THEY carried grief in their hearts but on their faces there's a look of delight as they greet visitors to their battered city.
Loretta Lizana even shared a joke as she recalled the day before Hurricane Katrina pounded Biloxi, Mississippi, two years ago.
There had been an evacuation order and as they packed up to leave, her neighbour said: “I hope this hurricane comes and wipes out everything real good!”
“We have had such evacuations at least seven times previously. Each time, it was cry wolf,” said Lizana, who works for Pass Road to the Future, an organisation dedicated to helping local residents.
Her neighbour’s remark turned all too real. “Later, I told her that she had to be careful with what she wished for,” Lizana added with a laugh, as she related the story to a group of visiting journalists.
According to city councilman Bill Stallworth, east Biloxi was the hardest hit, with 3,000 homes destroyed and another 4,000 damaged by the rising water. Casualties totalled 53.
Lizana is among the 55% of residents who have moved back so far.
“Most of the media attention was on New Orleans. But Biloxi was the one hit by the eye of the storm,” Stallworth said.
Amidst the anguish and misery, Katrina brought out resilience and faith among the people.
Biloxi is a seaside gambling resort, and at the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino last Thursday night, partygoers at its Club Tiki appeared to have weathered the storm.
At least 30,000 good Samaritans have made their way to east Biloxi to help rebuild the city. Most of them are from churches and faith-based organisations.
They are known as “voluntourists” – people who use their vacation to help others on their own expense and time. They include teenagers still in their braces who spend about a week here.
Most of them keep coming back to give a hand. “There is something about the human spirit that wants to do something; to make a difference in people’s life,” a volunteer said.
Part-time photographer Curtis Copeland, who was helping to reconstruct a house, attributed his volunteerism to his faith.
“I am from the Calvary Church. If I were in the same situation, I would hope that others would help me as well,” said Copeland, 42, who came to Biloxi from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Kryzra Stallworth, wife of the councilman, said they lived inside a trailer until their house was rebuilt six months later.
“I would not have made it without the smiles of the volunteers as they worked under the hot sun,” she said.
It was a tough time for her. “I have been a nurse for 20 years, I know the smell of bodies decaying.”
But as always, love found its way, even among the volunteers.
Golf instructor Randy May, 58, married a fellow volunteer within two weeks of meeting her in Biloxi. He had arrived here from Texas shortly after Katrina unleashed herself. The couple have remained here, dedicating themselves to rebuilding the city.
The locals are grateful to these strangers who descended upon their city. Water and appreciation run deep, they say.
Biloxi is home to the longest man-made beach in the United States at 42km. Its elegant and historic beachfront homes have all been swept away, leaving visitors nothing to see except empty land and desolate restaurant signages.
Notices on the beach say “Please Excuse Our Mess As We Clean Up From Storm Damage”.
“The morning after the storm, we had no landmarks left, no road signs. We didn’t know where we were. Recently, we had some visitors who had much difficulty finding their way around, as many signs are still not put up yet. I told them ‘welcome to our world’,” said media relations manager Janice Jones.
There was also the story of a local physician who committed suicide, weighed down by what he felt was his own failure to help patients with no insurance.
John Thomas Longo, the mayor of Waveland (another nearby Mississippi city), has been slogging 24/7 since the storm struck.
“I’m still getting 100 calls a day. Some of them break my heart; we have the elderly who want to come home but no house to come back to,” said Longo, who operates from a makeshift office and wears shorts to work.
There was a time when he did not see his wife and children for seven months as he had sent them to live elsewhere. “At one time, I thought I had no more tears left in my body.”
As city councilman Stallworth said: “Please let people know there is still pain here.”
