Corruption In Zeitoun

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Is one person or agency responsible for the corruption during Hurricane Katrina? The novel Zeitoun, by Dave Eggers, tells a story about Abdulranman Zeitoun, who makes the decision to ride out Hurricane Katrina. Zeitoun abandons his family in order to stay in New Orleans to protect his land and business. As Zeitoun paddles around New Orleans in his canoe, he experiences a widespread of corruption. Through law enforcement, Camp Greyhound, and the FEMA, “Zeitoun” examines corruption in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The law enforcement’s lack of responsibility during Hurricane Katrina, was part of the reason why corruption was an issue. Zeitoun’s opinion about the law enforcement has changed negatively, after his experience through Hurricane …show more content…
Instead of rescuing victims of Hurricane Katrina, the FEMA is going around New Orleans and arresting innocent people like Zeitoun. Zeitoun was arrested from his own property without any information on where he was going and why he was arrested. “Until this point, Zeitoun had not been charged with a crime. He had not been read his rights. He did not know why he was being held. Now he was in a small white room being asked by two soldiers, each of them in full camouflage and holding automatic rifles, to remove his clothes ” (Eggers, 226). Zeitoun was arrested without charge or evidence in his own property with suspension that he was part of the Taliban because of his race, accent, and religion. The FEMA demonstrates poor leadership to the situation, and uncovers how corrupt the FEMA was during Hurricane Katrina. In addition, after Zeitoun was bailed out of jail, the FEMA sends over a free trailer to Zeitoun and his family but they were unable to use it. “One day Kathy opened a letter from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. They were offering the Zeitouns a free trailer… they hadn’t connected the trailer to water of electricity… There were no steps to reach the door… you couldn’t enter the trailer, because the delivery team had failed to leave a set of keys” (Eggers, 308-309). As revealed, the FEMA is trying to regain control over the situation in New Orleans and Zeitoun and his family is faced with another example of bureaucratic mismanagement. Therefore, the FEMA’s lack of leadership and response during Hurricane Katrina reveals recurring theme of

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