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December 3, 2007 at 20:33:45
Baghdad on the Bayou: Disaster Capitalism and the War on Equality by Georgianne Nienaber Page 1 of 4 page(s) |
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Katrina “Scattered People Instead of Bombs”
An Interview with Tab Benoit in Houma, LA
Part One
Tab Benoit on the Bayou, Houma LA
“This Katrina thing was handled as if it would have been Iraq. It was handled in a military way for resources; resources were the main focus, and the only difference is that the hurricane scattered people instead of bombs. There were people getting shot, there were bodies everywhere, there was destruction everywhere, and there’s oil coming out of the ground like it never has before. Remind you of something else? The only difference is that we didn’t have the equipment and the ability to fight back.”
Tab Benoit, Houma, Louisiana November 2007
Tab Benoit is a Cajun man, first and foremost. He loves his country and is not afraid to say so. His pride in his heritage is only part of what drives this popular up-and-coming Louisiana blues musician to fight ferociously for a way of life and rich culture that are destined to be eradicated by big oil, big money, and big government. Billboard Magazine praises Benoit for a “thorough command of contemporary blues…splendid songwriting, gritty vocals and choice lead guitar work."
The producers of the IMAX film, Hurricane on the Bayou, thought so too and cast Benoit as the star celebrity voice in the film, which has been viewed around the world since its premiere in 2006. The film was produced by the Audubon Nature Institute and partially financed by the State of Louisiana and Shell Oil.
More than simply driven—Tab Benoit seems possessed of a certainty that he is destined to be one voice of and for the Louisiana wetlands. He told us that many more voices were needed so that big government “cannot kill us all.” We heard more than once from residents of South Louisiana that government “is trying to kill us all.” We were also asked on several occasions whether Louisiana was still considered to be part of the United States, so Benoit’s statement did not surprise us.
Unhappy and unfulfilled as a pilot flying the pipelines for the oil companies, Benoit wanted to contribute more to his town, state, country and the world—and says so in no uncertain terms. Becoming a professional musician gave Benoit the opportunity to connect with a huge audience and tell them that, yes; the wetlands will disappear in our lifetime if we do not do something about it. Big oil and big government have a vested interest in this happening. He tried to get his warning across in, Hurricane on the Bayou, but feels his message was diminished and co-opted when Shell Oil Company picked up the cost overruns after the film was extended to include Katrina.
Tab Benoit has a handle on the truth of what happened in southern Louisiana before Hurricane Katrina and after the flood of 2005 devastated New Orleans. He recently spent several hours on a bayou outside of Houma, Louisiana in the deepening November twilight and told his story. It was a story we had heard many times in the six weeks we spent in south Louisiana, but Benoit has an especially knowledgeable intellect and wants to use his celebrity voice to ensure that America hears and heeds the warning offered by Hurricane Katrina, the devastating floods, and the private and corporate take-overs, which followed.
He echoes Naomi Klein’s assessment in her book, Shock Doctrine, (1) that within days of Katrina and the floods that followed it was as if private contractors had recreated Baghdad’s Green Zone on the bayous. He talks about the importance of the earth’s swamps, deltas and coastal wetlands, and without mentioning names he echoes the trauma and terror spread by big oil’s unholy alliance with dictatorships throughout the vast mangrove wetlands of the Niger River Delta, the vast elephant swamps of Gambia, Gabon, and the once wild waterways of Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Burma. But the story here is America, and we don’t want to believe this can happen to us. Tab Benoit gives us a chance to look it straight in the eye and name it for what it is—disaster capitalism and war against America.
Tab Benoit is a strong man, and the passion in his voice belies the sorrows of a heavy heart. One can suppose he has shed tears over what has happened. Our investigative series to come will support the truth behind Benoit’s observations, but first readers need to hear the voice of a local warrior. Tab Benoit is that voice, and he speaks for the environment, the people of Louisiana, and the truth.
We turned on the recorder and let Benoit roll with his story—uninterrupted—for almost three hours. Here is Tab Benoit’s unedited testimony and witness to the wetlands, a hurricane, an IMAX movie, and what we all can look forward to if something is not done to change the chokehold alliance between industry, war, Homeland Security and private profit.
Here is some straight talk from a plainspoken Cajun man.
On the Attitude of Big Government Toward the Citizens of Coastal Louisiana
“We get the feeling that they just don’t want us here.
“And my feeling is because of oil, because we’ve got a lot of it here. And we’re the only state that doesn’t get the off shore drilling money. We get our on shore money but not from off shore and we’re the only state. So as we lose land and as that becomes off shore, then the federal government gets the royalties from that.
Georgianne Nienaber is an investigative environmental and political writer. She lives in rural northern Minnesota, New Orleans and South Florida. Her articles have appeared in The Society of Professional Journalists' Online (more...)
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
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| 7 comments |
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I wrote this on Sept.1, 2005
http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/diarypage.php?did=221 I think, we are very much in tune. by Mark Sashine (72 articles, 19 quicklinks, 269 diaries, 4101 comments [131 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Monday, Dec 3, 2007 at 8:06:26 AM  (0+)
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In tune
If you are in NOLA..look up Benoit and his organization There are so many in tune with the message, but the word needs to get out. Nice Diary entry! by Georgianne Nienaber (153 articles, 47 quicklinks, 13 diaries, 350 comments [3 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Monday, Dec 3, 2007 at 8:25:16 AM (0+)
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The beautiful die first ...
Why is it that it seems the most beautiful and venerable are the first targets of the beasts of greed? Again another insightful article. What happened to this region could spawn a million and one stories and hardly any of them are pretty. I have an acquaintance who was one of the department heads at Charity Hospital during Katrina and it's aftermath. During those days the military and the mercenary goons were let loose clearly 50% of the dead drought into Charity died of gun-shot wounds. The experience caused her to have a nervous breakdown. I know she was a rabid bushite before the storm - I have no idea where she stands now. She has shut the whole experience out. People have little idea of just what went on here and is continuing to happen. We got to see up close and personal just how fast your rights and life can be taken. I have no doubt that New Orleans was a testing grounds for what other major cities can expect, less the flooding, when the totalitarian/corporate/police state (Homeland Security) shakes of the veneer of this false democracy and plants it's fascist foot squarely on the throats of the people. For those that think it can't happen here - it did and is. The authorities unconstitutionally confiscated guns from ordinary citizens and were left defenceless from both the thugs that roamed the streets and the thugs in uniform. Not that there weren't isolated stories of people that put their lives on the line to defy the so-called protection the government provided that were allowed to perform heroic feats in saving lives, but they were the exception rather than the rule. For the most part it was shoot first ask no questions later. The story of the bush connected company that sold the city pumps that would have failed had another storm hit us the year following Katrina and given a false sense of security, but instead would have killed thousands more and certainly would have accelerated the destruction of the area and furthered the oil companies exploitation of it, also has recieved little or no attention. The millions of wasted dollars for these defective pumps were never reembursed and those that were guilty of trying to kill us - as seems always the case - were never held accountable. The bigger the crime - you'll never do time. All the fears expressed in your articles, the stories, movies, and books about what is happening here with little or no opposition to the powers that be are real. But with the MSM owned by the same powers that control our government the odds of awaking the general populace are practically nil. And even if they should become aware, and I'm sorry to have to say this, most wouldn't care because it's not happening to them and somewhere in the back of their minds they'll be thinking with the oil companies in that we need that oil more than we need New Orleans and the Bayous. If left unchecked New Orleans will be surrounded by oil rigs and stripped of it's culture and what will remain will be a sliver of the city left for the rich and the oil workers to come and blow off steam. It will look like Texas City - arguably the ugliest place in the country, only with strip clubs. I wish I weren't so negative in my feelings, but if I saw some progress, something that was more than isolated efforts to make things right against the overwhelmingly odds we're up against I'd feel a little different. But this area never was a very functional place even before Katrina, and it certainly wasn't known for it's stellar politicians, and in that area it's only gotten worse on both counts. Law and the courts two-years out since and most of the city administration are still in a shambles. But none of this is going to stop me from trying to do whatever little I can. After all, this is my home by choice. The people, music, food and culture have become part of me. And to see it die is to have me die and I won't let that happen without a fight. Again thanks for your articles. I forward them all to everyone on my list. by Mr M (8 articles, 0 quicklinks, 66 diaries, 2845 comments [654 recommended, 27 rejected]) on Monday, Dec 3, 2007 at 1:50:04 PM (0+)
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Reply: Vulnerable
We must all stand in solidarity to protect the vulnerable. Please have your friend who worked at Charity contact me..it is very important. by Georgianne Nienaber (153 articles, 47 quicklinks, 13 diaries, 350 comments [3 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Monday, Dec 3, 2007 at 3:16:27 PM (0+)
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Reply: yes - thank you - "vulnerable"
I need to proof read more ... I'll try with getting Helen's information, but I'm not sure it will do much good. I know she's not at Charity because there is no Charity anymore, and she was pretty closed-mouth about the whole affair afterwards. You must understand she was a pretty hard-core bushie and getting through to her before this experience stripped her of her beliefs was difficult. But I'll give it a try and hopefully you can get her to talk about her experience. But you have to be aware that the whole experience brought her to a breakdown, getting her to re-live it might be a problem. by Mr M (8 articles, 0 quicklinks, 66 diaries, 2845 comments [654 recommended, 27 rejected]) on Monday, Dec 3, 2007 at 5:56:10 PM (0+)
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Incredible
Thanks, Georgianne. This is reporting at its finest. Thank you for putting a face to the tragedy. It personalizes the story and makes us all the closer to the heartbreak and resolve playing out in NOLA and other hard hit areas. by Jan Baumgartner (60 articles, 148 quicklinks, 12 diaries, 311 comments [12 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Monday, Dec 3, 2007 at 3:35:34 PM (0+)
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Great Post
Great Post, Georgianne. I know a journalist who might find what you are saying about Blackwater most interesting. Mac by Mac McKinney (53 articles, 114 quicklinks, 240 diaries, 1414 comments [31 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Monday, Dec 3, 2007 at 7:24:06 PM (0+)
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