mare TV: Das Mississippi-Delta – 3sat

The huge alluvial plain of the Mississippi River Delta on the Gulf of Mexico is repeatedly plagued by natural disasters. Hurricane “Katrina” devastated the entire region in 2005. Many more floods and storms followed. The people in the southern metropolis of New Orleans, which is called “The Big Easy”, still take life rather lightly and have learned to deal with the fact that the sea can destroy their livelihood at any time. Kent Schexnaydre, for example, is a master at tricking the water. The stilt houses in the delta stand on tree trunks up to three meters high, but have been flooded in the past. Kent has come up with a solution to this problem: an ancient hydraulic pump is at the heart of his outlandish method of raising entire houses. The “Alzinas Kitchen” restaurant is known throughout the region. If you want to eat at Alzina Toups, you have to be prepared to wait several months. Some of those who pull up are confused or try to turn back straight away: At first nobody would suspect a restaurant in the corrugated iron shack without a nameplate. There, 89-year-old Alzina prepares Cajun dishes made from shrimp, sweet potatoes and beans so ingeniously that she is now considered a global icon of Southern cooking. Many Cajun dishes are based on the famous Louisiana Delta shrimp. Nicky Alfonso is a shrimp fisherman. During Hurricane Katrina, his house was submerged in the floods. He still sheds tears today when he talks about the nine worst days of his life. But unlike many others, Nicky and his wife Lisa didn’t leave the area, they just rebuilt everything. During this time the whole family had to live on the small fishing boat. Those who didn’t leave are all the more proud of their new beginning today. Like Darryl Reeves, the blacksmith whose workshop was flooded to the ceiling. All employees ran away from him at the time. After the great storm, however, he helped restore New Orleans’ famous wrought-iron architecture in hundreds of places. He is currently working with his trainee on a historic planter on Jackson Square, the city’s most famous square. Jonathan Henderson is still dealing with the aftermath of the hurricane. The environmental activist wants to prevent the next hurricane from causing such devastating damage again. Above all, the local oil industry would have to be better controlled. In his opinion, she is primarily responsible for the destruction of the delta. Jonathan documents the changes in the landscape from the air, takes water samples and reports leaks in pipelines to the Coast Guard. For Shaun Wilson, on the other hand, the delta is still a fishing paradise. In order to be able to transport all of his equipment in the shallow water, the construction worker built a floating frame out of drainpipes. Fishing made easy, in the spirit of “The Big Easy”.