A letter and photo from a resident in the Center of this catastrophe.
A letter to RFK Jr. (Please spread far and wide)
Your beloved Appalachia really needs your help right now. Your way is deeply intimate to our daily way of life and our connection to nature. My family is from Appalachia for several generations, living in mining towns in Southern Ohio after coming out of the hills only in the late 20th century. Appalachian life is deeply embedded in my bones.
We have loved and supported you way before your presidential run. Now we need your focus. We need national attention. People do not understand the impact. My partner spoke to a representative of his bank yesterday in Arizona. This person had no idea that a disaster was even occurring in America. He did not recognize the name “Hurricane Helene”.
Whole towns and little localised communities have been wiped off the map. My little town centre, Old Fort NC has been devastated with an indeterminable amount of deaths. Right now we are hearing first hand stories of children being washed away from their parents and bodies being pulled from homes near the river in Old Fort while their neighbors watch. I’m hearing of the stench of death coming from and visible bodies floating in our rivers.
That is just one town of many in the same situation. I am wondering how in the world a proper death toll is possible to determine with people just gone never to be recovered or unidentifiable after being pulled out of a river.
I have a friend in Erwin TN whose home and vehicle were completely washed away by the Unicoi river. Thankfully she is safe. Her home was 100 miles from ours and she has no access to reimbursement from insurance or FEMA. That whole town was built as a mining town back in the day and is full of generations who have survived off mining as is so common in Appalachia.
Marshall NC, Chimney Rock NC, Lake Lure NC, Burnsville NC, Swannanoa NC, are only some that have been decimated. We are 9 days in and Green Mountain NC still has people trapped and in need of supplies and evacuation. The farthest of these places are 2 hours drive from one another under normal circumstances, just to give you a range of the damage.
We just got news of 60 bodies pulled out of Fairview NC which is 20 minutes from our home and where many of our friends live.
The waters and mud are toxic. People's boots are being eaten away while doing river cleanup in Marshall.
And this is just our region!
When I get a smidgeon of access to the internet it is so hard for me to see the news focusing on a war in the Middle East, Ukraine and our presidential politics as millions of people, some of which are friends and neighbors, live without basic needs in dire situations without running water, electricity, road access, homes and vehicles.
Making America Healthy Again requires basic needs met first. As super resourceful Appalacians we are rocking community and coming together like rock stars to support one another in a tremendous way. I am so proud of us!
I am also so very grateful to those who have come from all over the country and Canada to help. I cried when I saw vehicles from so many states arriving on day 2.
But we sure could use more awareness and understanding of impact which is far beyond Katrina. We have done so much groundwork to support one another for basic needs but we need national help to replace loss of homes, loss of life, loss of vehicles and loss of income way beyond what FEMA or insurance can provide.
Rebuilding infrastructure and helping small businesses and self employed are paramount to keep our communities intact to some degree. We have taken so much pride in the creation of our local economy and “Keeping Asheville Weird”. We thrive on our ingenuity, artistic expression and local networking in the creation of our local economy. That is all at risk now.
Please come.
Please come and see so that you can raise awareness and be our advocates on the national stage.
Talk to local community leaders who live here and are active in rescue operations and supply distribution. Travel the region widely so that you can see the reality of the damage with your own eyes and ears.
This is my call to you as my passion to create awareness and bring resources bursts from the heart of my being.
Frankly, I’m asking you because you are the only politician I and much of my close community trusts. And, I have seen enough of your heart over the years to know how dear our precious region is to you.
Now please excuse me as I get back to hand flushing toilets, trying to bring my Berkey up to operational, going to get my second shower in 9 days and getting a quilt washed that our cat peed on on day 1 after the storm.
Sincerely,
Thessa Tara Sophia
www.zerohedge.com
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