Weird update on Katrina crying sis's: Homeless; But ready for new photo op

[HamdenRice]

This is weird. Remember the two sisters whom Bush was photographed comforting?



Newsweek has an update on the crying sisters in an issue dated Sept. 6, 2006. I guess they put up next week's issue.

You may recall that there was a lot of buzz on DU because of their accent. It turned out that they are South African. It's as though Bush could not find a single indigenous African American in Mississippi to talk to who was willing to play along with his happy talk photo op.

Well Bronwynne is still living in a FEMA trailer. She says meeting Bush did not change anything for her. What's worse, she is having trouble with her visa. She wrote to the White House for help, but their response is they don't intervene in individual cases -- even if that is the case of someone in a photo op that went around the world and that allowed Bush to at least appear as if he gave a rat's ass about the victims of Katrina.

But now the White House wants a new photo op with Ms. Bassier, and she plans to participate.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14535078/site/newsweek/

When the Cameras Left

Days after Katrina, a young mother got a hug and a promise of help from the president. Here's what happened next

By Holly Bailey
Newsweek
Sept. 4, 2006 issue - Bronwynne Bassier was desperate. Roaming the streets of her Biloxi, Miss., neighborhood four days after Katrina, scavenging for food and clothes for her 2-year-old son, Bassier stumbled upon the one man who presumably could help: President George W. Bush. Rushing toward him, the 22-year-old single mother pleaded and sobbed. "My son needs clothes," she cried. "I've lost everything." Momentarily stunned, Bush appeared on the verge of tears himself as he listened. Bush tried to direct her and her younger sister, Kim, toward a Salvation Army shelter down the road, but ultimately comforted them the only way he knew how: he hugged them. "Hang in there," he told Bassier, kissing her forehead. "We're going to take care of you." Press cameras captured the moment and beamed the image of compassion around the globe.

<One> year later, Bassier's life remains like that of countless other Katrina victims: she lives in a FEMA trailer with her son and new husband. Her story offers a window into the workaday reality of life post-Katrina. "Meeting didn't really change anything for me," Bassier tells NEWSWEEK. "I've been just like everybody else, trying to move forward with my life one day at a time." In a new NEWSWEEK Poll, 51 percent of Americans say they don't think Bush has followed through on his promises to rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.

To complicate matters, Bassier—a native of South Africa—has had a hard time getting a work visa. She'd applied for one after graduating from a local college last summer, but in the chaos of Katrina, the Department of Homeland Security lost the paperwork. More than a year later, her application is still pending. In May, Bassier sent a letter to the man who'd been there for her last year. But as of last Thursday, the president still hadn't responded. A White House spokeswoman confirmed last week that the administration received it, but said it had been forwarded to DHS. "We don't intervene in individual cases," says Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino.

This chapter of Bassier's story may yet have a happy ending: after NEWSWEEK's inquiries, Bassier received a call Friday from the White House inviting her to meet with President Bush this Monday when he visits Gulfport to mark the first anniversary of Katrina. (A White House aide tells NEWSWEEK that the invitation had long been in the works, but they hadn't been able to locate her until Friday.) She plans to make her case in person for a work visa. And she wants to thank President Bush for coming back. She's not angry, but she's looking for more than a hug.

[Karenina]

1. Isn't her whole story a fraud?

:shrug:

[notadmblnd]

2. seems like last year and this was current

I read that these ladies were not affected by the hurricane, they were out of towners. At the time I got the impression that these two ladies were just out looking to loot.

[HamdenRice]

4. I don't think the whole thing was a fraud

It was just weird the way they supposedly "wandered" into Bush's arms despite the fact that he is always in a gigantic security bubble. Of course they were selected by political operatives and security, I guess because they were foreigners and would scream bush's head off for his pathetic performance.

[bdamomma]

3. what BS, what to show Bush really cares!!!!!! what BS

He only cares about his agenda to screw everyone. Oh, I can't say anymore................

[tanyev]

5. "Momentarily stunned". Oh, please.

Only if his advance PR team forgot to brief him on it.