UNDERNEWS: INSIDE A BUSH GULAG ON THE MISSISSIPPI

UNDERNEWS: INSIDE A BUSH GULAG ON THE MISSISSIPPI


ABDULRAHMAN ZEITOUN - I am the owner of Zeitoun A. Painting Contractors LLC, and Zeitoun Rentals LLC. I have been in business in New Orleans for almost 12 years. I have a very good reputation through out the City of New Orleans, and I am listed with the Better Business Bureau. I am originally from Syria, and I came to the United States in 1973. I started my life from scratch, and worked my way up to where I am now. I am married to Kathryn M. Richmond, I have 3 daughters and a son with her. My wife and kids evacuated from New Orleans due to hurricane Katrina and headed to Baton Rouge. I decided to stay behind to try and minimize any damage that may happen to my property. . .[Zeitoun describes in detail the days that follow. And then. . . ]I went back to my house on Claiborne. As I walked up the stairs, I heard the phone ring. It was my wife. She was worried about me. It was unusual for me to go this long in the day without calling her. I told her about my clients house, and about the bodies I saw. She asked me if it was anyone we knew. I told her I didn't have the heart to look. After I spoke to my wife, I spoke to my brother in Spain. When I was finished, I tried the water to see if it was working. To my surprise, it was. I quickly took a shower. It felt so good to be clean. When I was finished, I told my friend that he should take a shower before the water runs out.When I entered the area where the phone was, I saw a strange man there. I asked my tenant who he was, and what he was doing here. My tenant said that he was with the search and rescue team, and he needed to use the phone. I told him, "Oh, ok." We heard people outside. My tenant went to talk to them. It was the military. They asked him if we needed water. We told him no thank you, we have some. Then they jumped out the boat, went inside the house with their machine guns, and they were yelling at us to get in the boat. One of the military persons searched the house, for what? Only God knows. They treated us like hard criminals. They asked to see our ID cards, we showed it to them, they didn't even look at it. They only returned it to us. I told them I own this house, and my tenant was trying to prove to them that he lived there. They didn't care. They forced us out by gunpoint.We asked them where they were taking us. They said, "talk to my boss." We were taken to St. Charles Ave and Napoleon Ave. As soon as we got out of the boat, the military personnel jumped on us in a very rough manner, and handcuffed us. We were treated very, very badly. Then they put us in a white van. We asked the military who were they and why are they doing this to us. They said they were from Indiana, and they were only following orders, and doing their job. . .After processing us, they put us in a make shift chicken cage. Actually, it was the bus terminals that they turned into prison cells. It looked like a giant chicken cage. It was filthy dirty. They left us there for 3 days on this stinky, oily, filthy dirty floor. With no blankets or pillows. I swear, had we been in a prison in Afghanistan or Iraq, we would have been treated better. Somehow, I got a splinter the size of a tooth pick in my foot. It was the size of a tooth pick in width, and about half the length. It was getting infected, and caused me quite a bit of pain. I asked them if I could see a doctor. They refused me. Every day, I asked for a doctor. the splinter was lodged in my foot. I couldn't get it out. I saw a doctor helping other prisoners. I called out to him for help. He yelled at me in a very rude voice, that he was not a doctor. But he was a liar. He was a doctor. He was wearing green clothes, and he had a stethoscope. No one would help me.On the third day I was in this hell hole, they fed us an MRE that came with a small glass bottle of Tabasco. I broke that bottle on that nasty floor, picked up a shard of glass, then cut my foot open where the splinter was. The skin had grown over the splinter. My foot was infected. So much puss came out. Very painfully, I managed to get the splinter out. I squeezed out as much pus as I could, and hoped for the best. We would ask the soldiers why we were here. One would say because of looting, another would say because of terrorism, and another would say something else. They were trying to stick us with whatever they could.Later that afternoon, they moved us to Hunt Correctional Center in St. Gabrielle. They so called "processed" us again. They filled out a paper on each of us. . . They brought us to a maximum security section of the prison. I asked if I could use a phone to call my wife. They refused me. Flat-out told me no. They treated us like we were hardened criminals. They put 3 of us in a cell the size of my bathroom. The cell was only 8'x8'. They had on open toilet in the room. So, everyone would see me use the bathroom. There was no privacy on the toilet. . .Since a doctor wouldn't come, I asked for a Tylenol. They said I need to see a doctor to get any medication. But I couldn't see a doctor cause not one of them would come to me. Another week went bye. Still no doctor. Within the first week, an individual from homeland security came to us and interviewed us. He asked me a lot of questions. Then he said, I was clean, and he had no interest in me, and never has had any interest in me, nor my friend. I kept asking for the phone. After about 2 weeks they said we could finally use the phone.There were 50 people trying to use the phone. Each one of them was allowed 3-5 minutes only, and we were only able to use the phone in the late ours of the night. Bye the time it was my turn, I had fallen asleep. I must have dozed off waiting. They did not wake us. They simply went to the next cell. In the morning, I asked for my turn to use the phone. They said I missed it. I was really upset. I knew my wife was worried. I needed to find a way to contact her and let her know where I was. But everyone I begged/pleaded to call my wife, just told me no. I had to talk to her. Oh, my God I was in so much pain. Still no doctor came. The guard told me it takes up to 3 days after the doctor gets your form before he will see you.It has been over two weeks. Two weeks and we weren't even allowed to leave our cells. We ate, slept, and crapped in one room. We didn't see the light of day. Also, every meal they served us, had pork on it. I was unable to eat. I was very lucky when they didn't put pork on the grits. Otherwise, I starved. They served pork just about 2-3 times a day. They knew I couldn't eat this. So many days, I did starve.The next night I stayed awake the whole night waiting to use the phone. By the time it was my turn, they cancelled the phone service to us. I did not know that. The guard came to me when he saw me awake in the late night/early morning and asked me why I was still awake. I told him I was waiting to use the phone. He said the time was finished. I asked him to please let me use the phone. He spoke with another guard, and they agreed to let me use the phone. I tried to call my wife, but cell phones do not accept collect calls from prison. I felt I lost all hope.The first court date I had, the public defender told me not to say a word. Just listen. The judge came out and set the bail to $75,000. he said I was being charged with looting, and possessions of stolen goods. I couldn't believe they were charging me with that. I didn't have anything on my possession except my wallet. Which they took. They were just trying to stick us with anything they could. Since the terrorist accusations didn't work, they were going to pin us as looters. This was a bunch of bull.Also, $75,000. for a bond. They knew that no one could come up with that kind of money. No banks were open in New Orleans, and the city was upside down. I needed to get in touch with my wife so she could get the papers and prove that this was my house. The Judge told me, that he was not here to hear me. Only to set a bond. Even if we did have the money, there was no place to pay the bond. There was not one in existence at that time. There was no bond system for New Orleans prisoners at that time. I felt I was really being screwed.The next court date, my real lawyer was there. Someone must have called my wife. She had my lawyer there. However, there was no court system set up, so not much could be done for me at that time. I was very disappointed again. He said he could try to get the bond lowered, and the only way to get out was to pay the bond, or put up property. Still, there was no place to pay any bond at that time.Finally, on the third week I was there, they decided to improve our living conditions. They moved us to a minimum security level of the prison, and we were now allowed to go outside for a couple of hours a day. Still, no doctor looked at my side. Which left me moaning through out the night, and sometimes I could deal with the pain. Other times, I couldn't. I can't believe it. I constantly asked for medical treatment. They didn't give me any. What did I do to deserve this treatment? Why were they treating me like this? I truly feel in my heart that I was discriminated against. Why else would they arrest me?Finally, my wife was able to come to New Orleans. She dug through a collapsed building to get the property documents to help get me out. On Thursday she signed over our the warehouse as collateral for my bond. I still wasn't released that day. They made me wait till Friday. They made me stay a total of 23 days in that place. I feel sorry for my friends that are still in there under bogus charges.While I was being released, I asked for my wallet. The Hunt Correctional Center said they didn't have it. they said it was in New Orleans.All I had on me for ID was a prison ID. I couldn't travel with this. When my cousin, and wife came to pick me up, they took me to his apartment, where my Aunt, Uncle, and cousin's wife were waiting for me with delicious food. After I showered, I ate, then I was taken to Our Lady Of the Lake Hospital. I lost 15 pounds while I was in prison due to the food they were trying to serve me.They did blood work, and X-rays on me. It was documented that I have a torn muscle. I still suffer from this till now. I have been seen by three real doctors and I am on medication. I suffer so much from this. I think it would not have gotten so bad had they let me see a doctor at least one of the 23 days they kept me in there.On that following Monday, My wife and I went to the bus station where they kept me. I asked for my wallet. At first, they said they couldn't find it. Then they said they need it for evidence. My wife did not except this. They told her she needed to speak with the District Attorney. She saw Mr. Eddie Jordan there and asked him for the wallet. he refused to give it to her. So she went in and fussed a little. She told them that I couldn't travel with a prison ID. She said I was Arab, and they might think I was a terrorist. Finally someone went and got my ID, green card, social security card, and drivers license. They stole my wallet, and all of my credit cards. They either kept, stole, or lost, my wallet, visa card, master card, Lowe's, and home Depot cards, and a lot of business cards. Well, at least I got my green card back, and my driver's license. . .The tenants apartment had been looted after we were arrested. All of her Jewelry had been stolen, along with the downstairs tenants laptop computer and a few other items. All the trouble he went thru to save what little bit of stuff he did have, was all in vain. He saved it from the flood, but had it stolen by the looters after we were arrested. . .My wife asked me if I was read the Miranda Rights. You know, they didn't even do that. I guess that is why they didn't give me any rights. If they didn't read me my rights, then, I guess, that means I didn't have any.
5:27 PM 3 comments links to this post

3 Comments:
At 6:10 PM, Dredd Scott said...
Welcome to the real America that hides behind the mask.
At 9:26 PM, Anonymous said...
that's right-- we don't have any rights-- it takes some of us a while to figure it out-- a strange incident at a demo or a run in with the law on a dark road-- we may be lucky to survive--other folks just die with their illusions.
At 12:41 AM, Anonymous said...
we have rights. a complacent generation doesn't have the balls to speak up to defend and maintain them.defeatism and despair are Karl Rove's trump cards.