ZEITOUN

At right, Dave Eggers, author of Zeitoun . . .

Several nights ago, I watched the National Book Award ceremony on Book TV, a cable channel. One of my favorite authors, Dave Eggars spoke about the significance of writers and writing.


When I discovered Dave Eggars' book, Zeitoun, published in 2009, I recalled the shock, horror, anger, and despair felt in the aftermath of Katrina's devasting destruction and our country's worst national disaster. This non-fiction testament of the courage of the Zeitouns will move you deeply, especially if you are a Louisiana native.

Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a Muslim who worked in New Orleans as a painting contractor, grew up in Syria. Spending ten years as a crewman or engineer working on cargo ships, he came to the US in 1988 on a tanker from Saudi Arabia destined for Houston. Later, working for a contractor in Baton Rouge, a Muslim friend introduced him to Kathy, a twenty-one year old  divorced woman from Baton Rouge who had converted to Islam. Although Zeitoun was thirty-four, he was taken with her striking looks and confident manner. They married, moved to New Orleans, and added two more girls to the family which included Kathy's daughter from an earlier marriage.

As Katrina moves inland, Zeitoun demands that his wife and children escape New Orleans as the hurricane category assessments increase. Left alone, Zeitoun tries desperately to save his home, rescues drowning pets, and, in a small watercraft, checks on neighbors and offers assistance to stranded homeowners. Trapped by the worsening conditions, Zeitoun takes in three other men who try desperately to survive the aftermath of the storm.

Alarmed by the looting, rapes, and gang activity, a New Mexico team headed by Gonzales, a cop fron Alberquerque, organizes a team of men armed with M-16s, to check out a house believed to be occupied by four men involved in drugs and robberies. Previous missions had been search and rescue, but the increasing violence and anarchy in the city prompts Gonzales to check out this information.

What happens next is one of the saddest examples of post 9/11 hysteria. Zeitoun and his fellow refugees are arrested and incarcerated at Angola Prison, the country's largest prison, once used "for the breeding of slaves . . . and considered one of the most dangerous, most hopeless prisons in the United States." Zeitoun's wife and children, unable to communicate with him, have no idea of his whereabouts. Zeitoun's brother, in Syria, works unceasingly to communicate with officials and friends in the United states to locate his brother.

In retrospect, this arrest was clearly a horrific example of racial profiling and zenophobia. In an earlier conversation with family, Zeitoun laments the fear and distrust generalized toward Muslims in the US. He questions, "When a crime is committed by a Christian, do they mention his religion? . . . And what about African Americans? When a crime is committed by an African American, it's mentioned in the first breath: 'An African American male was arrested today.' What about German Americans, Anglo Americans . . .?"

Kathy gave birth to son Ahmad in 2006 at East Jefferson hospital. Zeitoun kept in touch with the people he rescued in his canoe. He chose to stay in New Orleans. Every day he gets in his white van and works with his crew on building projects in the city. His life has regained some normalcy. He credits his faith, his family, and his belief in progress for his strength.

Historically, the the United States has been compared to a great melting pot of cultures. In the past, that term conjured images of the American Dream and a land of opportunity. Sadly, today, society's distrust of differences, has been propagated by fear about our safety, by media images of hatred for America, and by our reluctance to acknowlege human rights issues. This book is a page-turner.

THE ZEITOUN FOUNDATION
Foundation founded in 2009 by the Zeitoun family, Dave Eggars, and the McSweeneys to aid in the rebuilding of new orleans and to promote respect for human rights in the U.S. and around the world.