In Joplin, Obama Offers Healing Words to Residents - New York Times

By ARTHUR SULZBERGER and DAN BILEFSKYPublished: May 29, 2011







JOPLIN, Mo. � One week ago, the university campus here was rich with celebration as the graduating seniors of the public high school received their diplomas. Hours later, Joplin High School was destroyed and at least one graduate was dead.



On Sunday, the campus of the Missouri Southern State University filled with the grief of a community that paused from its digging to take collective note of what had been lost when a powerful tornado upended the heart of the city.

There was the Rev. Aaron Brown, the pastor of the Saint Paul's United Methodist Church, now a skeletal house of worship stripped of walls and ceiling, who talked about what he remembered of the frantic aftermath: running and digging and hoping and praying. �There was Jay Nixon, the governor of Missouri, speaking of the "destructive power of nature and the invincible power of faith."

And there was President Obama, fresh from a tour of a destroyed neighborhood, promising the thousands of residents who might wonder how to start the daunting task of rebuilding that the country would be there to help.

As he did during trips after the tornadoes in Alabama and the flooding along the Mississippi River, the president tried to reassure survivors that they would not be forgotten.

"The cameras may leave, but we will be with you every step of the way until this community is back on its feet. We are not going anywhere," the president said. "That is not just my promise. It is America's promise."

In an emotive speech peppered by biblical homilies and pledges of national solidarity, Mr. Obama praised Joplin residents for coming together in the face of tragedy. He recounted stories of heroism, including that of a 26-year-old manager of a Pizza Hut restaurant and father of two who died while sheltering a dozen people in a freezer, trying to wedge the door shut, before he was swept away.

He also spoke of a father who liked to whistle in church and who had rushed to help members of the community before he was killed by a falling wall.

"The world saw how Joplin has responded," Mr. Obama said. "You have shown the world what it means to love thy neighbor."

The community memorial service fell on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, marking the deadliest tornado in the deadliest tornado season in the 60 years since records have been kept. Of the 520 people confirmed killed by tornados this year, 139 lived here. Forty-four residents remain unaccounted for.

Throughout Joplin, rescue workers and hundreds of volunteers from throughout the region continued the grim task of sorting through the wreckage in the search of lives and possessions. But the day also featured a shift toward reflection at the countless local churches, where parishioners turned to scripture to comprehend the destruction and praised god for the lives not lost.

In an area where people proudly state their allegiance to god and country, both were very much on display, from the morning service at the parking lot outside a destroyed church to the hundreds that lined the roads to greet the president waving flags and signs bearing bible verses.

President Obama toured part of the devastated area in the early afternoon, offering hugs and words of encouragement to those still cleaning up their property. He remarked that the damage seemed even more devastating than what he saw in Tuscaloosa last month. �"Obviously it's going to take years to build back," he said.

While he was generally welcomed he also faced criticism in a county he lost by more than a two to one margin. A few said he should have come sooner (he prioritized his trip to Europe over tragedy at home), should have come later (he distracted from the cleanup), or not at all (his visit featured publicity seeking protesters from Westboro Baptist Church and counter protesters, some of whom were pepper sprayed by police when they tried to confront a man carrying a sign).

But those who saw his speech, a crowd that included many who lost homes and loved ones to the tornado, generally spoke with praise for Mr. Obama. "Most of us didn't even vote for him but he's our president and he supported us," said Phil Stotts, 31, who said he was pastor of a church focused on those recovering from drugs and alcohol. "We're just honored to have him here."

Arthur Sulzberger reported from Joplin, Mo., and Dan Bilefsky from Manhattan.



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