VOICES FROM THE STORM.- - - - Voice of Witness is our series of oral histories focused on illuminating human-rights crises around the world. By allowing the victims of social injustice to speak for themselves, each book provides an unadulterated, ground's-eye view of the events, told in the unique and captivating voices of the people closest to the story. Voices From the Storm: The People of New Orleans on Hurricane Katrina and Its Aftermath, the second book in the Voice of Witness series, is now available. During the storm, Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a Syrian-American father of three, remained in New Orleans while his wife and children evacuated to Baton Rouge. He spent the week following the storm paddling a canoe, checking on his various real-estate properties—he owns several houses in New Orleans—and assisting stranded friends and neighbors. However, while he was calling his wife from one of his houses, military personnel from Indiana arrested him under suspicion of being a terrorist. Officers then sent him to Hunt Correctional Facility in St. Gabriel, Louisiana, where he languished for weeks without charges or contact with his family. Read an excerpt from his narrative below. For more information about Voice of Witness, please visit www.voiceofwitness.com. - - - - Abdulrahman Zeitoun.- - - - Monday, Labor Day, I went to do a favor for my client. He wants me to check on his house. And also, he had a cat loose where he lived. He said he couldn't find it. I got in my canoe and did my rounds. On Tuesday morning, I looked in on my other house to see what was there—I was with my friend Nasser. On my way over there, it happened I meet a military boat and he saw me and asked me what I'm doing here. I said, "Checking. Trying to help." He said, "Who do you work with?" I said, "I work with anybody." I got to my house on Claiborne and when I got there the phone rang and it was my wife. I talked to her a few minutes. Then this guy Ronnie just stopped by to use the phone. I'm in the dining room making phone calls, and I hear Nasser talking to someone outside. I see the military walking in. They walked straight through the house, started looking around, and came back. He said, "What you guys doing here?" I said, "This is my house." He said, "Give me ID." I got my ID and I gave it to him. Never looked at it, said, "Get in the boat." Three of us in the house, and my tenant, Todd Gambino, it happened he's passing by. He has bad luck, I think. He sees the military, he wants to see what happened. He come and said, "It's my house. I live here," and said, "I'll give you proof. It's inside the house." They not let him go inside. They said, "Get in the boat." If you know you'll get arrested, you try to get out of it. I don't have no reason to. We listened. They said, "Get in the boat," we go in the boat. And they brought us to a bus station at St. Charles and Napoleon. We have impression to talk to someone there. Soon as we got there, we had a few guys jump on us and handcuff us with plastic ties. It doesn't matter how loose they are, it's just not comfortable. And also, we have a few reporters there start taking pictures. When they brought us to the bus station, we see something like overreacting. Like these guys have a catch, it feels like. When I first see it, it reminded me of Guantánamo Bay. Exactly look like Guantánamo Bay. Nothing different. The way you have to sit, you have to sit open your legs. You can't relax. You can't sit on this chair, you have to sit a different way. And the one guy's watching us, every move. One of the guys called, "You guys are Taliban. You guys are terrorists." They brought us in the cage. Really, I never believed it could go this far. All I believe is somebody going talk to us and, at least, just let us go somewhere else. I mean, to leave the city, OK. They say, "You're under a disaster, you have to leave," we'll leave. I never believed this what going happen. Three days, we don't know what we're at the bus station for. We're asking the jail security people who work for jail. Each one of them said "terrorist," other guy said "Taliban." We see that we're under special watch. Different from the others. This why keep us separate. Finally, on Friday, they load us on the bus and take off. Each two guys together on the bus. Brought us to Baton Rouge. They took us to Hunt Correctional Center. We got there and then they take us out and start process again. Take information, what you eat, whatever. Take information, allergic to any foods, what you can't eat. I mean, they ask the very nice question. All these questions just put on the paper, don't mean anything in there. I expected at least let us use the phone. Hunt like military base, really. It's not jail. Just military base in the middle of nowhere. All surrounded with wire. I mean, a huge jail. This jail designed for criminals, for somebody already he got time. This place not designed for people to visit, to stay there a couple days. First day, they brought us to one section. This room designed for one person, each room designed for one person. We've got four people in each room. Each room have one bed. And they give us small mattress. One guy on the bed, and three sleep on the floor. We switched. I have a bathroom in there. You go use the bathroom there's somebody there between your foot. It's very ugly. Although much better from the bus station. They ask you what kind of food you can't eat, and I can't eat pork. In the morning, we have a cup of coffee, and most the food have some kind of some type of ham in it. Sometimes hot dog in the morning. And we have grits in the morning most time. And lunch we have colored water like juice. We stayed over a week in same place. You can't get out. Each cell have iron gates, and also, from where your room to the shower, have iron gate, too. And when you go to shower, take shower, you'll be locked in, too. No see light. We never see the light. I never seen a place like it in my life. I mean, I see it on TV and movie or whatever. Everybody says the phone doesn't work. All I need is to call my wife, just let her know I'm there. I begged everybody. I tried to talk to everybody. "The phone doesn't work," they say.
MORE ABOUT
- - - - OTHER McSWEENEY'S FEATURES: - - - - Voices From the Storm2006 Voter's Guide By Matthew Baldwin The Race for Junior-Class Vice President Goes Negative By Michael Ward Cormac McCarthy Writes to the Editor of the Santa Fe New Mexican By John Kennan Aaron Sorkin Visits a Dental Hygienist By Jack Pendarvis |
Red dot denotes content that is new today.
Black dot denotes newish content.