Journalism students get personal account from Zeitoun

The neighborhood is quiet on Dart Street. The houses look clean and peaceful. The stop sign clearly directs traffic through the neighborhood. It's hard to think that only five years ago, that same stop sign was completely underwater.  

Hurricane Katrina rolled through this neighborhood, but the damage came after the storm when the levee broke.  The city of New Orleans changed on that day, and for many residents it would never be the same.  As the levee failed in the Ninth Ward district, water began to fill the city and would cost New Orleans millions of dollars in damages as well as lives. 

A few houses down from this stop sign lives Abdulrahman Zeitoun. From the outside, his house shows no signs of the events that took place five years ago. But there are still repairs to be made inside. 

The book "Zeitoun" was chosen as the 2010 first-year common reading. It is a story that follows just one of many people who stayed in the city during Hurricane Katrina. It follows Zeitoun as he canoes through the streets of New Orleans and saves lives. A group of five SMU journalism students drove to New Orleans this weekend to cover the fifth anniversary of Katrina. While there, the team interviewed Zeitoun. 

 "What I've done here, it's my duty and your duty too, if you see someone who needs help, you help," Zeitoun said.

Throughout the book, Zeitoun and his family are separated by the storm. Their separation becomes more apparent when Zeitoun is arrested and is not given a phone call. 

"With Katrina, I think everything happens for a purpose; I stayed here for a reason, I go to jail for a reason, everything God desired of me perfectly," Zeitoun said.

Zeitoun moved to the United States from Syria when he was 17. Neighbors knew him for the painting and contracting company he and his wife operate in New Orleans. Zeitoun carried his dedication to his clients when he decided to stay through the storm to look after their houses. 

Zeitoun's journey also tells a story about racial stereotyping. Zeitoun is immediately labeled as a threat the minute the police officer sees his first name. This action causes many misfortunes for Zeitoun, as he is taken to a makeshift prison at the Greyhound bus station and treated in an Abu Ghraib fashion. Today, Zeitoun holds no bitterness toward his captors; he only wants to reiterate his allegiance to the U.S. 

"We are Muslim, we are American, and we care about this country like everyone else," Zeitoun said. 

The separation between Zeitoun and his wife, Kathy, set a heavy emotional toll during the events. For a few weeks his wife, an American who converted to Islam, did not know if Zeitoun was alive or dead. While in Arizona, she broke down. 

"For me, it was hard not knowing. I felt like my life was stuck right here in the center.  I don't know which way to go which way to turn," she said. "I can tell you now, had my husband perished in the storm I would have never come back to the city."