped or buttonless, etc. is being pulled out on the front end (that stuff can always find a use later on for something else) ... it requires a little bit of extra work, but one thing I've found out about the local people here (and it's one of this area's few shining qualities): these people know how to organize and coordinate goods for emergency relief ... in the 6 years I've been here, I've been part of these efforts on smaller scales, for house fires, floods in the outlying areas, etc. It's a lot of work doing it right, but it can be done ...

I'm feeling real positive about this, so am going to skip the negative news this evening ... just taking a ten minute break here before going back down to more laundry and packaging ... it feels so good to be finally able to DO something, after days of spinning my wheels, looking for a way to help ... although the group here is small (a few hundred so far, they brought in another 175 today), it makes more sense (for me) to concentrate my efforts locally since I have the opportunity ...

Oh, they are also looking for housing for these folks as they come in ... several folks I know have already offered living space, temporarily, in their homes ... most days I whine about being anxious to leave this area, but I know right now I'm happy to be here and happy to be part of something good.

[bluekazoo]

because they are overwhelmed with the garage sale stuff that people always dump on them in any emergency.

Where are you located?

I ask because many people here shop at garage sales and thrift stores regularly for themselves and their children ... I've never thought of that perfectly good merchandise as being 'dumped' anywhere ...

I'm one of those folks who will NOT donate cash ... very few organizations get my charity dollars, but I am always willing to donate my time (and good used items) ... glad the local chapter here is a bit more understanding of the local economy and is happily accepting goods and volunteered time as well as cash ...

[Heartland]

I know there is perfectly good clothing at garage sales and thrift stores. When Andrew hit Florida, the National Guard Armory here collected donations of anything. Afterwards, we learned that much of it had to be thrown away, that it wasn't fit for use. The people who sell clothing at garage sales actually probably have better quality clothing than that.

I think people were cleaning out their basements and attics and donating anything they didn't want anymore. It was the first time such huge-scale donating had been done like that, and it was a learning experience. I didn't mean to disparage garage sales, because I both shop at them and have one of my own every year.

We have about 1,000 evacuees here now. They have set up a huge building at the state fairgrounds for a shelter. The mayor has worked with property owners and there are lots of apartments being donated rent-free for two months (at least). Some of the apartments are brand new. The Red Cross has requested monetary donations only, although I'm sure that some groups have been donating items. There's also been a drive to get book bags and school supplies for the kids. We also have a large Salvation Army post here, with several thrift stores, so they may be involved as well, and they have lots of clothing available from their stores.

A friend of mine in Elkhart who works in the RV industry said that his company is making 19 trailer homes a day to be taken down south for temporary housing.

[bluekazoo]

There's also been a drive to get book bags

You know I've been thinking about that one, too ... I was thinking about duffel bags of some sort - I've got a dozen or so duffel bags of various sizes (mostly premiums from sporting events back in the days when I went places and did things, heh) ... was thinking that it'd be nice for people to have something to put their things in as they get them ... their toiletries, change of clothes, etc ... I figure I'll send mine along, someone should be able to use them for something .. :)

(And no, I didn't think you were saying anything negative personally - hope I didn't sound that way - I was just surprised at the Red Cross reaction, was all - no worries)

I am one tired old lady - I think when the dryer is done, I'm hanging it up for the night and going in search of a hot shower ... tomorrow is another day.

[Heartland]

Me too ... exhausted.

Duffel bags and suitcases are a great idea! I've got some of those as well. I need to find out if anyone here will take them for this specific purpose.

[mewsicmama]

I do know that FEMA has purchased many self-contained travel trailers from dealers here in California and assume they are being used to house either volunteers there working or displaced citizens. I found out when we went to look at a trailer yesterday. I don't need a new one that bad, glad they are going where they are really needed. I am going to check into donating our current travel trailer - it is self contained too and would be a good interim shelter for a small family.

[mewsicmama]

Sorry about the sentence structure in the above post. Tired. Brain running at quarter-speed (at least it isn't in reverse).