A lively launch for the new broad left party, PAPERNAS not to 3000 dollars, but just under 500 dollars for every home destroyed, or possibly 1,500 for just a quarter of those houses.
The attention of the international media had also shifted. And so the international relief agencies, for what they were worth, had pulled oul. The only ones unal remained were the Cubans, whose two field hospitals and 135-strong medical team, in the Klaten region, continued to see up to a thousand patients a day for free.
Chao happened in Kashmir before, for the local population the Cubans had proved to be the stars of the international relief effort, and they'd asked them to stay on for another six months.
And there was a hope that some lasting political lessons had been learnt. The local PRD militants, and other involved in SORAK, were preparing a local launch for the new broad left party, PAPERNAS.
And they were aiming to make the bedrock of the new party those communities like Glondong, which had borne the brunt of both the natural disaster, and its unnatural aftermath. Tami Peterson INSTEAD of ensuring that the poorest citizens of New Orleans - those most affected by hurricane Katrina over one year ago - were able to rebuild their homes, huge amounts of cash were poured into refurbishing the Superdome so that it could be opened in time for this year's National Football League (NFL) opener.
One couldn't help but notice that those attending the opening game and being interviewed waxing lyrical about the rebirth of New Orleans were overwhelmingly white.
Many Black citizens of New Orleans who were shipped off to other cities as a temporary measure are finding very little support left from the federal government as they struggle to support themselves in unfamiliar states and regions.
One year on many have no homes to return to and those who had lived in public housing have little chance of doing so again. Republican Congressman from Lousiana Richard Baker gleefully declared
"We finally cleaned up public housing in New bus services operational. the disaster. pletely. Orleans. We couldn't do it, but God did."
New Orleans remains in crisis one year on with only 13 per cent of homes in the eastern part of the city being re-connected to electricity, the water system remaining in shambles and 49 percent of public transport running and a mere 17 per cent of
The vultures of capital have moved in, not only attempting to privatise schools in the wake of the disaster but retusing to pay valid insurance claims to those who need the money most in the wake of
Only one house in ten has been repaired in the poorer neighbourhoods while the homes of the wedny nave been rebull more rapidly and com
Perhaps the most appalling example of making money off of the misery is the private bus companies offering tourists to New Orleans "disaster tour" for the price of $40 (around £22).
New Orleans remains a symbol of the inability of a system based on turning a profit to care for the poorest citizens when support is needed the most.