From one Katrina survivor: 'Refugee' fits

SOMEWHERE IN LOUISIANA--I am a refugee. As someone who had to flee her city in the face of an oncoming, terrifying Hurricane Katrina, that humbling realization came after church last Sunday.

A nice man and his wife overheard me telling friends I didn't know what I was going to do next. He introduced himself, handed me a blue business card and said, "I'm a Vietnam vet. My wife and I have an extra bedroom. It's not fancy but you can stay, free."

I am a middle class, middle age, well-educated, well-traveled journalist. But he saw only my immediate past. If you are from New Orleans or the Gulf Coast, everyone around here knows you are one of this country's newest of refugees.

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