One of the hurrican Katrina survivors sister Reem of new orleans luisiana..she writes:

I dont even know where to begin. All I know is that when I rushed out of New Orleans Saturday afternoon, I didnt think it would come to this. I figured we'd be back in a couple of days max and that all would be fine and dandy. But I recall the uncertainty in my heart as I reached the front door, instinctively making a du'a before closing it and leaving. I realized I wasnt sure what I would return to, and I still dont know. I cant describe the feeling when, while standing in line waiting for dinner yesterday, I saw my neighborhood on TV sitting in brown water. And wait, that's the mall..?! but the Islamic school... My heart sinks. The Islamic school is only a minute or two from the mall.

Right now that's what breaks my heart the most. I cant believe, I dont want to believe, I cant imagine that the Islamic school, with all the love and sacrifice and hopes poured into it, that it could be sitting in that brown water. That those happy cheerful classrooms we only finished preparing a little over a week ago could now be flooded and ruined. Subhan-Allah, the contentment and satisfaction I felt working there is indescribable, even though it had been a mere couple of weeks. And subhan-Allah, I barely knew those kids yet I already felt and cared about them like my own. I loved my fellow teachers and regarded them like family. From the day I started, I felt like I was at home. Was it all just too good to be true?? No, astaghfir-Allah.. inna lillah wa inna ilayhi raji'oon !

And my eldest daughter LOVED the Islamic school too. She keeps asking about her school... "Are we going to school?" she asks. And when we drove by a school in Arkansas, she asked me if that was her school. How will she understand, she might not have her school for a long while?

My God, I might not have a job for a long while, just like so many others. And what about our homes? Businesses? When will we return and to what? When will our lives return to normal? I pray it's better than what we fear...better than what we've been seeing on TV. But CNN says we cant return before six weeks..

Pictures only show the physical devastation. They dont show how people's lives are affected. The last three days have been tough and have left us wondering and worrying about what's ahead. Yet we know that we are SO fortunate alhamdulillah. Our families and friends were able to get out. And a direct hit would have been, w'Allahu a'lam, the end of New Orleans. The end of our friendly neighborhood masjid. The end of my family's home two blocks from the (perhaps infamous) Lake Pontchartrain and the levee. The end of so much.

But today they're saying the water levels are rising. That a two-block portion of the levee is gone. If the houses and properties sit in water more than 3 days..or more than a week.. then what..?

Despite that I was never too happy about New Orleans, after a long absence I started to really appreciate the uniqueness of the city. Not just that, but appreciate its old familiarity to me. Only recently I was driving down St. Charles Avenue and Henry Clay, admiring the charm of those neighborhoods. It reminded me of something out of Disneyland. Subhan-Allah.. Allah can take away everything so quickly.

All through this, I keep thinking of my brothers and sisters in Darfur.. in Chechyna .. Palestine .. everywhere. They are forced to leave their homes, not because of natural disaster, but because oppression and injustice. They flee in fear for their lives and they journey in fear (unlike myself, driving in comfort/safety and finding ways to ease the stress-- enjoying the scenery, remembering Allah and listening to Sami Yusuf)... But where do those refugees lay their children to sleep? What can they offer their children to eat? What if they become ill? What if they get hurt? How must it be like for them? The list of possible scenarios go on and on and on in my mind......

So I pray for those refugees, wherever they may be. In the same way fasting gives us a glimpse of true hunger, this has given me a glimpse of their lives. And so I ask Allah to guide us to those actions which best help them and those in need, and I ask Him to increase us in patience and ease our difficulties..