This Memorial Day Weekend 2006, I was able to interview mother and son, Cynthia and Israel Punch. They are victims of Hurricane Katrina and have been living in my hometown, Henderson County, NC. A Latino housing development has temporarily provided them with shelter at a reduced cost. They are from St. Bernard Parish, one of the lowest seated areas in the 'soupbowl' of Lousiana. It has been 9 months since the disaster and they are only now receiving their FEMA trailer. They will be returning to St. Bernard Parish on Saturday June 3rd.

Mother, Cynthia Punch survived through the storm for 7 days. She was trapped in her home and says she did not want to leave without knowing that her brother was well, who was also living in St. Bernard Parish. Here she briefly talks about her 7 days starting from the day before the storm, until her evacuation.

In the next clip, Cynthia briefly talks about her time through Hurricane Betsy 40 yrs. prior, and now why she has these views of our government.

During the first session, Cynthia gives reference to her other son who is a firefighter in St. Bernard Parish. After the session she goes into saying that several fighters just walked out of the department simply because of the load of stress and danger to them and their families by staying. Cynthia states, for the firefighters that stayed, they recieved recognition and awards but now the city is saying that their jobs are no longer justifiable. Now that everyone is pretty much rescued and higher levels of government officials are controling the reconstruction and relief, the firefighters are 'not needed'. So for these firefighters that risked their lives and many that didn't get days off for 2-3 weeks, the city is pretty much saying "Thanks, but we don't need you anymore".

- Much thanks and God Bless to the Punch Family