Relocated Katrina survivor remembers hometown
Christine Fulkrod, Staff Reporter
When Katrina hit, her whole life changed. "We just threw some things in a suitcase. [For previous hurricanes] we usually had a few days to prepare, but we just grabbed our safety box and left," said Dawn Combe. Combe, now library assistant for periodicals and government documents at Regis, was previously a librarian at University of Loyola New Orleans Law School.
It's been 365 days, yet for some Katrina victims the pain is as fresh as if the hurricane happened just yesterday. Here at Regis hurricane evacuees know firsthand the true pain and suffering involved with the country's worst natural disaster.
As a long time resident of New Orleans, memories of Mardi Gras, the city and Cajun culture are still fresh in Combe's memory. Because she, her husband and daughter had to pack up so hastily, and had limited room, they had to leave their beloved cats behind.
"We always left enough food out for the cats for a few days; they were always fine before." Unfortunately for Combe, it was more than a few days. "My husband went back for them before he was supposed to, I didn't care about anything else; I just wanted my cats." Lucky for the Combes, both of their feline friends survived the hurricane.
After the Combe family moved from the homes of relatives and friends, they eventually moved to Denver. "My husband's cousin here in Denver kept text messaging us to come here," she said. "He said we would love Denver, he just wanted us to come."
To make the cross-country journey, Combe and her husband received aid from the Red Cross and Catholic Charities. "The Red Cross gave us all weather tires for our car; our car just couldn't make it here [in Colorado] with out them."
Though Combe feels Denver is her new home, she also is certain that "I will always go back [to New Orleans]-I want my daughter to know what I know, I want her to know where she came from."
Combe's hope for her daughter was evident in her description of the first Mardi Gras in New Orleans after the disaster, "That first [post-Katrina] Mardi Gras was much smaller, it just felt like family and it was very therapeutic. I want my daughter to know New Orleans."
Although Combe is happy here in Denver and glad to have a home she says, "It's been really hard. I watched the Spike Lee documentary [When the Levees Broke, on HBO]; most of the time I try not to think about it, but it's hard. I think about it all the time."