Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Grim Doesn't Quite Cover It

How bad is this oil spill? Well, before it's over with, my guess is it will affect everyone, not just here but nationwide, probably globally. After the fish and birds and turtles in the Gulf, next in line are our fishermen, and they're taking a hit few of us can even imagine.

This story, by WGNO ABC 26, ran on New Orleans.com details Congressman Joesph Cao's call for mental health services for fishermen in his district. Desperation is setting in in Southeast Louisiana. "
I spoke to a group of fishermen, mainly Vietnamese Americans and a group of them came up to me and said, they told me that they contemplated suicide because they're in such despair," says Congressman Joseph Cao. He says fishermen are feeling compounded stress on top of post-Katrina troubles. "For some people, this is almost a boiling point where they can no longer handle it and they're going to crack. These are grown men that broke down and cried this morning because they don't know what to do and we don't know how long it's going to be," says Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser.


More here.

Photo by New Orleans Lady

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