Zeitoun

Kathy is suffering from traumatic memory loss due to the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina and her husband’s incarceration and it is affecting her both personally and professionally. The Zeitouns are in the process of renovating their house on Dart Street. They’re tired and the house still isn’t finished. The office building is a complete loss, and they have decided to move their office to their home. Since Zeitoun’s release, they’ve lived in a number of apartments, waiting for the completion of the expanded house on Dart Street.

Zeitoun was ashamed when they returned to the city from Hunt, and the two barely spoke about the incident. Kathy took him to the hospital but there was no indication of something physically wrong with his side, confirming for Zeitoun that the pain was a physical manifestation of his sorrow. Zeitoun eventually regains his health and his strength but he will never forget the memory of what the X-ray couldn’t show: that he had suffered heartbreak and sorrow.

When the Zeitouns visit their house on Dart after Zeitoun’s release, they find that, without him there to protect the house, nothing much survived. The entire house needed to be gutted and repaired. As they are leaving, Zeitoun remembers the dogs and rushes to see what has become of them. To his dismay, he finds that the dogs in both houses have died from neglect.

FEMA contacts the Zeitouns and offers them a free trailer to live in. When the trailer is delivered, however, no one gives them the keys and it hasn’t been installed properly, so they can’t live in it. Months of back and forth between Kathy and FEMA make little difference. When they finally receive the keys months later, they’re told that, as the trailer wasn’t installed properly, it’s unsafe and they can’t live in it.

Kathy and Zeitoun begin to buy houses in their neighborhood; many of their friends and neighbors move out of the area and state, so they are able to buy a lot of property at a fair price. They also purchase the houses next to them and expand their house to include these lots. When they decide to sell one of their properties, they realize that the market value is down due to the FEMA trailer parked in front of it. It’s been eight months since they received the trailer and they have never used it. Kathy tries to get the trailer removed, but to no avail. After many more months of inaction on FEMA’s part, Kathy contacted the local newspaper, which ran the story. The very next day, FEMA picked the trailer up.

Kathy’s memory problems grow to include problems with her stomach and motor skills. She eventually finds out that she’s suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Initially, the Zeitouns don’t want to sue anyone, but with friends and family encouragement, they file a civil lawsuit. Through the ordeal, they learn more about two officers named in the suit, Donald Lima and Ralph Gonzales. Both officers had simply been acting on orders, and both agreed that Zeitoun should have been given a phone call. Donald Lima actually admitted to siphoning gas, looting and vandalism in the name of justice, the very same things he had erroneously arrested Zeitoun and possibly others for. The Zeitouns were conflicted about this news: though they were thrilled to know that Zeitoun wasn’t arrested because he is Middle Eastern, it was discomforting to learn just how corrupt the judicial system was.

Even though Kathy is having a hard time with daily tasks, and Zeitoun doesn’t want to be confronted by memories of his incarceration, the couple manages to find some happiness when they have a child, whom they name Ahmad, after Zeitoun’s brother. Kathy thinks that Zeitoun is working too hard, but Zeitoun thinks that by building and rebuilding, by renovating the city, he can help make it something more than what it used to be. Likewise, the people of the city, and the country in general, can change. They can become something better, something greater than they used to be. Zeitoun still holds out hope for this change.