by greencrow0 » Tue Sep 06, 2005 4:17 pm
The Symbolism is just a little bit TOO MUCH, don't you think?<br><br><br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>The morgue, which will see a steady stream of bodies in coming days as U.S. and state authorities ramp up the collection of corpses from the flooded streets and homes of New Orleans, was located in a town that was "partly founded on tragic circumstances," said its mayor, George Grace.<br><br>St. Gabriel, a town of 6,000 on the east bank of the Mississippi River about 70 miles (110 kilometers) from New Orleans, was a leper colony in 1921 and hosts a leper facility to this day.<br><br>Grace welcomed the chance to help deal with the Katrina disaster.<br><br>"We want to do it with dignity and respect," he said. Local officials assured residents the biohazards would be contained.<br><br>Dr. Louis Cataldie, Louisiana's emergency medical services director, said there had been no concerted effort to collect corpses in the week since Katrina struck as rescuers focused on survivors. But the task was to begin in earnest within hours.<br><br>"Ideally, all hurricane victims will be brought into this facility," he said. "If worse comes to worst, they can process 130 to 140 individuals per 24-hour period here."<br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Members of the unit responsible for decontaminating the corpses wore black T-shirts with a skull and crossbones on the back. Playing on the term "first responders," which refers to emergency medical units and fire crews, the words "last responders" were splashed across the shirts.</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br>"The job they're doing, you've got to have some sense of humor," an information officer for the unit said.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br><br> <p></p><i></i>