It's 8 pm and we're sitting at our "dining table" next to the baseball fields that abut our camp in Turkey Creek. We worked hard today clearing debris from severa properties in Turkey Creek. Derrick Evans, the leader of the initiative, is talking to us about a film we saw last night about the impact of the storm in this part of Mississippi. He's explaining the importance of maintaining this community (freemen formed the community in the 1860s after the Civil War ended by purchasing hundreds of acres here). TC was annexed by Gulfport a couple decades ago to build an airport and since then has encroached on the area through "laws" that take away property. He says: Protection of the wetlands here is meager. Comedy of errors can be used to describe the conflicting policies and fundings in place that seem to stymy rather than support the community's efforts. Derrick testifies before Congress, before his state legislature, the local city council, as needed, to keep awareness high. A dozen or more homes have been declared national historic treasures but local government has no funds to ensure their future. Folks who survived the storm and stayed put are not being given funds to rebuild because they didn't abandon their properties!
Bev
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment