Zeitoun Book Response

Once the book reached the climax I could not put it down because, there was so much going on with Zeitoun’s family, the thousands of displaced citizens, and the New Orleans as a whole. I was amazed how calm Zeitoun has remained throughout Hurricane Katrina, while being separated from his family and being detained by police. What amazed me the most was that at first the police were not doing anything to help the citizens while they were drowning in their own community, and then they decided to target the one man who was making a difference by rescuing anyone who needed help. What amazed me was that the police were looking for terrorists rather than trying to save the dying people of New Orleans. The police ended up arresting Zeitoun and two other Arab men, thinking they were part of Al Qaeda and yet during this ridiculous stereotyping Zeitoun was able to relax and hope this misunderstanding would be resolved soon. Zeitoun and Kathy, “Knew that many imaginations had run amok, that the introduction of the idea of ‘sleeper cells’ – groups of would-be terrorists living in the U.S. and waiting, for years or decades, to strike-meant that everyone at their mosque, or the entire mosque itself, might be waiting for instructions from their presumed leaders in the hills of Afghanistan or Pakistan” (Zeitoun 222-223).  If I were Zeitoun I would extremely mad and would yell at uneducated, un-helping, ignorant, worthless policy officers, which would escalate the situation and ultimately make the situation worse.  Zeitoun on the other hand was able to keep his cool, and understand where the police were coming from because he was an Arab man, but he was upset because he could have been saving more people’s lives during this time. From the beginning of the book Zeitoun had to be constantly active, and when he was arrested you could see him getting anxious to get out and help the people of New Orleans. Zeitoun himself was able to provide help and services to those who were unable to do anything due to the Hurricane. I choose to read this book, because I heard so many good reviews about it, and heard that this man should be awarded medals of Honor due to all the courageous acts he did for his country and his people. Zeitoun took the worst situation imaginable and turned it around using by using his resources, and by working with other individuals who had the same goals as him. Zeitoun should be a Darfur activist, because he is able to take a horrible situation and make the best from it. Throughout the book Zeitoun has only wanted to better his community and others around him, which is exactly the type of guy we need to help end the genocide in Darfur. In Saturday September 17, “Blackwater USA, a private security firm that employed former soldiers from the U.S. and elsewhere, had sent hundreds of personnel to the region. They were there in an official capacity, hired by the Department of Homeland Security to help maintain order” (Zeitoun 205). The police and other authorities seemed to be more focused on finding terrorists, rather than helping the citizens of New Orleans get to safety. When an uncontrollable disaster like Hurricane Katrina affects hundreds of thousands of people it is the governments job to protect the citizens have been affected, and make sure that their problems are eliminated. Our government as well as other countries truly did not understand the severity off the Hurricane, and decided to watch while thousands lost control. Nothing is real until it happens to one self, and I feel that Hurricane Katrina woke up our whole country because Katrina hit with great force with little notice. I feel that this is exactly what we need to do in Darfur, because if we attack the Sudanese government quickly and with no warning the rebels are not going to know what to do, and hopefully make them give in and end the genocide once and for all. In my opinion Katrina was a small genocide because the lack of effort demonstrated by our government ultimately killed innocent people. People could have been saved if there was more immediate action taken place. America is notorious for procrastinating and acting at the last minute, so do not hold your breath because you truly do not know when we will act.